John Ash

ASH, John. b. 1724; d. Pershore, Worcestershire, 10 April 1779. Ash was received for training at Bristol Academy in July 1740, commended by the Loughwood Baptist Church, Devon. His only church was at Pershore, where he was ordained in 1751. He published several grammars and dictionaries, and also Sentiments on Education Collected from the best writers (2 vols, London, 1777); his section ‘On female accomplishments’ was much liked by Anne Steele*. He was a friend of Caleb Evans*. The close relationship between the two is evident in a funeral sermon Tears of Friendship (1779) when Evans said of Ash: ‘a man of a clearer head, a sounder heart, or a more amiable, steady, happy temper the world...