In 1750 Thomas Asbury joined the masses of immigrants leaving England and other European countries in search of new frontiers to practice their religious or secular beliefs or for other reasons. Thomas came over here for other reasons, he had gotten into some kind of trouble in England and had been disowned by his father. His mother had died and Joseph, his father, had remarried and had a new son, Francis, who later would become the first Methodist Bishop in America. Thomas never met his step-brother but ironically, his future son, Daniel, would cross paths with Francis many years later.

Thomas Asbury married Susan Jennings and they settled in Fairfax County, Virginia. When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1776, their two oldest sons joined the fight against the British. John Asbury was killed at Brandywine and George Asbury was taken prisoner but survived the Revolution. Daniel, the youngest son, helped carry wagonloads of provisions to the soldiers on the front. On one of these trips, Daniel, age fifteen, was captured by the Shawnee Indians.

Daniel was adopted by an old Indian Chief and his squaw and he learned to speak their language. After about a year of living with the tribe, Daniel planned his escape. While the Indians were distracted hunting wild game, Daniel took off into the forest and made his way to the river. He crossed the river in a bark canoe that he had previously hidden by the river's edge. Unfortunately, a tribe of hostile Indians was waiting on the other side. During a confrontation with them, Daniel received a scalp wound but later recovered. The tribe was "friendly" towards the Tories and eventually sold Daniel to the British who imprisoned him for the duration of the Revolutionary war.

After more than six years absence, Daniel returns home and at first is not recognized by his family who assumed he had been killed by the Indians. Daniel makes himself known as their long lost son and recounts his harrowing adventures of the past years. Apparently, while Daniel was absent from his family, Methodist preachers had worked their "magic" on Thomas Asbury and converted him from a skeptic into a believer of the Methodist doctrines. Daniel also converted to Christ and united with the Methodists, believing that God had spared his life.

Daniel Asbury married Nancy Morris in 1790 and settled in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Daniel was an early pillar of Methodism and founded a Methodist church in Lincoln County in 1791. He was a devout and tireless preacher, ultimately becoming a Presiding Elder. Daniel Asbury followed in the footsteps of his religious relative, Francis Asbury, who was the first Methodist bishop in America.

Daniel and Nancy Morris Asbury had twelve children over a span of 24 years. The children had a very religious upbringing and several of them became ministers. One of the youngest, William Morris Asbury (born in 1810), became a local Methodist preacher. William married his second cousin, Susan Lester Marks, in 1835. They moved to Mississippi and settled among the Chickasaw Indians in Tippah County, now called Benton County.

William and Susan Asbury had seven children, one son died in infancy and another son died at age four. Religion was the focal point for most of their lives. One of their sons, John Fletcher, became a Methodist preacher in 1856. He died in 1858 after preaching for only a few years. Eventually William Asbury gave up preaching and saving souls in favor of expanding his farm into a plantation.

William Asbury began acquiring land from the Chickasaw Indians and started raising cotton. Over time, William began buying slaves to pick the cotton and do other chores. The slaves were expected to observe the teachings of the Methodist religion even though their souls were not considered worth saving. They could not partake in any activity considered ungodly. By the start of the Civil War (1861) the Asbury plantation had become one of the largest in Northern Mississippi.

The Civil War brought devastation to the Asbury family. The last of William and Susan's remaining sons enlisted with the Confederates: Summerfield was killed, James had his foot shot off and later died of smallpox, and Samuel was wounded in the ankle and taken prisoner. In June of 1863 Federal troops swept through the plantation, destroying every building and killing William Asbury. By the end of the Civil War only two of the seven children by William and Susan Asbury remained alive, Samuel and his sister LaFavre. Samuel's mother, Susan, had managed to survive the tragic losses of her family. Throughout the rest of her life, Susan lived with Samuel and helped raise his children.

Samuel Asbury returned to the plantation in 1865 along with his two young children from his first marriage. Samuel had lost his wife, Betty Gray, in 1862 after only four years of marriage. In 1867 Samuel, his mother Susan and his children Anna and William, moved to Missouri where he taught school. Samuel's previous education included a civil engineering degree acquired at Dickson's Academy, one of the foremost schools of the South. Samuel married Julia Pipkin in 1868 and they moved to St. Francois County and settled on a farm. In 1874 Samuel was elected County Surveyor and later became Deputy County Clerk. Julia died in 1878 after having six children (two of them died in infancy).

In 1879 Samuel married Ellen Prichard and they had eight children (four died in infancy). The four surviving children were Mary Asbury (born in 1882), Emmett Asbury (born in 1887), Herbert Asbury (born in 1889), and Fred Asbury (born in 1891). The family moved to Farmington, Missouri in 1883 and Samuel remained there until his death in 1914. He served in the capacity of County Surveyor of St Francois County until 1906. Although Samuel and his wife both came from very religious backgrounds, this generation of children did not produce any preachers.

Herbert Asbury rebelled against the strict doctrine of the Southern Methodist Church and left the Church at the age of fourteen. He delighted in calling himself the "black sheep of the family" and as a teenager participated in activities considered blasphemous and sinful by the religious folk of Farmington. Herbert went on to write about his childhood encounters with the sanctimonious Preachers, Brothers and Sisters who attempted to save his soul from the devil. His first book "Up From Methodism" caused quite a furor when it was published in 1926, especially the "Hatrack" story. Return to Top