ASH. __DANIEL HEINRICH ESCH, son of Frederick Wilhelm Esch and Anna Elizabetha, nee Ensperlin, of the Reformed Church, was born April 10, 1717; studied the business of an apothecary, his father's profession, with George Herman Enspeler, court, city, and land apothecary in the high countal residence, city of Neuweid, on the Rhone, 1737-39, and another year with Dr. Goebel, at Dierdorff, and in 1741, came to Pennsylvania, bringing a certificate from Wilhelm Frederick Schnabelins, the pastor of his church, at Hachenburg, dated June 3d of that year. This certificate, with others from the doctors under whom he served his apprenticeship, are now in the possession of his great-grandson, Franklin P. Ash, of West Chester. After his arrival here he married, but his exact residence is not stated. Persons of this name were living in the northern part of Chester County prior to 1740, who may have been related to him.

Daniel Heinrich Esch and Elizabeth, his wife, had two children,--Joseph, b. March 7, 1744, and John, b. March 7, 1747. Before the birth of the youngest child the father sailed for Germany, to look after an estate belonging to him; but the vessel was never heard of after. It was his design to take his child Joseph with him, but after going on board the ship he was prevailed upon to send the child back. His widow died about the year 1807.

Joseph Esch (or Ash, as it was anglicized) married Rachel Whitaker, a member of the West Caln Friends' Meeting, and the marriage being by a "priest" she made an acknowledgement to the meeting, 2, 17, 1769, and in the 12th month following received a certificate of removal to Concord Monthly Meeting. In the 9th month, 1774, she received a certificate back to Bradford Monthly Meeting. She was perhaps a sister to Phineas Whitaker, and a daughter of John and Dinah Whitaker. The children of Joseph and Rachel were thirteen in number: 1. John, m. Bathsheba Trego; 2. William, m. An Fisher; 3. Mary, m. Caleb Way; 4. Elizabeth, m. James Lowrey and Carvel Cooley; 5. Rachel, m. Jonathan Webb; 6. Joseph, died without issue; 7. Peter, m. Elizabeth Thomas; 8. Phineas, m. Eleanor Alexander; 9. Susan, m. John Ross; 10. Julia Ann, m. George Lawrence; 11. Sarah, m. Peter Schroff; 12. Daniel, died in infancy; 13. David, b. Oct. 21, 1789, m. Hannah Hayes.

William was the father of Phineas Ash, of West Caln; Peter was the father of Franklin P. Ash, ex-recorder of deeds, formerly of Oxford.

ASHBRIDGE, GEORGE, arrived at Philadelphia 5, 5, 1698, and in 1701 was living in Edgmont. He married, 8, 23, 1701, at Providence Meeting, Mary Malin, of Upper Providence, by whom he had issue: 1. John, b. 6, 1, 1702; m. 8, 2, 1732, Hannah Davies. 2. George, b. 12, 19, 1703-4; d. 3, 6, 1773; m. 8, 21, 1730, Jane Hoopes. 3. Jonathan, b. 9, 25, 1705. 4. Mary, b. 11, 10, 1710; m. Amos Yarnall. 5. Elizabeth, b. 12, 6, 1708-09; m. John Sharpless. 6. Aaron, b. 12, 25, 1712-13; m. 2, 21, 1737, Sarah Daveies, and again, 9, 4, 1746, Elizabeth Sullivan, a widow. He was a prominent citizen, a his last wife a noted minister among Friends. 7. Hannah, b. 2, 26, 1715; m. Joshua Hoopes. 8. Phebe, b. 8, 26, 1717; m. Richard Thomas and William Trimble. 9. Lydia, b. 11, 22, 1719-20; m. Ellis Davies. 10. Joseph, b. 5, 9, 1723; m. Priscilla Davis, 4, 8, 1749. Mary Ashbridge, the mother of these, d. 2, 15, 1728, anmd George m. again, 1, 6, 1729-30, Margaret Paschall, widow, and soon after removed from Goshen to Chester, where he died in 1748.

The children of John and Hannah Ashbridge were Jane, Jonathan, Elizabeth, John, Amos, Hannah, David, and Aaron. The father died 5, 21, 1747, and his widow in 1771.

GEORGE ASHBRIDGE (2) was elected to the Aseembly in 1743, and continued to be re-elected each year until his death, which occurred 3, 6, 1773. His children were,--1. Mary, b. 8, 4, 1731; m. Jesse Jones. 2. George, b. 1, 1, 1732-3; d. 10, 25, 1785; m. 12, 5, 1754, Rebecca Garrett. 3. William, b. 1, 2, 1734-5; d. 3, 14, 1775; m. Elizabeth Fletcher and settled at Frankford, PA. 4. Susanna, b. 7, 19, 1737, m. Williams Gibbons. 5. Phebe, b. 10, 16, 1739; m. Isaac Massey. 6. Jane, b. 8, 10, 1742; m. Jesse Maris. 7. Daniel, b. 7, 26, 1744, d. 8, 25, 1771;, m. Hannah Paul. 8. Joshua, b. 9, 17, 1746; d. 9, 4, 1820; m. 11, 4, 1773, Mary Davis, daughter of Lewis Davis, of Haverford, and remained at the homestead in Goshen. 9. Lydia, b. 12, 12, 1749; d. 7, 17, 1752.

