William Ashmore Sr. was born in Ohio and graduated in 1845 from Denison University (then called Granville College), and from Covington Theological Seminary in 1848. He was appointed a missionary to Bangkok, Siam in 1849 and arrived there in 1851. He had married Martha Ann Sanderson in 1850. He was appointed to open a new station in mainland China, but Ann died and he returned to America, where he remained until 1863. That same year he also married Eliza Dunlevy of Lebanon, Ohio. Eliza died in 1885, while the Ashmores were again in the U.S. Until 1888 he was at Swatow and in 1886 he was elected corresponding secretary of the Missionary Union, but he resigned the post to return to the field. He married Charlotte A. (Mrs. Nathan) Brown, his third wife, at Yokohama in 1890. On his eightieth birthday, he and William Jr. presented a site and funds to erect a building at Swatow for his theological school, Ashmore Theological Seminary. William Sr. left China in 1903, after 53 years of service, and passed away in Toledo, Ohio in 1909. Denison University Alumni Association mounted a plaque to his tombstone in 1940.



William Jr. was born in Bangkok in 1851, and while traveling to the U.S., his mother Martha died on the voyage home and was buried at sea off the Cape of Good Hope. He and his brother were cared for by other missionaries on board. He graduated from Brown University in 1870, Rochester Theological Seminary in 1879, and was appointed missionary to China, sailing in 1880. He also studied at the University of Berlin and taught at Peddie Institute in New Jersey, Shurtleff College and Brown University.



Lida was born in Michigan in 1852, and had sailed to Burma as wife of Rev. A.J. Lyon, working among the Kachins of upper Burma, but Mr. Lyon died shortly after their arrival. The William and Lida Ashmore sailed for China in 1879. Dr. Ashmore wrote the translation of the Bible into the Swatow colloquial dialect. Mrs. Ashmore was in charge of the Girls’ Boarding School and she introduced the making of drawnwork to the women’s groups and from the proceeds built the Abigail School Memorial School. For many years, she served on the Building and Property Committee of the Mission and was assistant treasurer of the Mission for many years. During World War I, she had charge of Red Cross work.



Dr. and Mrs. Ashmore served in China as missionaries for 48 years, and returned to the U.S. in 1926, retiring in 1927.