Ashurst, Henry Fountain, 1874-1962

U.S. Senator from Arizona.

U.S. Senator from Arizona, 1912 to 1941, Ashurst was raised near Flagstaff, served in the territorial legislature in 1897, practiced law in Williams and Flagstaff, Ariz. and was Coconino County Attorney.

Senator from Arizona.

Henry Fountain Ashurst was born near Winnemucca, Nevada, September 13, 1874. He was raised in the Northern Arizona region, primarily Williams and Mormon Lake, Arizona. He was elected the first United States Senator from Arizona in 1912. Ashurst held that position until he was defeated in 1940. He died in 1962.

U.S. senator from Arizona.

Arizona statesman and U.S. senator.

Henry Fountain Ashurst was born in Nevada in 1874. His family later moved to the Flagstaff, Arizona area, near Mormon Lake. He graduated from the Stockton Business College and worked for a time as a cowboy, county jail turnkey, and stenographic reporter. In 1897 he was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives, and later served as Speaker of the House. Prior to claiming his seat in the United States Senate in 1912, he served as Coconino County Attorney. During his 28 years in the Senate, Ashurst was best known for his sophisticated oratory and his work on the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Roosevelt years. Having lost his Senate seat in 1940, Ashurst served on the Board of Immigration Appeals 1941-43. He died in 1962 and is buried in Prescott.

Biographical Sketch

Henry Fountain Ashurst, Senator from Arizona, was born in Winnemucca, Nevada, September 13, 1874. In 1875 his parents moved to Arizona, settling near Flagstaff. He attended the public schools of Flagstaff, graduated from the Stockton Business College in California in 1896, and studied law at the University of Michigan. He began his law practice at Williams, Arizona. In 1897 and in 1899 he was a member of the Territorial house of representatives, and served as speaker in 1899. He served in the Territorial senate in 1903, and was district attorney of Coconino County from 1905 to 1908. He moved to Prescott in 1903, continuing his law practice. When Arizona was admitted as a state into the Union, he was elected Democratic Senator in 1912, and re-elected in 1916, 1922, 1928, and 1934. From 1941 to 1943 he was appointed member of the Board of Immigration Appeals in the Department of Justice. He retired in 1943.

Henry Fountain Ashurst (1874-1962) was one of the first US Senators from Arizona and represented the state in that capacity for 28 years. He was born at Winnemuca, Nevada on September 13, 1874. His family later moved to a ranch near Mormon Lake, southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona. After his public school education was complete Ashurst worked in succession as a cowboy, a turnkey at the Coconino County Jail, and a stenographic reporter. He graduated from Stockton Business College in 1896.

Ashurst's political career began with his election to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1897. In 1899 he became Speaker of the House and sponsored legislation establishing the school that became Northern Arizona University. He was elected Coconino County Attorney in 1904 and again in 1906, and claimed his seat in the United States Senate in 1912. Ashurst's career in the Senate was highlighted by his reputation for sophisticated oratory and his work for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Roosevelt years. After his defeat in the Democratic primary of 1940 Ashurst served as a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals in the Department of Justice from 1941-1943. Ashurst died in Washington on May 31, 1962 and is buried beside his wife, Elizabeth (Renoe) Ashurst (1874-1939), in Prescott, Arizona.

Senator from Arizona; born in Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nev., September 13, 1874; moved with his parents to Arizona in 1875 and settled near the present town of Flagstaff, Coconino County; attended the public schools of Flagstaff and was graduated from the Stockton (Calif.) Business College in 1896; studied law and political economy at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; was admitted to the bar in 1897 and commenced practice in Williams, Ariz.

Ashurst was a member of the Territorial house of representatives in 1897 and 1899, serving as speaker in 1899; served in the Territorial senate in 1903; district attorney of Coconino County 1905-1908; moved to Prescott, Ariz., in 1909 and continued the practice of law; upon the admission of Arizona as a State was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate on March 27, 1912 and served to January 3, 1941.

Senator Ashurst was chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Industrial Expositions (Sixty-third Congress), Committee to Investigate Trespassers on Indian Land (Sixty-sixth Congress), and the Committee on the Judiciary (Seventy-third through Seventy-sixth Congresses). Ashurst was appointed a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals in the Department of Justice on April 8, 1941, and served until February 28, 1943, when he retired. Senator Ashurst died in Washington, D.C., May 31, 1962.