Ananias Bly (1847 - 1910)

Born 7 May 1847 in Fishers Hill, Shenandoah County, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Annie Catherine (Beeler) Bly — married 26 Sep 1885 in Shenandoah County, Virginia

Descendants

Died 11 Apr 1910 at age 62 in Fishers Hill, Shenandoah County, Virginia

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Biography

Ananias Bly, who was called "Nile" by friends and neighbors and "Uncle Nile" by his many nieces and nephews, was the fourth son of William and Susanna, and grew up on the Bly farm on Tumbling Run, west of Strasburg, Virginia.^[1] He was too young to enlist in the army during the Civil War but with his younger brother, Dan, took on many of the responsibilities of the family farm after the death of their father in 1863. On Christmas Day, 1869 he and his brother, Dan, were seriously wounded by the explosion of a mortar shell from which they were trying to extract the powder.^[2] Nile lost sight in one eye and his right hand was blown off. The quick action of a neighbor, William Copp, who applied a tourniquet probably prevented him from bleeding to death. In spite of his handicap, Nile Bly became known as one of the most industrious and well-respected farmers along the Back Road. Ezra Spiker, another highly respected man in the neighborhood, stated in a court case that security on a bond, by Ananias Bly " is as good as we have in our neighborhood."^[3] When Nile's sons got older he purchased a steam tractor and threshing machine for them to operate as a business. He also operated a distillery on his farm at the foot of Little North Mountain, west of Strasburg, Virginia.^[4] An obituary for him in the Shenandoah Herald states that "Ananias Bly, a prominent farmer, died suddenly Monday evening at his home near Top Not. Death was due to heart trouble."^[5] Annie died a year later from a reaction to anaesthesia while undergoing a minor operation on a toe. Nile and Annie are buried at Saint Stephens cemetery, along the Back Road, west of Strasburg, Virginia.^[6]

Sources

• Family Records from Granville F. Bly, Strasburg, Virginia, grandson.
• United States Census, 1900, Virginia, Shenandoah County: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7602/4117934_00100?pid=72409565&treeid=&personid=&rc=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=EVG24979&_phstart=successSource

Footnotes

1. ↑ William Bly Family Bible (photocopy attached) and United States Census, 1860, Virginia, Shenandoah County, family #2272, p. 332.
2. ↑ The story of this episode has been passed down in the families of Nile and Dan, but Levi Pitman recorded the specific date in his diary. "There was an accident happened at widow Bly's. Two of her sons were wounded by a shell bursting while they were extracting powder. Entry of December 25, 1869. Diaries of Levi Pitman, Levi Pitman Papers, Special Collections, Alderman Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.
3. ↑ Shenandoah County Chancery Causes: James H. Hoover vs. Leonidas Beeler, Noah Beeler, 1883-041, p. 36. Local Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
4. ↑ United States Census, 1900, Virginia, Shenandoah County, Davis Dist. family #200, p. 10.
5. ↑ Under "Strasburg" items, Shenandoah Herald, (Woodstock newspaper), April 15, 1910, p. 2.
6. ↑ See Duane L. Borden, Tombstone Inscriptions Strasburg and Vicinity Shenandoah County, Virginia, Denver, CO (1982), p. 258. Find A Grave: Memorial #125041447. Ananias and Annie share a tall obelisk monument.