Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I, Part 14

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 856

USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I > Part 14

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Ashley, William H .- Among the many picturesque and dashing Western characters who have either lived at St. Louis or had rela- tions with it, and whose adventures and ex- ploits illustrate the early history of the far West, there is none more picturesque and dashing than William H. Ashley. Without being inferior to any in the game and manly qualities for which they were all distinguished, he was superior to most of them in education and the acquirements and manners of polite society ; he was as accomplished a gentleman in the drawing room as he was a fearless ex- plorer and fighter in the Rocky Mountains- and it is not strange, therefore, that he has come to be recognized as chief among the class which embraced the Subletts. Bridger, Camp- bell, Smith and Fitzpatrick. Ashley was a Virginian, born in Powhattan County, in that State. in 1785. and, like many others of the

ASHLEY.

youth of the "Old Dominion" in that day, came to Missouri in quest of a fortune. He went to Ste. Genevieve in 1803, and engaged in the manufacture of saltpeter in Washington County. After a time he became a merchant, and then surveyor under General William Rector, the first surveyor general of Missouri, and in 1819 made his home in St. Louis. He owned a place of eight acres outside of the city on the north, near what is now the intersec- tion of Broadway and Biddle Street, where he built a spacious and stately mansion for those times, and which he made the seat of a free-handed hospitality. His experience as surveyor had given him information about valuable lands in the territory, and his name appears frequently in the records of the times as purchaser of property outside of the city. It is mentioned as proof of his high honor, and also as a conspicuous event in the history of the times, that a wealthy Englishman, William Stokes, who came to St. Louis in 1819 to make investments, deposited with Ashley $60,000, to be invested at his discretion. His popular manners and affable bearing, together with his capacity for business, made him in- fluential in the field of politics, and he was chosen Lieutenant Governor in the first elec- tion held in the State after its admission to the Union. For several years he was engaged in the fur trade, the most profitable as well as the most respectable business of that day, and in the prosecution of the business he exhibited all the enterprise, courage, daring and control over men which it demanded, and laid the foundation of the liberal fortune which af- forded him leisure for public affairs and social enjoyments. When Ashley embarked in the fur trade the American Fur Company was al- ready established in the region east of the Rocky Mountains, doing an extensive business and owning forts, at which it was accustomed to hold annual gatherings for the sale of goods and supplies and the purchase of skins from the Indians, hunters and trappers. These meetings were important events, and the com- pany had turned them to such good account in establishing friendly relations with the tribes and attaching the white trappers to its fortunes that it seemed like a hopeless task for an opponent to enter the field against it. But Ashley proved to be an antagonist able to hold his own in a contest even with this powerful company ; he was as generous as he was chiv- alric, and was singularly successful in attract-

ing choice young spirits to his standard, for he made their fortunes as well as his own. All the Subletts-Captain William L. and his three brothers-were associated with him, and so also were Robert Campbell, Bridger and Fitz- patrick. His first venture in the business was not only a failure, but a disaster as well. He had obtained a first-class barge at St. Louis, loaded it with a stock of goods, inchiding guns and ammunition, and carrying a full comple- ment of men, the boat being in charge of Jo- seph Labarge, and Ashley himself being in charge of the enterprise. All went smoothly until they reached the region inhabited by the Arrickaree Indians, who received the party with the usual signs of friendship and desired to trade. Ashley concluded to purchase horses from them and divide his force, sending one party with pack-horses direct overland to a point several hundred miles above on the river, while the other party continued to pro- ceed more slowly on the boat. But the treach- erous savages had no sooner supplied them- selves with weapons than they turned them against the whites, making an attack, unex- pected and without warning, upon the land party as it was getting ready to start. Ashley and his men bravely defended themselves, but they were taken at a disadvantage; several were killed and others wounded, and the In- dians captured their goods, packs and the very horses which they had sold them a few days before. At the beginning of the fight, and while the Indians were preparing to seize the barge, Captain Labarge cut the rope and pushed off, and in a few minutes the rapid cur- rent bore the craft out of reach. AAshley and the survivors of the land party managed to fight their way against the savages and inter- cept the boat some distance below and return with it to St. Louis. Notwithstanding this in- auspicious and disheartening beginning. Ash- ley organized a second expedition and sent it out into the Green River country. It was fortunate enough to escape attack from the Indians, but the venture did not prove success- ful. and Ashley found his resources greatly exhausted by the two successive failures, with nothing to show for all his ontlay and trouble. A man of tamer spirit would have withdrawn from the business and left the fur trade to the two great companies, the American and the Hudson Bay, which were already in the field. and whose supplies of men and means were practically unlimited. But Ashley was not

