The saga of Amos Ash would read as an Horatio Alger story. From a young boy
  growing up in the post-war Missiouri area, he moved in 1884 ato the virgin land
  of promise, following closely on the heels of his favorite sister's family.
     He evidently arrived around the wintertime where he and a good friend shot
  quail for the Medicine Lodge Hotel, earning 25 cents a dozen, which paid for
  their shot and staples. They quickly erected a dugout near where in later years
  he and his own family would live. Mr. Ash hauled brick from Harper to build the
  Opera House.
     Mr. Ash returned late that spring to his boyhood home, Clark County, MO.,
  where he married Addie Jones, a childhood sweetheart. The newlyweds returned to
  his new home in Kansas. The rigors of pioneer life proved fatal to Addie, and
  their infant son, Andy, when they both died shortly after Andy's birth.
     In a couple of years, Amos pledged his lot with Miss "Belle" Wiley. From
  their humble beginnings, the Ashes carved out an enviable estate in life. To
  enrich this life to the highest degree, they were blessed with ten children.
     Amos Ash was in life a shrewd, honest judge of horseflesh, cattle, land, and
  the value of the dollar. From his simple 12 1/2 cent a week beginning, he
  amassed over two thousand acres of land and a sizable cash reserve. At a time
  in history when credit was non-existent, Amos was so known for his honesty that
  he could charge his grocery bill, paying it yearly.
     Amos and his wife, Belle, were devout members of the Medicine Lodge Christian
  Church. Doubtless this strong, lasting faith carried them through numerous
  tragedies - the loss of their three small girls, May, Grace and Ruth; plus the
  loss of property in several tornadoes and fires.
     In December, 1940, they were called on again to mourn the loss of their son,
  Arthur Earl, "Bud", who died at age 33, leaving his wife, Bertha (Snyder) and
  young family. A year later the family lost its patriarch. The old rancher being
  unable to win the battle agains what is even today the most dread of diseases -
  succumbed. To mourn him he left his wife and children: Orrin, born 1889,(married
  Gladys Aultman); Mrs. Ed (Anna) Duncan, born 1890; Harry, born 1892, (married
  Lyla Mason Cook); Mrs. George (Hazel) Smith, born 1894 - previously she was
  married to John Lindsay, deceased; Elmer, born 1901, (married Dolly Fillman);
  and Mrs. Herman (Mildred) Snyder, born 1904.
     Since the demise of Amos Ash, all his family except Hazel and Mildred have
  been called to their final reward and all except Elmer and Anna are buried in
  Highland Cemetery - the final resting place of the Ashes.
     Truly the Ashes and their kin have a right to be proud of such an industrious,
  honest ancestor - Amos Alexander Ash.
               
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 89 
     Submitted by: Amos Alexander Ash