sentences:  Ashe County did not formally become a part of North Carolina until 1785.In late 1799 composed of 977 square miles, Ashe was finally pronounced an official county of the United States and of North Carolina.Many family surnames noted in the 1800 Ashe County Census, Blevins, Hart, Bare, Barker, Stamper, Miller, Burkett, Gambill, Baldwin, and Ballou as a sample, are still present today.