Researcher: Marielle Daignault, Stuyvesant '25

Charles Everett Ashley was born on September 21st, 1913 in the industrial Georgian city of Columbia. As a child, he was surrounded by factory workers, and soldiers from the nearby Fort Benning. Living along the Savannah River in this production-heavy town, he was consistently exposed to seamen and port workers, which may have influenced his draw towards the ocean. Ashley filed for his seamen’s protection certificate while he was still in high school, his mom supportively signed his application to become a merchant sailor, and he left for sea at only seventeen.


Port records from Ellis Island show Ashley signing into the port as a “cleaner” or “wiper” on many of his voyages, starting in 1932. From these records, it’s clear his ship, The Olympia, frequented the same route: from Southampton England to New York city and back. From 1932-1935 he completed this journey many times. Due to his irregular schedule, Ashley never owned a residence in New York, but he rented or stayed with friends at 68 Barrow St whenever he was in the city between journeys. His on and off living in this Greenwich village apartment exposed him to things he’d never seen in Georgia. A notoriously hip and artistic neighborhood full of liberal youths, Ashley may have frequented bars and passionately discussed communism and antifascism with his peers. After a few years following this pattern, he is noted to have visited the Southeast coast of South America in 1936, where he visited Rio, Buenos Aires, Uruguay and Trinidad. Seeing this new angle of the world may have excited him and pushed him to break from his monotonous cycle, as his last arrival in New York City was December of 1936, after which he left his life at sea and likely started planning for Spain soon thereafter. Ashley’s time in New York City planted seeds of liberal ideology in his mind, and his journey to exotic new places inspired him to do something new. With many of his liberal friends in New York soon on their way to Spain, he knew just what he wanted to do.


Ashley’s upbringing around factory workers later affected the ideology he adopted; he registered for the Communist Party of the USA in 1936 while stopped in New York. Once he left his sea service, he coordinated with the party to make his way to Spain. In June of 1937, Ashley took a train to Montreal from NYC, and is recorded to have left for France on the 18th of June (Abraham Lincoln Brigade archives state he rode aboard the RMS Alaunia on June 8th, but there was no record of this journey. There was however a Canadian Pacific Line ship that left from Quebec to France on June 16th which he is more likely to have been on). His brother, Walter, reported Charles's journey to Canada to the state department, hoping to have him apprehended before he could make the journey to the war-torn Spain. Nothing came of this request however, and after traveling through France and sneaking across the Pyrenees, Ashley arrived in Spain on July 5th, 1937.


Fitting with his experience at sea, while in Spain Ashley served in the Service Sanitaire or “Sanitation services” for the Republican Army. This organization worked to provide medical relief and prevent disease or epidemic during these difficult times. They were not well funded, and many anarchists leading the republican forces were against the so-called “bourgeoisie medicine” of the nationalist side. Franco’s armies did indeed receive several vaccines, which only further reinforced their advantages over the often infection-ridden Republican Army. Still, the Service Sanitaire did their best to control the spread of illness and ensure safe conditions for the troops. Ashley provided his aid in the Spanish county of Teruel, a key location in the fight against fascism.


From the outbreak of war, Teruel was a fiercely disputed territory. With its location between key cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, both sides fought desperately for the region. After months of planning, the Republican forces launched an attack on the fascist-ruled area on December 15th of 1937. Only a week later, the city fell, a glorious victory for the loyalists. Ashley likely served on this front, providing support, then moved further into the region with the rest of the forces in late December. The loyalists celebrated a very merry Christmas in Teruel, but their happiness was short-lived. Only about two months later, the city was recaptured by rebel armies on February 22nd. Ashley didn’t live to witness this tough loss however, as he died on January 25th of 1938. He was not a combatant, so it’s unclear how he may have died; perhaps through an infection he contracted while treating sick soldiers, or a stray bullet as he provided medical support on the borders of the territory, which had remained an active battleground through much of January. There is no record of his grave in Spain, or in the US if his family had him transported home for burial, so unfortunately he is likely buried in a mass grave in Teruel. Only twenty-four when he died, Ashley’s life was all too brief, but he lived it well, traveling the world and fighting for his beliefs. With this account, his story will not be forgotten.

Sources

“Ashley, Everett Charles | the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.” The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, 9 Dec. 2019, alba-valb.org/volunteers/everett-charles-ashley/. Accessed 2 May 2025.


Barona, Josep L, and Enrique Perdiguero-Gil. “Health and the War: Changing Schemes and Health Conditions during the Spanish Civil War.” Dynamis, vol. 28, no. 0211-9536, 2025, pp. 103–126, scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0211-95362008000100005. Accessed 2 May 2025.


Eccles, Sarah. “Greenwich Village in the 1930s and Today - Village Preservation.” Village Preservation - Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, 21 Sept. 2021, www.villagepreservation.org/2021/09/21/greenwich-village-in-the-1930s-and-today/. Accessed 2 May 2025.


Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives - GG Archives. “SS Empress of Australia Passenger List - 16 June 1937 | GG Archives.” Ggarchives.com, 2025, www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/Passengers/CPR-CPOS/EmpressOfAustralia-PassengerList-1937-06-16.html. Accessed 2 May 2025.


“Join Ancestry®.” Ancestry.com, 2021, www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7488/records/23048175?tid=&pid=&queryId=430fb37c-81d9-4163-b8c2-4387700c17fb&usePUBJs=true. Accessed 2 May 2025.


“Join Ancestry®.” Ancestry.com, 2021, www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7488/records/2015005401?tid=&pid=&queryId=ea8f28be-afe1-4c18-8e8c-cb9b90916c3d&usePUBJs=true. Accessed 2 May 2025.


Kimmelman, Michael. “Greenwich Village, Storied Home of Bohemia and Gay History.” The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/arts/design/greenwich-village-history.html.


“Teruel Renews Ancient Role in War for Freedom.” The Volunteer for Liberty , vol. II, no. 1, 3 Jan. 1938, p. 2. NYU Special Collections .


“The Military Situation Today.” The Volunteer for Liberty , vol. II, no. 6, 23 Feb. 1938, p. 8. NYU Special Collections .