As one drives around on our older city streets, if any thought is given to a street’s name, it most likely arises from that annoying, tiny voice of a child going through the “Why” stage. (We’ve all been there!) Lucky are the ones who have the correct response, as the adult curiosity for that kind of trivia wanes through the years, and those who knew the answer have passed on with the stream of time.

During George Washington’s horrid winter at Valley Forge, a member of his suffering army was Joseph Asbury, a very principled and disciplined man, which is attested to by his five years of service during the American Revolution under General Washington. A Virginian, he never left the state of his nativity, but his son, Benjamin, was one of the thousands who migrated from Virginia on the Wilderness Road over the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains into Kentucky. Benjamin traveled on into Indiana where he and his wife, Polly, whose grandfather had been a sergeant serving under General Broadhead during the Revolution, had a son, one of five children, born April 4, 1841. With their lives defined by their patriot ancestors, they named their new son William Henry Harrison, as the baby was born on the day President Harrison died: The first president to die in office.

Benjamin, a blacksmith by trade, brought his family to Monroe County where they set down roots. When the Civil War broke out, Benjamin, being too old for regular service, joined the famous Iowa Greybeards as did Wapello County’s Curtis King, the oldest man to serve in the Civil War from either side, while Benjamin’s son and presidential namesake, enlisted at Bloomfield and became a member of Co. E, Third Iowa Cavalry.

When his enlistment expired, William Henry Harrison Asbury turned to farming and then to working with his brother for three years in the drug business in Blakesburg. On Jan. 1, 1870, he was made deputy sheriff of Wapello County. This was the jumping off place for the energetic 28-year-old to begin making a name for himself in Wapello County politics and business. After his stint in the sheriff’s office, he became the county deputy treasurer and subsequently was elected to a four-year term as county treasurer. When that expired, became the deputy treasurer for the second time.

By 1880, the community was in an expansive growth spurt, and he became interested in the purchase and sale of real estate and insurance. In 1889, he was named the Internal Revenue Collector for this district, but kept his fingers in the real estate business pie with his office in the Taylor Building at the corner of Main and Court streets. He developed a very profitable partnership with John Mowery, president of the Ottumwa National Bank, and subsequently serving as president of the Wapello County Savings Bank, as well as CEO of four banks in surrounding towns at the same time. They became heavily involved in the sale of blocks, acres and lots in West Ottumwa — “The cheapest and best property in or about the city. High and Dry. Level and Beautiful.”

But, it is on Ottumwa’s south side where Asbury and Mowery are remembered with Asbury Circle, Asbury Avenue and Mowery Avenue.

In 1910, Asbury, a Mason, member of Cloutman Post, GAR and Sons of the American Revolution, was made the census supervisor for this district with 160 employees under him. He and his wife, Mary, had four children with only one surviving barely to adulthood, passing away at the age of 22 in 1903.

Certainly, there are other streets here that are named for descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers, but if anyone asks about Asbury Circle and Asbury Avenue, this is enough information about William Henry Harrison Asbury to provide a history lesson on westward migration and expansion after the Revolutionary War, leading to the settlement and growth of Iowa, Wapello County and Ottumwa.

However, the little “Why” voice would just be satisfied with one sentence unless the voice continues with “Why,” which can often be the case!

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Sue Parrish is a retired museum director, author of the book “Days Gone By” and current president of the Wapello County Historical Society.