Our family tree is quite large and consuming, and it's branches are as endless as the sky. This is the reason for this family website. It is the one place where all of the information from our first known ancestor, Oslac Vel Aslake to our present day family, can be combined together. The names stretch across the globe from Prussia through England and into the early colonies, and the dates stretch across a thousand years. This site is dedicated to our ancestors memory, their sacrifices that have paved the way for our blessings today. We promise never to forget them, but to enliven them through their intruiging stories and their interesting history.
George William Ashlock, with his children, George, Bob & Mary Jane.
My grandfather, George William Ashlock, fondly known as, "Bill", fought in WWI. He moved from Stanford, Kentucky to Cincinatti, Ohio where he met his wife, Emma Sauer and joined the Masons. Later the family moved to the North Shore of Chicago, Illinois where he was the VP of Refrigeration Sales, and became a 18 Star Mason, the highest order of Masonry.
His oldest son, George Shriner served in WW II, and moved to Tennesee to go to college where he met and married Juanita Leona Decker.
Mary Jane Ashlock married Tom Johnson who has a quick wit and a wonderful sense of humor. He is an excellent pianist and worked at an exclusive custom clothier in Chicago. They lived in Chicago until they retired to Florida in the 90's.
Bob & Edith Ashlock
Bob Ashlock served in the military and lost lower leg due to an telephone pole accident. He married Edith (photo shown on right), and later became the President of the California Handicap Association. He was very athletic despite the loss of his extremity and always had a great sense of humor about it. I have always admired him for his lightminded sense of humor in the midst of tragedy.
GS Ashlock & Family 1961
My father, George Shriner Ashlock, loved his family history. He has a special relationship with his uncle, Carl Henry Ashlock, and they would correspond about the details of one family member or another, along with the Ashlock mysteries they attempted to solve. At age 30 he was obsessed with the desire to search for other Ashlocks. He left his wife and their four girls, and hitchicked across American searching to discover more of his family clan.
When he died in 1994, my stepmother denied his four girls (myself included) our geneology and any of our father's records, because of a greedy desire to inherit my grandmother's land. However, by her spiteful actions she left the door open for a miracle to occur.
A couple years later while visiting my Uncle Carl J Ashlock(the son of Carl Henry who befriended my father, and became like a father figure to my own father), the sorted story of the lost family geneology came out. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he declared, "I have something that you just might like." He pulled out an old small black bible, the leather cover crackled, and the edges were rattered and torn with use and age. I sat there mystified at this rare treasure, but as I turned to the back of the bible I discovered the gift he sought to give.
Enclosed on several pages, in black ball point pen and pencil, were the name of fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters. Enclosed inside this secret treasure was my family history that I had so longed to find. My eyes lit up with joy as I contemplated the miracle unfolding directly before my eyes. Surprised he had such a treasure as this, and yet here was the same jewel I had yearned for so long to find. Anxious to get every detail correct, I copied each letter of each line as we discussed some of the odd occurances in dates, times, and names together. I was so grateful to my Uncle who shared this wonderful blessing with me. As we embraced gently, I expressed my deep appreciation for this wonderful gift.
My first cousin,Jim & Betty Ashlock 2003
Clothed with this newfound knowledge, I went to work and discovered a network of 12 geneologists who submitted information to Family Search. Two of these researchers would be instrumental in a miracle, which would eventually begin this site. Freda Carpenter and I started corresponding via email, as the seed was planted which we wanted to continue to reach out to our families. So in 1999, while we started working on the Ashlock Family Website, Gene Boss, the exhusband of my stepmother, started working on her to release my father's records, unknown to me. Freda started implementing communication and gathering family contacts together and making our family website a fun place to be. She inspired our cousins to share family photo and files, receipes and intriguing stories, research and documentation. Freda is like a shining star in the darkness, who when she enters lights a room with joy, as such she made our website shine with mysterious family details. The next year she distributed copies of our As hlock history and the "Ashlock Skeleton Closet" to all family members interested. Through all of her hard work she has enabled our ancestors to live again.
GT Ashlock Family 1898
In October 2000, I received a call from Gene Boss stating that he had mailed me a large box which included all of my fathers letters, any family records, and some of my father's favorite books. Immediately, tears rolled down my face, as yet another miracle unfolded right before my eyes. I couldn't believe I had been given such a wonderful gift from a virtual stranger. I will forever be grateful for the marvelous gift he gave to me that day, which gave additional family and resouce information. My father's letter allowed me to privately gaze into his soul, and revealed answers to many questions that plagued my mind. Through this gift, I bonded with my father in an uncanny way and still today I feel him near to me.
During my search, there have been many Ashlock and Decker connections and geneologists who have contributed. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the names of all of them, but I keep their faces and deeds in my heart. However, one thing was immediately obvious, we needed a website that would combine our entire family together.
The Kuester family listed on the right is the maiden name of my grandmother, Emma Kuester. Her father, Louis Kuester lived in the Iowa area for a time, where they practiced cross mixing the corn crops. He was a nurse my profession, but being a Baker was his first love. He actually invented the Kellogg's Corn Flakes, and in 1920 sold the patent to the Kellogg's for $1,000, a large amount of money at that time. Amazing as this might seem, it is true! Both the Kuesters and the Kelloggs worked together. In fact, the Kuester's reported to J J Kellogg at Andrews University in Michigan. As part of the SDA church, a well established family tradition for 4 generations, the Kuesters were sent out to start "institutions" as they were called that day, aka hospitals. Tuberculosis was a very big scare in those days and they were sent out from the church to set up TB centers all over the United States. The first was in Boulder, Colorado, Hinsdale, Illinois, Old Mexico (now known as San Antonio, Texas, and finally Orlando, Florida. It is in Orlando, Florida that they worked side by side with Dr. Kellogg, set up a bakery a pebble's throw away, and Louis invented his corn flakes.
Our combined family file in 2001 was 100,000 people. It was obvious we needed to do something to continue our family research. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, I have decided to separate the Ashlock Clan at William Ashlock (d. 1786) with each geneologist of that family taking the requests of each of William's sons. William's five sons are: William, Jesse, James, Richard, and Josiah, and all but Josiah fought in the Revolutionary War, because he was too young.
Many geneologists and researchers that have contributed to this offering. The primary active researchers I have listed on the links webpage, and some of the primary researchers are:
The Decker's above on the right are my mother's family, Juanita Leona Decker. The earliest member of the family was John Decker, who lived in Ohio in 1700. They lost track of their sister and the entire family immigrated via building the railroad westward until they found her in Iowa. Most of the family homesteaded in Auborbon County in Iowa, in fact their's was the first log cabin built in that county. Some family immigrated southward to Adair County and homesteaded in Greenfield and later Creston, Iowa. This family photo was taken at a reunion in Creston in 1914.