ASHTON-ASKEW.

made of tame material. He managed to send out another expedition, which was attended by a sinall measure of success. Another followed which yielded ample returns, and Ashley had the wisdom and self-control to retire on his fortune and turn the business overto his asso- ciates. Ilis policy in the conduct of the trade differed from that of the two great companies with which he had to compete in avoiding all commercial relations with the Indians. He dealt exclusively with white trappers and hunt- ers. These silent men were found all along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, pur- suing their vocation of trapping beaver on the headwaters of the Missouri, Platte and Green Rivers, and Ashley's plan of business was to attract them to his headquarters, provide them with supplies and pay them for their year's service, and take their skins and furs once a year at the annual meeting. One of his achievements was the hauling of a cannon, with an ox-team, a distance of twelve hundred miles to his fort in the mountains, and mount- ing it as a weapon of defense against the In- dians. When he drew out of the business with a generous fortune, the young men, Sublett, Campbell and others, whom he had taken into his service succeeded to it, organized the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and continued operations until they had met with as large a measure of success as their patron and friend had achieved. In 1831 General Ashley was elected to Congress to fill the unexpired term of Spencer Pettis, killed in the duel with Bid- dle, and at the succeeding election was chosen for a full term, and re-elected for a third term in 1834, making a congressional record of five years. IIis title of general, which is always associated with his name, comes from his ap- pointment as brigadier general in the Missouri militia. ITis first wife died in St. Louis in 1821, and he married Eliza B. Christy, daugh- ter of William Christy, and after her death he married Mrs. Wilcox, widow of Dr. Wilcox, and daughter of Dr. Maas, of Howard County. Hle died at St. Louis in 1839, in his fifty- fourth year, and his body was taken on the steamboat "Booneville," Captain Joseph La- barge, to his farm on Lamine River, Cooper County, where he owned a tract of 20,000 acres. He left no children, and this land passed into other hands, but his solitary grave is pointed out in the burial reservation of one acre on a beautiful eminence in sight of the Missouri River. He is described by those

who knew him as a man about five feet nine inches in height, and one hundred and thirty- five pounds in weight ; thin face and prominent Grecian nose, with an attractive presence and pleasant manners.

D. M. GRISSOM.

Ashton .- A hamlet on the Keokuk & Western Railroad, in Clark County, six miles northwest of Kahoka. It has a school, a church, two gristmills, a flourmill, two saw- mills, a distillery, hotel and two general stores. Population in 1899 (estimated), 175.

Askew, Frank, one of the pioneer found- ers of an important manufacturing industry, and especially conspicuous in public school es- tablishment during the formative period, was born January 9, 1837, at St. Clairsville, Ohio. His parents were Isaac and Elizabeth (Mc- Elroy) Askew, both natives of the village where their son was born. The father was de- scended from a Quaker family in Delaware, and was a saddle and harness manufacturer by occupation; the mother was of Scotch-Irish descent. Frank Askew began his education in a public school, prepared for college at Madison Seminary, at Antrim, Ohio, and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1858. At a reunion of the alumni of the latter named institution, held in Kansas City in 1900, he was the oldest alumnus present, and at that meeting was elected president of the associa- tion. His studies at college were intermitted to admit of him engaging in various occupa- tions ; he was for some time a clerk in a dry goods store, and again clerk in the office of the county auditor. After completing his educa- tion he was engaged in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas at St. Clairs- ville, and during this period he devoted him- self assiduously to a course of law-reading, but did not seek admission to the bar, al- though well prepared to pass a satisfactory ex- amination. He relinquished his position in April. 1861, and was commissioned lieutenant in the Seventeenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one of the first regiments organized at the outbreak of the Civil War. His com- mand served in West Virginia until the end of its three-months' term of enlistment. He then assisted in the organization of the Fifteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned captain. In Decem- ber, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and to that of colonel in

1 10 Truly 1. thank Celler

ASKEW.

