Read more about the article GROWING UP ASHLEY
The extended Ashley family gathered for this photo taken around 1930. Standing from left are Bill and Bertha Ashley, Mary Ashley Mobley and unidentified man; George and Lola Mario, Marjorie Ashley, widow of Ed Ashley; and Eva Ashley and first husband Peter Jenkins. The children third from left are Carlo Mario, son of George and Lola Mario; Marjorie Ashley, daughter of Ed and Marjorie Ashley; and Lugenia Jenkins with younger sister Patricia, daughters of Eva and Peter Jenkins. SANDRA MARIO PROVENCE ARCHIVES

GROWING UP ASHLEY

Sandra Provence learned a thing or two from her grandmother, the sister of outlaw John Ashley, about how to comport herself as a descendant of Florida’s most notorious crime family.

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Read more about the article Ashley Gang descendants not fond of ancestor
Austin Alderman stands at the spot in downtown Fort Pierce where his great-great grandfather, Ray Lynn, and three other members of the Ashley Gang were laid out and displayed after the shooting on the Sebastian River Bridge on Nov. 1, 1924. The 100th anniversary of the shooting approaches Friday, Alderman says Lynn was estranged from his wife and had been disowned by his parents when he was killed. No family members wanted to claim his body. “He was nothing but trouble,’’ Alderman says. GREGORY ENNS

Ashley Gang descendants not fond of ancestor

As the daughter of Ashley Gang outlaw Ray Lynn, Inez Lynn Hamilton had an unusual —and intentionally misleading — story that she would share with her grandchildren about her father’s death.

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Read more about the article Bad Dad
Joe Ashley, left, was killed in the shootout at the still and Albert Miller, right, was severely wounded. SANDRA MARiO PROVENCE ARCHIVE

Bad Dad

While the patch-eyed John Ashley is historically acclaimed as the leader of what became known as Florida’s notorious Ashley Gang, it was John’s suave father, Joe Ashley, who forged a path of criminality for John and his four brothers.

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Read more about the article Life on the run
John Ashley is shown here with a shotgun in the Florida backwoods, where as the leader of Florida's notorious Ashley Gang he spent much of his adult life evading lawmen. He based himself near his parents’ home in the piney flatwoods of Fruita, which he used as a pathway to the Everglades. SANDRA MARIO PROVENCE ARCHIVE

Life on the run

John Ashley spent much of his career as a criminal on the run, hiding out in the Everglades while in frequent communication with his family in Fruita

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