Early life

John Ash was born circa 1821 in Ormskirk

Ormskirk

Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to father William Ash. He attended Guy's Hospital

Guy's Hospital

Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...

 in Southwark, London

London Borough of Southwark

The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...

, where he met John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken was a British Columbia physician who played a prominent role in bringing the province into Canadian Confederation...

, a future key player in the joining of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 to the Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

. In 1845 Ash became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons

Royal College of Surgeons of England

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...

 and the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries

Worshipful Society of Apothecaries

The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...

. From 1849 to 1860, he practised medicine Coxwold

Coxwold

Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote A Sentimental Journey....

, before emigrating to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1862, arriving in Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. On approximately July 31, 1863, Ash's wife Dorothy Agar gave birth to a daughter, Annie Freer, in the Esquimalt home of John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken was a British Columbia physician who played a prominent role in bringing the province into Canadian Confederation...

.

Political career

In 1865 Ash was elected as a junior member for the Esquimalt District in the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island

Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island

The Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island was the colonial parliamentary body that was elected to represent voters in the Colony of Vancouver Island. It was created in 1856 after a series of petitions were sent to the colonial office in London protesting the Hudson’s Bay Company’s proprietary...

. It is believed that the reason he gained this seat was because of his connections with John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken was a British Columbia physician who played a prominent role in bringing the province into Canadian Confederation...

 and the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 (whose employees made up the majority of the constituency's population). In effect, Ash owed his position in the House of Assembly to these two connections. Upon the union of the two colonies of Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

 and British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 in 1866, the House of Assembly of Vancouver Island was abolished. In 1868, Ash's only child Annie died of diphtheria

Diphtheria

Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...

, aged five. After British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 entered the Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

 in 1871, Ash was elected to the provincial legislative representing the riding of Comox

Comox

Comox is a name from the Kwak'wala language, meaning "plenty" and "riches". The Kwakwaka'wakw people of British Columbia, Canada applied it as a metonym to the Salish people living in the area of the present-day town of the same name...

 the very next year, on December 23, 1872. He was immediately appointed to the Executive Council

Executive Council

Executive Council may refer to:In government:* Executive Council , a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor.* Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern....

 in Amor De Cosmos

Amor De Cosmos

Amor De Cosmos was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. He served as the second Premier of British Columbia.-Early life:...

's government as provincial secretary (as well as minister of mines from 1874), and retained this position until the resignation of the government of George Anthony Walkem

George Anthony Walkem

George Anthony "Boomer" Walkem was a British Columbian politician and jurist.Born in Newry, Ireland, Walkem moved to then Colony of British Columbia in 1862 and served as a member of the appointed Legislative Council of British Columbia from 1864 to 1870 and was a supporter of Canadian confederation...

 on January 27, 1876. In 1882 Ash decided to not seek re-election.

In 1874, Ash's wife Dorothy died. He married the next year, but his new wife Adelaide died in 1881 of malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

. After his retirement from politics, Ash continued to practise medicine, until his death from apoplexy

Apoplexy

Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...

on April 17, 1886 at age 65.