July, 1864. At the close of the war lie re- ceived from the President the brevet of brig- adier general, "for gallant and meritorious services during the war." His service was with the famous Army of the Cumberland, and included the battles of Stone River-or Murfreesboro-Chickamauga, Franklin and Nashville, and all the connecting campaigns, including the operations about Atlanta, occu- pying more than three months of daily con- flict. During the last two years of the war he was almost constantly in command of his regiment, and was esteemed as a fearless and capable officer. Out of honor to the memory of his fallen comrades, and regard for those who survived, he maintains membership in Farragut-Thomas Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in the Missouri Comman- dery of the Military Order of the Loyal Le- gion. In 1866 he located in Kansas City, Missouri, and was one of the founders of the firm of Askew, Dubois & Co., dealers in leather, hides and harness hardware. Asso- ciated with him in the firm was his uncle, Wil- liam, and his brother, Wilson Askew. In 1873 Mr. Dubois retired, and the firm became W .. W. & F. Askew. That year was begun the manufacture of harness and saddles, the man- ufacturing department being under the man- agement of Wilson Askew, a practical harness- maker. In 1878 William Askew retired, and the business was continued by the brothers under the firm name of Askew Brothers. In 1894 the business was incorporated under the name of the Askew Saddlery Company, with Wilson Askew as president and treasurer, and Frank Askew as vice president and secretary, this constituting the present organization. From an employed force of a half dozen men, when the manufactory was established, the first in its line in the Missouri Valley, the num- ber has grown to one hundred and thirty-five men, of whom one hundred are operatives. The product of the house, a specialty of which is the Askew saddle, of various designs and weights, noted for excellence of material and skill in workmanship, finds a market in the remotest districts reached by Kansas City trade. In politics a Republican, General Askew has never taken part in political man- agement, nor aspired to a political office. He is held in high honor for his distinguished service in behalf of popular education, cover- ing eight years of rapid development, not comparable with any like period in magnitude

of accomplished results and large outlay of means. In 1879 he became a member of the board of education, and was chosen chairman of the building committee of that body, occu- pying that position during the continuance of his membership. Loyally devoted to the im- portant interests committed to him, he gave them the major part of his time and energy, relegating his personal concerns to second place. During his term of office the number of teachers and pupils in the public schools was something more than trebled, and he was the prime mover in laying designs to provide suitable school accommodations for these largely increased numbers, and personal di- rector of the work of construction. Among the school buildings erected were the Karnes, Chace, Switzer, Garfield, Bryant, Adams, Webster and the New Central, and numerous and costly additions were made to all old school buildings. During the same period the Public Library was placed upon a sub- stantial foundation under the operations of a new State law authorizing support out of means provided by boards of education. The entire outlay during this period, for new build- ings and betterments, was about $300,000. In 1886, when all requirements for material school facilities had been fully met, and his own business pressed urgently upon his atten- tion, General Askew tendered his resignation, which was reluctantly accepted, his former as- sociates commending him upon their records as "a faithful and intelligent member, who has . contributed much to the success of the schools, and whose valuable service the district can illy afford to lose." General Askew was mar- ried. November 10, 1870, to Miss Mary Upde- graff, a well educated and cultured lady, daughter of David Updegraff, for many years an active real estate operator in Kansas City. Mrs. Askew died April 18, 1898. She was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Four children were born of this marriage: Francis D., educated at the Ohio State Uni- versity, is a bookkeeper for the Askew Sad- dlery Company ; Arthur B., died at the age of six months ; Mary, wife of Hal C. Whitehead, was educated in a private seminary in Kansas City and at Smith's College, at Northampton, Massachusetts; Ralph Kirk, graduated from Andover College in 1897, completed the course of study in the Kansas City Law School in 1900, and is connected with the Askew Sad- dlery Company. General Askew is a fine

