Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Ashton, William A.
- Abstract:
- The Ashton mss., 1818-1876, consists of the papers of textile designer William Adolphus Ashton, 1803-1870.
- Extent:
- 2 Boxes and 1 folio (oversize)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Ashton mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
William Adolphus Ashton was born on March 23, 1803 in England. He married Mary Wood, 1791-1838 on February 18, 1822. Ashton was a textile designer who moved from Manchester to America in 1834 under the auspices of the Manchester Social Community Company. Along with five other families, Ashton set sail on April 8, 1834, and arrived in Philadelphia on May 10, 1834. From Philadelphia, Ashton travelled to Cincinnati (May 30), then to Whitewater Township in Franklin County, Indiana, where he purchased 80 acres of Congress lands to establish a cooperative community (June 11). The community failed to prosper as a result of member withdrawal and cessation of financial aid from the Manchester Social Community Company. In June of 1836, Ashton was hired by Sawyer & Brackett in Cincinnati to design patterns for oil cloth. In the summer of 1838 he peddled their products in Illinois and Tennessee. In October 1838 their partnership dissolved and Ashton peddled his share of oil cloth in Illinois and Indiana. Mary Wood died in 1838. On September 25, 1839, Ashton married Sarah Heap, born March 8, 1815. From 1848-1856, Ashton operated an oil cloth and painted window shade manufacturing business with Milo Sawyer in Cincinnati. In October 1849, Ashton's brother John Whiteley Ashton transported Sawyer and Ashton's peddling products by flatboat with eight other men on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In the early 1850s Ashton studied at the Eclectic Medical College in Cincinnati. From 1857-1860 he served as a trustee and treasurer of the college. He practiced medicine until 1862 in Indiana and supervised the farmland. Ashton died in 1870.
- Scope and Content:
The Ashton mss., 1818-1876, consists of the papers of William Adolphus Ashton, 1803-1870, textile designer. The William Adolphus Ashton material in the collection consists of correspondence with members of his family, the Manchester Social Community Company, and business associates, 1834-1869; a memorandum book giving data on the Ashton family, 1833; Ashton's journal, record of expenses and list of articles carried on the voyage from England to America on the Montezuma, 1834; his naturalization papers, 1840; financial records, 1849- 1856; a memorandum book containing boat expenses, October 20, 1849-February 25, 1850, and journals, October 20, 1849-February 12, 1850, and December 28, 1849-February 11, 1850, of a flatboat journey on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers of salesmen for Sawyer and Ashton; Ashton's papers relating to the Eclectic College of Medicine at Cincinnati, 1858-1860; his will, 1870; sketches and patterns of designs for oil cloth and window shades; a sample of oil cloth and two painted window shades; medical notes and drawings; a petition to the U. S. Congress on "Freedom of the public lands," signed by William A. Ashton and others; a photograph of his home; a daguerreotype of him and his second wife, Sarah Heap Ashton; and a farm cash book of his son, Samuel Heap Ashton, 1872.
Other papers on the collection relating to cooperative societies include: for the Manchester Social Community Company shareholders cards, 1832; a document setting forth the "objects" of the company, October, 1832, which also contains a constitution of the Hall of Liberty, Mt. Carmel, Indiana; and a memorial from the emigration company, 1834; and for the Social Cooperative Community, London, England, a manuscript containing its "objects and views," May, 1832.
Also included in the collection are a patent for a water wheel issued to John Edwards and signed by James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, 1818; a paper on passive resistance to assessed taxes, 1833; a ritual of the Order of Patriarchs and Matriarchs, 1855-1860; notes on reform and temperance; building plans; and a drawing of Masonic symbols.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase: 1957, 1958
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in the following series: I. Correspondence and Personal Papers, II. Government-Issued, Business-Related, and Other Official Records.
- Physical location:
- ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility); ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - OVFlat
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Ashton mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu