William Horace Ash, teacher and lawmaker, pictured here in the top row, second from the right.

Often individuals who are capable classroom teachers make effective legislators as well. One example of this is William Horace Ash, an African American teacher from Virginia who also served in his home state’s House of Delegates.

William Horace Ash was born on May 15, 1859, in Loudoun County, Virginia. As a young man, he attended Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, where he completed the requirements for his degree in 1882. For many years William worked in Nottoway County as a teacher at Ingleside Seminary at Burkeville, a school for African American girls sponsored by the Presbyterian church. In addition to his classroom duties, William became one of the founding members of the Teachers Reading Circle, a statewide organization that provided professional support and networking for African American educators.

While still a teacher, William became interested in politics. He studied law, and, in 1884, he was chosen to be the delegate from Nottoway County to the Virginia State Republican Party Convention. In 1887, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served during the 1887-1888 session. There he served as a member of the standing Committees on Propositions and Grievances and on Printing, but he was also deeply concerned with legislation that affected education. After his term expired, William returned to teaching when he accepted a position as a teacher of agriculture at Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute.

On May 29, 1889, William married fellow teacher Sallie B. Miller from Nottoway. The union produced  no children. By the beginning of 1904, William and his wife attempted to establish a school for African American boys modeled after Ingleside Seminary. Unfortunately, the venture fell through, and in September 1904, William accepted a position at Swift Memorial Institute in Rodgersville, Hawkins County, Tennessee. There he taught nine courses, including Latin and beekeeping.

In 1908, this amazing chalkboard champion developed kidney failure, and after an illness of six days, he passed away on February 14, 1908. For his work in the Virginia General Assembly during the Reconstruction Era, William was one of several African Americans recognized by the Martin Luther King Commission. To read more about William Horace Ash, see his entry in the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.