Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Ashley, James R ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com October 3, 2007, 4:31 am Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County JAMES R. ASHLEY. The life of Mr. Ashley is inseparably associated with the history of the wire business in Joliet, and an accurate history of the one could not be written without considerable mention of the other. He was the originator of the wire business in Joliet, a city that is now famous throughout the country for its large wire factories. Being a man of mechanical genius, and having the ability to put into form the inventive ideas of his mind, he was fitted to be a leader and pioneer in the business with which he was identified, and while later workers have made many improvements, the principles which he embodied in his work are still utilized. The Ashley family descends from three brothers who came from England and settled in Vermont about seven generations past. From one of these, Robert, descended Daniel, a soldier in the war of 1812. The latter's son, Rev. Riley B. Ashley, was converted at the age of twenty and soon entered the ministry of the Baptist Church, preaching at various points in New York. In 1837, in company with his family, his brother Cyrus and the latter's family, and the families of Messrs. Lane and Hubbard, he traveled by team through Canada to Detroit, thence through southern Michigan, into Indiana and to Joliet, spending thirty days on the road, having left Martinsburg, N. Y., May 10, and reaching Joliet on the evening of June 9. With him he had two teams and brought bedding and cooking utensils. He spent the night in the Waving Banner hotel, which was then the leading boarding house in the town; it still stands on North Chicago street, but is now known as the Bissell house. On the 10th of June he proceeded with his family to Plainfield and bought a place owned by the Baptist minister, whom he succeeded as pastor of the church. For those days he was well-to-do, as he had two teams and $1,500 in money. He bought a farm and later bought and sold other farms, but gave his time principally to religious work, being appointed home missionary in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Tennessee, and establishing congregations in various localities. The first Baptist Church in Joliet was organized through his influence. He was a man of fine character, genial, kind-hearted and generous, and made warm friends in every locality that he visited. It is said that he was one of the best judges of horses in the state, and he early taught his son to be an expert horseman. He died in Plainfield in August, 1880, when nearly eighty-one years of age. The first marriage of Rev. Riley B. Ashley united him with Sally Searles, who was born in Lewis County, N. Y., and died when her son, James R., was two years old. The other child born of their marriage died in infancy. Afterward, Mr. Ashley married again and became the father of three children, viz.: Cyrus, and Mrs. Olive M. Smith, both deceased; and Marian E., wife of George Oliver, cashier of Sweet, Dempster & Co., of Chicago, wholesale dealers in hats and caps. The subject of this sketch was born in Martinsburg, Lewis County, N. Y., February 3, 1825, and was twelve years of age when he first saw Joliet. He attended public and private schools and Warrenville Seminary. When he was sixteen he earned $5 and board per month for his work in breaking prairie, and in this way after a time he saved $150. With this, and $150 loaned him by his father, he started a small grocery, and was so successful that he soon enlarged the business and took his brother, Cyrus N., into partnership, carrying on a large trade as a general merchant successfully until 1870, a period of twenty years. During this time he was also interested in buying and selling farms. Coming to Joliet in 1874, Mr. Ashley became connected with A. B. Sharpe & Co. In January, 1876, he sold his interest in that company, and he and his brother, Cyrus N., formed a partnership with H. B. Scutt and William Watkins, for the purpose of manufacturing barbed wire. The company secured a patent on what was known as Scutt wire, which they sold at sixteen cents a pound. Mr. Ashley was the manager of the company and owned almost all of the stock. The venture proved successful, and Mr. Scutt, who was $1,500 in debt at the time the company was organized, became worth $150,000. In 1876 the Joliet Wire Fence Company was organized, in which a number of the members of the Illinois Steel Company were interested and of which Mr. Ashley was general manager, having charge of the making of machinery for the manufacture of fence. The plant at Adams' dam was destroyed by fire August 2, 1876, and a suitable location could not be found elsewhere. At this time they made a contract with an official from the state penitentiary and carried on the business there for five years, until the 1st of January, 1882. Previous to this, through the purchase of the interest of the others by Mr. Scutt, D. Robertson and Mr. Ashley, the firm of H. B. Scutt & Co. was formed and they continued together until September, 1881, when Mr. Ashley disposed of his interest to his partners. Meantime, as early as 1876, the Washburn-Moen Company began a suit against them for infringement, and the case was fought for two years, when a compromise was effected, and a royalty of one and three-eighths cents per pound was paid the company. With his brother and Messrs. Scutt and Robertson, our subject bought out the Joliet Wire Fence Company and completed a reorganization, but after a time his brother retired and with Mr. Watkins formed the second Watkins & Ashley Wire Company, which later sold out to Lambert & Bishop. H. B. Scutt & Co. continued business in the penitentiary, and in time, through the improvement of machinery, they had a surplus of men, but were obliged to pay for them even though they did not need their services; for this reason Mr. Ashley originated a plan for teaching the prisoners to draw wire, and organized a company to manufacture drawn wire. There was no mill west of Cleveland, excepting a small plant in St. Louis. Organizing the Joliet Wire Company he began to manufacture drawn wire, although he was cautioned by many business men against the enterprise and told it would be a failure. In spite of such predictions he made a complete success of it. He originated the lead annealing process for galvanizing. When his five years' contract at the penitentiary had expired, in 1882 he bought the machinery of the Joliet Wire Company and sold it to the Ashley Wire Company. In 1882 he took a contract for one hundred and twenty-five men at the penitentiary for eight years and organized the Ashley Wire Company, with a capital of $200,000. This company manufactured barb wire, fence staples, wire nails and market wire. After the contract of eight years had expired, being unable to make satisfactory arrangements under the new law, he located on Railroad street, bought the old tile works and in 1890 built the Ashley mill, which he started the following year and operated until 1893. At the time of the panic of 1893 he was ill with nervous prostration, and it was necessary for him, if he wished to live, to give up all active business at least temporarily. In this crisis, the mill having no strong hand at its helm, under pressure of the financial depression, went into the receiver's hands. Undoubtedly had Mr. Ashley's health been as good as in former years he could have safely steered the business over the treacherous shoals and preserved it intact. As it was, however, he was obliged to spend some time in travel before his health was even partially restored, and he has never since been as vigorous as when in his prime. During his residence in Plainfield Mr. Ashley married Miss Julia F. Tyler, who was born in Bridgewater, Mass., educated in Troy, N. Y., and about 1842 came to Plainfield. Four children were born of their marriage, but only one, Ella, attained mature years. She is a talented young lady, graduated from the Joliet high school and later studied music and German at Vassar College. She became the wife of George W. Bush, a hardware merchant and a director in the First National Bank, whose president, George Woodruff, is his grandfather. Always a Republican in national politics, the large business interests of Mr. Ashley never prevented him from keeping informed concerning public affairs. For fifteen years he was township clerk in Plainfield, and at the same time he served for eight years as justice of the peace and notary public. His store was headquarters for prominent men of the township, who met there for the purpose of discussing important matters, drawing up papers, etc. From 1862 to 1870 he was revenue inspector for the government, and had charge of collecting the duty on liquors in this district. He still holds membership in the Plainfield Baptist Church, with which he has been identified for many years, and in which, in former days, he served as treasurer and as chairman of the building committee. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/ashley1794nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 9.8 Kb