Thomas Ashment Sr. (1827-1900) married twice and had eight children.

Thomas Ashment Sr. was born in Chewkerne, Somerset, England in 1827. He, his widowed mother and his sister, Margan[ ], joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February 1848. He was married to Ann Huggins on August 6, 1849 in Chard, Somerset, England. His mother passed away in 1854; Ashment was comforted by a vision. (He composed a poem when his mother died and recorded it in this journal). He attended church conferences and taught the gospel in England. Measles and smallpox both plagued his town.

He immigrated to Richmond, Utah in 1869. There was a collision between “cars” during his journey to Utah (probably train cars) that killed some passengers. In Richmond, he strengthened his testimony by re-reading the Book of Mormon. He experienced wind and hailstorms. Many of his journal entries written in Richmond are about stories recorded from the Juvenile Instructor and Deseret News (church magazine) and talks given in Church meetings. He told very little about his day-to-day life in Richmond in this part of his journal.

Thomas and Ann Huggins Ashment had eight children, Elizabeth Christiana (1849-1926), Helena (1852-1933), Thomas (1854-1932), Mary (1856-1926), William (1857-1894), George (1860-1864), Rhona Ann (1863-1921), and James George (1865-1937). Ann passed away in 1873. Thomas Ashment married Elizabeth Wright Cottle on November 3, 1886 in Logan, Cache County, Utah. He passed away on February 27, 1900 in Richmond, Cache County, Utah.