ANSON H. NASH, banker and cashier of the Elizabeth Exchange Bank, of which he is one of the proprietors, and a leading jeweler of this village, occupies a prominent position among the influential and honored citizens of Jo Daviess County. He is a native-born citizen of this county, Pleasant Valley Township having been his place of birth, and Nov. 4, 1853 the date thereof. His parents, Northrup and Elizabeth H. (Williams) Nash, were native of New York State, the former having been of New England origin, and the latter of German descent. They left the Empire State in 1845, and coming to Jo Daviess County, settled in Pleasant Valley Township on land they bought from the Government, being pioneers of that place. Mr. Nash at once began clearing the land and labored unceasingly for its improvement until this death July 11, 1854, when he fell a victim to the cholera which was epidemic at that time. On coming here he had identified himself with the interests of the township, and served faithfully in many of its minor offices. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and made friends of all with whom he came in contact during the nine years he lived here. He left his widow with eight children, five of whom are living, namely: Nathan S., William S., Phebe S. (wife of Julius Buss, living near Lena, Ill.,) Darius A., and Anson H. The names of the deceased are Mary, John, and Amasa W. Mrs. Nash subsequently became the wife of Benjamin A. Guild, and now resides on the home farm at the advanced aged of seventy-four years. She is among the oldest pioneer residents of the place, is a most estimable woman, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

A.H. Nash, of this sketch, was reared to manhood in this county, and in its district schools received the rudiments of his education. He had good mental ability, and at the age of nineteen years began teaching school, and in that way recurred the requisite money to defray his expenses at Humboldt College, Humboldt, Iowa; a Unitarian educational institution, which he attended between his terms of teaching; he having taught two years in Jo Daviess County, and four years in Iowa. When seventeen years of age, our subject became engaged in the jewelry business on a small scale, and having a good deal of mechanical ingenuity, did a good business repairing watches and jewelry, keeping up his interest in the business, more or less of the time, until the fall of 1877, when he opened a small jewelry business in Elizabeth. In this enterprise he met with such success that he gradually increased his business, enlarge his store, until it has developed into his present large establishment, of which he is sole proprietor, in which he keeps a large and valuable stock of goods, and where all kinds of jewelry and watch repairing are skillfully attended to. Besides managing his store, May 1, 1888, Mr. Nash embarked in the exchange business in which he was also unusually prosperous, and the business increased so rapidly that in September, 1888, he formed a partnership with Mr. Cryus (sic) Carpenter, and merged his exchange business into a full-fledged bank.

The marriage of Mr. Nash with Miss Maggie J. Price was solemnized Sept. 24, 1879. Of this union five children have been born – Henry A. (deceased), Albert H., Lois C., Charles A., and Clara A.

Mr. Nash is emphatically a self-made, self-educated man, and takes a leading place among the representative business men of this county, where he is esteemed for his ability, affability, and upright dealings. He is liberal, public-spirited, and always gives encouragement and support to any enterprise whose object is to benefit and improve his county or township, and has served with fidelity as Village Trustee. Socially, he and his wife have, by their generous and extensive hospitality, made their home exceedingly attractive to a large host of friends. Both are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where Mr. Nash is officiating as Class-Leader, Steward, and Superintendent of the Sunday-school. In politics, our subject is a sound Prohibitionist, and is identified with the I.O.G.T., being an active member of Star of Hope Lodge No. 263, at Elizabeth, where he has filled all the important offices, and is at present acting as Deputy G.W.C.T.

Contributed by Carol Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois (1889) Pg 597