Ashley, Jonathan, 1712-1780

Jonathan Ashley, the son of Jonathan and Abigail (Stebbins) Ashley was born in Westfield, Mass., Nov. 11, 1712. He graduated from Yale College in 1730, where he studied theology. Jonathan was a teacher in Suffield, Conn., until Nov. 8, 1732, when he was ordained as pastor of the Congregational Church in Deerfield. In 1736 he married Dorothy Williams, whose father was also a minister. Ashley was socially prominent in Deerfield, as a minister ranked high in the town hierarchy. He supplemented his income by tutoring young men for college, and by farming. Ashley's interest in education and religion were in the Puritan tradition. He was a well-respected minister, although during the American Revolution he sided with the British. His support of the Tories did cause some friction with members of his congregation. Deerfield, Massachusetts, did not have many Tories, but members of the community who were Tories were not ostracized. After the Revolution, the Ashleys' continued to be prominent citizens in town. Jonathan Ashley served as minister in Deerfield, Mass., until his death on Aug. 28, 1780. Dorothy Ashley died in Deerfield, Mass., on Sept. 20, 1808.

Jonathan Ashley (1712-1780), the ninth child of Lieutenant Jonathan and Abigail (Stebbins) Ashley, was born in Westfield, Mass., on 11 November 1712. He studied theology, graduated from Yale in 1730, and was ordained, on 8 November 1732, as the second pastor of the Congregational Church in Deerfield, Mass. He married, in 1736, Dorothy Williams ( - ).

Rev. Ashley was opposed to the great revival of 1740, and was an active antagonist of Jonathan Edwards (his wife's first cousin) in the controversy which drove Edwards from Northampton. Ashley favored the side of the British during the Revolution, and for this and other reasons found himself in disagreement with his congregation. For many years they refused to fulfill their obligation to him. He died, on 28 August 1780, at Deerfield.

Congregational clergyman and American loyalist.

A graduate of Yale College, Jonathan Ashley was pastor at Deerfield, Mass., 1732-1780.