Miss Eliza, as a child, attended school in a one-room school house at Pettus. Because she had to help her grandmother, she had to quit school when she was still in elementary school. She was unable to fullfil her dream of becoming a school teacher because she was unable to go to college.
Staying home and helping Grandma Johnson proved to be Mrs. Ashley's start on the road to success. Mr. W. K. Oldham, for whom Mrs. Ashley cooked, became Governor of Arkansas, and she became the cook at the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock and held that position for thirty-six years under seven Governors; Oldham, Cherry, Faubus, Bumpers, Pryor, White, and Clinton.
Mrs. Ashely wrote a very successful cook book entitled, "Thirty Years at the Mansion."
She attended St. John Baptist Church in Pettus and then St. John's Baptist in Lonoke.
Fried chicken, turnip greens, white beans, and sweet potatoes are Mrs. Ashley's favorite foods.
When asked what was the greatest advance made that changed her life she answered, "Getting out of the country!"