ASKEW-ASPER.

type of manhood, erect in stature, and active in both physical and mental operations. In possession of a rare equability of mind and well tempered judgment, his conduct of busi- ness is characterized by promptness and ac- curacy, yet with simplicity and avoidance of all appearance of self-sufficiency. He holds to the highest ideals of personal integrity and gentility in intercourse with others, and is es- teemed among the most honored and trust- worthy of the many noble men whose lives have been given to the upbuilding of a city which is a marvel in the history of the country.

from a disease contracted during his service in camp and on the field. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted in Company A, Twenty- fifth Ohio, and in May, 1862, was promoted to the position of first lieutenant of his company. In October of the same year he was advanced to the rank of captain, in command of Com- pany I of the same regiment. He was in the Union service twenty-five months, and expe- rienced the terrors of the battles of Chancel- lorsville. Second Bull Run and other engage- ments that live in history as among the most bloody of the war. Thus was Mr. Askew's life interrupted, in his effort to succeed in a business capacity, by the stern duties of strife in defense of his country. Notwithstanding the interruptions, however, he followed each term of service with renewed determination and fresh vigor, and before his death had es- tablished a reputation as one of the most suc- cessful business men in the entire West. He was married in 1867 to Miss Laura E. Patton, of St. Clairsville, Ohio. She died January 12, 1900. They had one son, John W. Askew, who died at the age of seven years. The sub- ject of these lines was esteemed by his fellow- men and honored by all who were acquainted with his methods and dealings.

Askew, William, was born November 18. 1824, in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and died Jan- uary 26, 1900, at his home in Kansas City, Missouri. He was one of the pioneer manu- facturers of Kansas City, and his name is familiar in all parts of this and other countries on account of its association with standard leather goods, harness and saddles. He was the youngest of four brothers, had the advan- tage of only a meagre education and was typically a self-made man. At the age of fif- teen he was apprenticed to the saddler's trade for a term of six years. In 1848, after recov- ering from the effects of the Mexican War, in which he performed valiant service, he went into the nursery business with his father. Asper, JJoel H., lawyer, journalist, sol- dier and member of Congress, was born in Adams County, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1822, and died in Livingston County, Missouri, Oc- tober 1, 1872. While still a child his parents re- Then came the Civil War, for which he promptly enlisted, and at the close of his serv- ice he engaged in the tanning business. In 1866 he removed to Kansas City, and resided there until his death. He engaged in the har- . moved to Ohio, and he received a common ness, saddlery and leather business, retiring school education in that State, studied law, and in 1844 was admitted to the bar. In 1846 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and in 1848 was sent as a delegate to the Buffalo Freesoil Convention. His tastes ran to news- paper life, and while he lived in Ohio he was editor of the "Western Reserve Chronicle." In 1850 he removed to Iowa and published the "Clarendon Democrat." In 1861 he raised a company and entered the Union service, and was wounded in the battle of Winchester, Vir- ginia. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel for gallant conduct. In 1864 he came to Missouri and published the Chillicothe "Spec- tator." In 1868 he was a delegate to the Na- tional Republican Convention at Chicago, and the same year was elected. from the Seventh Missouri District, to the Forty-first Congress as a Radical Republican, by a vote of 15,272 to 8,029 for Oliver, Conservative. from active connection with mercantile af- fairs in 1878. The name of Askew is well known wherever harness and saddles are used. The reputation of the great establishment founded by this man is familiar in the world of manufacture and trade, and under the man- agement of his successors the house has con- tinned to flourish and grow. Mr. Askew accumulated a large fortune and owned much real estate and personal property in Kansas City and other places at the time of his death. At the age of twenty-one he enlisted for sery- ice in the Mexican War, the year being 1846, and he rose to a commission rank in the com . mand of Colonel Curtis, of the Third Ohio Regiment. At the expiration of a year, his term of enlistment having come to an end, Mr. Askew returned to his home in Ohio, and there, for vighteen months, lay seriously ill

ASSAYER'S OFFICE-ASSOCIATED CHARITIES.

