DEADLY CONSEQUENCES

A 10-Day Digital series from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, 2024, the 100th anniversary of the end of the Ashley Gang

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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

John Ashley’s great niece shares memories of her infamous family

BY GREGORY ENNS

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.

For starters, you didn’t talk to strangers, and you didn’t share information about the family.

“Growing up my grandmother always told me you can’t trust people,” Sandra said. “Don’t trust anyone, and don’t talk to anyone about your family. Your family business stays in your circle.”

Sandra’s grandmother, Lola Ashley, was one of John Ashley’s eight siblings. She was born blind and didn’t begin attending school until the age of 12, when she entered the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine. She graduated in 1918 at the age of 24. “She’d take the train back and forth to school every semester and her sisters would always take her there and pick her up,” Sandra said.