Family:Charles Ashton and Mary Haverfield (1)

CHARLES ASHTON
Charles Ashton hated shame and sin, and loved God and righteousness. He had great ability to express himself vigorously, either orally or with his pen. His courage, energy and militant spirit prompted him to combat every cause or project which he conceived to be wrong or unwise, and he usually did so with such vehemence and facts as to discomfit those who opposed him, and to bring approval of his own views and a large following. He had a tinge of the Puritan, and the intolerance that he sometimes manifested was bred in him from his long and successful pastorate in the M. E. church. He sought to hold everybody to a high standard of good and pure living. His was a very useful character in developing and establishing a new center of social life.
He was a member of the "Iowa Columbian Commission," representing the ninth congressional district, and was chairman of the "Archaeological, Historical and Statistical committee." He was largely responsible for Iowa's building and showing at the Exposition, and he formulated and prepared the report of the commission which is a very useful and valuable record, containing four hundred twenty-five pages, a 25.000 edition of which has long since been exhausted. The prominence and success of the showing of the state at this fair placed the state in the front rank of the states and countries participating in the exposition, and brought to the state of Iowa the attention of the world, and it was largely due to Mr. Ashton's labors and genius in bringing together the facts and material showing the resources and civilization of his beloved Iowa.
As illustrative of his characteristics I quote two sentences from one of his editorials.
"We have no patience with the foolishness of populist (socialistic) political ideas that are framed on the idea that the government should furnish the meal and bake the cake and see that it is baked in a first-class cookery style while the chap that is to eat it stands with folded hands looking on. We have ever found that when we waited for Providence to turn things up they often didn't turn; but when we went at it to turn things up we turned something up at least."
It may be well said that, so far as the influence and impress of any one mind upon the people of Guthrie Center during the decades included in the article are concerned, his was the greatest and most useful of them all.
To be able, as this man did, to mould the thoughts of men and drive them to a better life and to push society onto higher levels of progress and righteousness by the very power of his character, arguments and assemblage of facts, shows the mark of genius.
He was born in England. June 2, 1823, and died at Guthrie Center, August 26, 1903.