Ashton, William

Epithet: Sec Professional Choral Society

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000429.0x0001fd

A native of Ashton-under-Lyne in the county of Lancashire, England, William Adolphus Ashton was born in 1803. For generations, the Ashton family had worked with and designed textiles, as this area was central to cotton manufacturing. As a result, Ashton became interested in cotton miller Robert Owen's factory reform efforts. Ashton was a member of the Manchester and Salford Social Community, which believed that Owen's plan for a proposed Villages of Cooperation could be made to work on a much smaller scale than the population of 500 that Owen envisioned. As a result, Ashton and six other families came to America from Manchester in 1834 to establish a cooperative community, finally settling in Franklin County, Indiana. When the community failed two years later, Ashton returned to his old trade of textile designing for his livelihood. Although there was no textile manufacturer in Cincinnati, one firm made oilcloth and table covers. Ashton joined the firm in June 1836. He traveled throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee to sell his product. During the 1840s, Ashton designed textiles for J. Briggs and Company of Frankfort, Pennsylvania, selling them to many leading mills in the East. Ashton's designs predominantly featured Greek Revival patterns, paisley motifs, and sprigged floral patterns. In 1848, Ashton and partner Almon Sawyer established the Great Western Oil Cloth and Window Shade Manufactory in Cincinnati. These window shades featuring painted landscapes were made to order for private homes, businesses and steamboats. To create the shades, muslin was first stiffened; then, the outline of the design was applied to the cloth by copying, tracing, stenciling or pouncing. After the design had been outlined on the cloth, the transparency was painted. Ashton operated a flatboat on the Ohio River to facilitate the transportation and sale of his creations. Ashton left the window shade business in 1857. One of Ashton's ambitions was to become a physician. From 1851 to 1854, Ashton studied medicine at the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical College, receiving a degree in 1855. He practiced medicine in Cincinnati for eight years, and also served as a trustee and treasurer of the medical college. Following his retirement in 1862, Ashton returned to his farm, which was part of the original lands owned by the cooperative community he established. Supervising the running of his farm and pursuing his interest in horticulture, Ashton lived in a brick house he had built near Scipio, an unincorporated community in the northwest corner of Morgan Township in Butler County, Ohio. Situated at the intersection of State Routes 126 and 129 on the state line with Indiana, Scipio was laid out by Joseph Alyea in 1827. A post office was established on February 15, 1823, under the name "Philanthropy." Ashton died in 1870.

From the guide to the William Ashton Collection, 1840-1874, (Miami University)

Epithet: keeper of Cheshunt Park

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000613.0x0000db

Epithet: of Egerton MS 2216

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000987.0x00016e