Assayer's Office, United States .- The United States Assayer's Office main- tained in St. Louis occupies rooms in the old Customhouse Building, and was established by act of Congress approved February 1, 1881. The purpose of its maintenance is to facilitate the conversion of gold bullion into gold coins of the United States. The gold is brought here in the shape of bullion from all parts of the West, and its weight and fineness are de- termined by the assaver, who forwards it to the United States mints. As no charge is made at the mints for converting gold bullion into United States coins, the owner of bullion accepted for the mints through the St. Louis assay office receives at once a warrant on the United States Subtreasury for the full amount of money which the assayer has ascer- tained can be coined from his bullion. The transaction is like that in which the farmer takes his wheat to the mill and, instead of waiting for his own grain to be ground and re- turned to him, accepts from the miller the amount of flour which his wheat would make, except that the miller takes toll for converting wheat into flour, while the government does not take toll for converting gold bullion into coins. When the bullion sent from the St. Louis assay office reaches the mint it is reas- sayed, and so accurate are the established gold measurements that it is said there has never been a difference of one cent between the values shown by the mint and the St. Louis assay office. For each standard ounce of gold deposited at the assay office by the bullion- owner the assayer is authorized to return to him $18.60, and for each fine ounce of gold $20.67, these being the values of the metal fixed in the money markets of the world, and also the values respectively represented by the coins made from an ounce of standard or fine gold. Although the transactions of the assay office amount in effect to purchases of gold bullion for coinage, the gold is not really pur - chased. It is, in fact, measured by the assayer, who determines how many dollars it will make and gives the man who deposits the bullion that many dollars in exchange for it. Thus. if the depositor leaves at the assay office an amount of gold bullion which will make ten double eagles, he is given a warrant which will enable him to draw from the United States Treasury ten twenty-dollar gold pieces, or two hundred dollars in United States currency, in- stead of waiting for his own gold to be coined

and returned to him. To enable him to make these advances, the assayer has such amounts placed to his credit at the Treasury from time to time as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct. Prior to the enactment of the law of 1893, which suspended the coinage of silver dollars, purchases of considerable quantities of silver bullion for coinage purposes were made at the United States Assayer's Office in St. Louis, the price paid from time to time being governed by market quotations. Since the passage of that act no silver bullion has been purchased. Considerable gold coming to the office in the shape of jewelry is accepted at its bullion value. A description of the apparatus and operations of the assay office would be too long and technical to be given in this connec- tion, but it may be said that what impresses a visitor most is the wonderful accuracy of the weighing scales. Some of the weights are so infinitesimal that a breath blows them away, and even a pencil mark on paper is heavy enough to turn these delicate scales.

Associated Charities of Kansas City .- An association formed to bring into intimate relation the various charitable agen- cies of Kansas City and vicinity, to facilitate the bringing together under one management of societies doing similar work ; to encourage and promote the labors of all charitable work- ers ; to inform the public in regard to the gen- eral work of local charitable organizations ; to exchange information with charitable or- ganizations throughout the United States or elsewhere; to discourage solicitation for un- worthy charities and duplication of relief ; to make investigations for charitable organiza- tions and charitably inclined individuals; to keep a record of the work of all such chari- table organizations for their use and benefit, and to promote the general welfare and self- dependence of the poor by voluntary friendly visits, by encouraging the accumulation of small savings and otherwise. It is not the purpose to interfere with the management of any charitable organization, or to administer relief from its own treasury. Each charitable association, whose purposes and work are ap- proved by the associated charities, annually elects one member thereto - the mayor of Kansas City is a member ex officio-these elect by ballot a sufficient number to make the membership thirty-three, the restricted con- stitutional number. The association was

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Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I, Part 14

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n Publication date: 1901 Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors Number of Pages: 856

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 856