Clear Creek Township

Iowa Genealogical Society, 1994, Jasper County, Iowa, Cemeteries of Clear Creek Township, compiled by the Jasper County Genealogical Society –
"In 1862 a young girl named Jane Ashton died of consumption (Tuberculosis). Knowing that death was near, she asked to be buried by the wagon trail at the West edge of her father's homestead. She chose a spot where she had spent many days reading and resting during her long illness. On July 19th Jane died, and a grave was made on the Ashton farm in Section 22 of Clear Creek Township.
It was a beautiful spot, and soon others asked to bury their loved ones there. A peaceful wooded burying grounds was established. To make the gift official, James Ashton filed a deed in Newton on 02 December 1871, establishing a public cemetery. This ground became known as Ashton Cemetery.
Soon Jane Ashton's sister, Sarah Leonard, and her father, James Ashton, were buried there also. The cemetery has grown through the years, but it is still a quiet, beautiful place of rest for many pioneer families of the area.
There is a chapel located just East of the cemetery. Joseph Ashton and Charles Avery Leonard, grandsons of James Ashton, circulated a petition in 1897 asking for pledges for the erection of a church. Pledges were made ranging from twenty-five cents to one hundred dollars. In September a meeting was held to appoint a building committee and construction began.
Since the wagon trail along the west edge of the cemetery had been abandoned and a township road ran along the east of the cemetery, the church was built beside the road in a grove of oak trees. With $1500.00 and much donated labor Ashton Chapel became a reality. The chapel was associated with the Congregational Church for twenty five years and then became nondenominational. It is still active in 1994."