GEORGE ASHBRIDGE (3) settled at Milltown, and had the following children: 1. Lydia, b. 11, 6, 1755; m. Joseph Malin. 2. Mary, b. 9, 13, 1758; m. Joseph Rhoads. 3. Susanna, b. 9, 30, 1761; m. John Fairlamb. 4. Jane, b. 10, 11, 1764; m. Samuel Downing. 5. Phebe, b. 9, 8, 1767, m. George Valentine. 6. George G., b. 8, 17, 1770; d. 8, 13, 1843;, m. 9, 25, 1811, Rachel V. Sharpless, daughter of Abraham and Phebe, of Aston, b. 6, 22, 1786; d. 8, 22, 1858. George and his brohther William sold the homestead in Milltown, and for a time engaged in the iron manufacture in Jersey. George died in East Caln, leaving children, Abraham S. and others. 7. William, b. 8, 2, 1773; m. Thomazine, daughter of Col. Richard Thomas, and resided in Philadelphia. His children were William, Mary, Jane, and Richard, of whom the latter now owns the old Thomas homestead in West Whiteland.

ASHENFELTER, HENRY. --Ashenfelter (originally Aschenfeldter or Eschenfeldter) is a German name, meaning an ash-field. Upon the Revolutionary militia-rolls of Philadelphia County are the names John, Ludowic, and Thomas. Henry Ashenfelter was born July 24, 1814, in Montgomery County, and was the son of Pater and Mary (Gotzwaltz) Ashenfelter. His mother was the daughter of Henry Gotzwaltz, who married the daughter of Christian, son of Heinrich Funk, the eminent theologian and author. Christian was also a distinguished divine. Heinrich had a celebrated religious work printed in Philadelphia in 1763, which was reprinted in Biel, in Switzerland, in 1844, and at Lancaster, Pa., in 1862. Christian's father, Henry Funck (Funk) settled on Indian Creek, in Montgomery County, in 1719, and was an eminent Mennonite preacher. He wrote another book, called Ein Spoegel der Taufe," printed at Germantown in 1744. He, with Dielman Kolb, on behalf of the Mennonites, supervised the translation from Dutch into German of the Martyr Book of Van Braght, published at Ephrata, Pa., in 1748, and the most imposing literary of colonial days.

Henry Ashenfelter's grandfather, Ludowic, was in the war of 1812. When five years old Henry removed to this country, and in 1824 began working, when only fourteen, in the Phoenix Iron-Works. He remained

in Phoenixville until 1832, than worked at the mouth of Wissahickon in re-ruling unsalable English bar-iron. He returned to Phoenixville and worked in the iron business until 1836, when he removed to Reading, where he helped to make the first nails manufactured there. Here he was two years a school director. In 1845 he returned to Phoenixville, where he was engaged in the mills (nailing-) until 1850, where he organized the Workingmen's Iron and Nail Company, by whom he was appointed inspector of mills. After his return from Reading he was school director five years. In 1852 he embarked in the railroad building as manager, and in 1853 became manager of differenet departments in the Phoenix Iron-Works and so continued to 1857. Since then he has been tax collector and asesessor. For the past nine years he has been in the school baord, and for five, its treasurer. He was four terms a notary public. He is a Republicanm active in his party and zealous for its success. He has been a member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 212, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, since its organization in 1847, and has passed all the chairs. Was a charter member of the Sons of Temperance, instituted in 1845. He was married, Dec. 20, 1836, to Martha Knerr, and has had the following children: Mary Emma, died young; George W., deceased; Hannah Maria, married to Isaac Laning, of Bridgeton, N.J.; S. M.,; and Martha Emily, married to David Moore, of the firm of Caswell & Moore.

Mr. Ashenfelter is one of the county's best citiziens, upright and public-spirited. He pays special attention to numismatics, in collecting rare and ancient coins, relics, etc. His son, George W., was first lieutenant of Company H, One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, and was wounded in the ankle at Fair Oaks, before Richmond, in 1862. He was subsequently promoted to be Captain, was a brave soldier, and died after the close of the war. His son,, S. M. Ashenfelter, graduated at Dickinson College in 1864. He then read law with ex-Mayor Peter McCall, of Philadelphia, and subsequently spent several years in South America, a portion of which was in the office of the United States consul at Guyaquil. He was all this time a correspondent of the New York Tribune. In 1867 he returned from South America and entered the law-office of Hon. J. B. Hawley (member of Congress), of Rock Island, Ill., where he completed his legal studies. In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant United States district attorney for New Mexico, which position he held until Mr. Hayes' administration. He edited the Grant County (New Mexico)Herald for several years, and is now editing and publishing the Daily Southwest, in Silver City. New Mexico. He is an enterprising young man, and well versed in the Spanish language.

This page updated on February 26, 2009