Ash, Abram

ASH

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 13:15:06

ABRAM ASH
born Jan 11, 1845, Indiana

Abram Ash, who owns and operates a valuable farm in Greenfield township, Warren county, is numbered among the valued and progressive citizens of this community. His life has been well spent, his integrity is above question, his business dealings ever straightforward and honorable, and he therefore has the confidence and good will of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
Mr. Ash was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, January 11, 1845, and is descended from German ancestors, who located in America at a very early day in the history of this country. The grandfather of our subject was a native of Pennsylvania, and emigrating to Maryland became one of the pioneers of the region in which he located. He was a millwright by trade, and followed that occupation throughout his active business life. With the spirit of the pioneer strong within him, he emigrated Westward to Indiana, becoming one of its early settlers and valued citizens. There he spent his remaining days. Michael Ash, the father of our subject, was born in Maryland, in 1810, and in early life went to Virginia, where he met and married Miss Sarah Hass, a native of the Old Dominion. In 1837 he removed with his family to the Hoosier State, taking up his residence in Tippecanoe county when much of its land was still in the possession of the Government and the settlements were widely scattered. There he established a home and continued his residence until 1852. when he once more started Westward, and in that year became a resident of Warren county, Iowa. He is numbered among the early settlers of Greenfield township, where he purchased a tract of undeveloped land at four dollars per acre. Very little of the land had been turned by the plowshare, and no improvement had been made upon this place; but with characteristic energy he began its development and soon transformed it into well-tilled fields. He was a quiet, industrious and enterprising man who won success in his well directed efforts and gained the esteem and good will of the community by his sterling qualities and upright life. In the early days he was a strong adherent of the Whig party, but when the Republican party sprang into existence he transferred his fealty to the new organization. His death occurred in 1887, at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife yet survives him, and at the age of eighty-one is still living in Warren county. They were the parents of six children: William H.H., who is living in Greenfield township, Warren county; John C., of Des Moines; Sarah, wife of E.J. Yount, of Linn township, Warren county; Martha, wife of Ambrose Dowell, of Cass county; and David, who is living in California. Our subject spent the first seven years of his life in the State of his nativity, and then accompanied his parents on their emigration to Iowa, having since been a resident of Warren county. He was reared to the duties of farm life, and in 1878, when he started out to make his own way in the world, he continued at the same pursuit. He has prospered in his undertakings, and through his own efforts has acquired a comfortable property. He now owns a fine farm of 150 acres, and in addition to general farming he is quite extensively engaged in stock-raising, making a specialty of the breeding of thoroughbred Poland China hogs. He now has two hundred head on his place, including some of the finest specimens of this breed to be found in the State. His enterprise and public spirit are well appreciated in this region and he is numbered among the successful men of the day.
In December, 1882, Mr. Ash married Miss Belle Handley, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of John and Esther (Croskey) Handley. Her parents have three children, - John, who is now living in Greenfield townshi,p Warren county; Lizzie, wife of J.A. Frazier, of Lincoln township, Warren county; and Mrs. Ash. The Handleys were of an old Ohio family. The father died at the age of eighty-one years, but the mother is living with her son John, at the age of sixty-six. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ash has been blessed with four children: Charles, Robin, Howard, and Esther, all yet at home.
Mr. Ash exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, and his fellow citizens, appreciating his worth and ability, have frequently called him to public office. He has served as School Director for some years, has also been Road Supervisor, and is now serving his fourth year as one of the Trustees of Greenfield township. He is a public spirited citizen, taking a deep interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community and its upbuilding. He is a man of noble qualities and genuine worth. and in the history of his adopted State well deserves representation.
Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.296

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.645
ABRAM ASH
Abram Ash, who owns and operates the farm of one hundred and ten acres on section 26, Greenfield Township, where he now resides, and also one hundred and thirty acres of land on another section, was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, near Lafayette, on the 11th of January 1845, the son of Michael and Sarah (Hass) Ash. The father was a native of Maryland, where he was born in 1810. His parents crossed the Potomac River into Virginia, where they took up their residence when he was but a child. His father, John Ash, was a millwright and carried on a flouring and sawmill business. There Michael Ash was reared and grew to manhood and wedded Sarah Hass. The young couple later removed to Indiana, shortly thereafter locating in Tippecanoe County, where Michael Ash and his brothers and sisters were among the first settlers. There he engaged in farming for some years when the fame of the rich soils of Iowa reached him and in 1852 he left Indiana and removed to Warren County. Here he bought a farm of two hundred acres, on which he erected good buildings and converted it into a most excellent home for himself and family. Here he spent his remaining years and passed away in January 1887. His wife survived him for about four years, her death occurring in 1891. Of this union four sons and two daughters are still living.
Abram Ash was but seven years of age when his parents came to Iowa and here he was reared, receiving his education in the public schools. He remained with his father until thirty-three years of age, carrying on the work of the farm and taking care of his parents. In 1872 he bought the land where he now resides. On December 29, 1881, he was married to Miss Belle Handley, a daughter of John Handley, one of the early settlers from Ohio, who was born and reared in this county. Prior to his marriage, Mr. Ash built a good house on the land he had bought, which at the time of his purchasing it had but an old log cabin on it. Due to his thrift, good management and industry, Mr. Ash prospered in his work and was shortly able to purchase an additional forty acre tract, and still later ninety acres more, thus making up the one hundred and thirty acres referred to above. In connection with his farming Mr. Ash raises high grade shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses and has built up an enviable reputation for the handling of high grade stock. Mr. Ash has every reason to feel proud of the success to which he has attained, as he began at the foot of the ladder, and it is due wholly to his own efforts. He went in debt for his land, doing this all the more fearlessly as he well understood the character of the soil and knew about what he could depend upon from it, and the results have shown the soundness of his judgment in this regard.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ash have been born three sons and one daughter. Charles, the eldest son, is the cashier of a bank at Spring Hill. He was educated at Simpson College. Robert, a business man of Spokane, Washington, also received his education at Simpson College, of which he is a graduate. Howard is in a railroad office at Portland, Oregon. Esther resides at home with her parents.
Mr. Ash gives his political support to the Republican party but he has never sought office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his farming and stock-raising interests. He has now been a resident of Warren County for fifty-six years and is a worthy representative of that class of citizens who lead quiet, industrious, honest and useful lives, and constitute the best portion of a community.