Capt. Ashley Ely
Capt. Ashley Ely was born November 4, 1793, in West Springfield, Hampden Co., Mass. He visited this county in 1818, in order to make arrangements for a permanent settlement, and returned to locate in Deerfield Township, the following year. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812 for a period of eighteen months, being stationed at Boston, Mass. His father, Capt. Darius Ely, a soldier of distinction in the Revolutionary war, married Margaret Ashley. They came out to this county and resided with their son until their death. She died in 1838, aged seventy-five, he in 1844, aged eighty-three. Capt. Ely married Miss Sarah Lazarus, a native of Monroe County, Penn., and a resident of Deerfield Township, this county, since early childhood. In 1826 they sold their farm in Deerfield, and located one mile and a half north of Ravenna. Here they cleared up their second farm, and spent the remainder of their lives. Their children are Linus (in Chicago), Mrs. Alma Carnahan (died in 1847, aged twenty-one), Ralph (residing on the old homestead) and Mrs. Julia M. Jillson, in Worcester, Mass. Mr. Ely died September 2, 1868, in his seventy-fifth year. He was a man of iron constitution, and had sustained a wonderful amount of toil and hardship as a pioneer. He was an earnest Presbyterian, and very firm in his principles. He was one of the early members of the Ravenna Congregational Church. He obtained a substantial education, mainly by private study, and taught in Deerfield Township and Ravenna, this county. His known integrity and excellent judgment caused his services to be frequently required in the public affairs of the township. Mrs. Ely died September 8, 1881, aged eighty-three, retaining active use of her faculties until the last. She was widely known and beloved because of her skill and devotion in attending the sick.
From History of Portage County, Ohio, Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1885