Born in 1755 to a poor family in Philadelphia, Ash made a life where he could. He learned from a young age to hunt and steal to feed his family. In his twenties, he found the British were all too willing to pay handsomely for intel on revolutionaries. He made a lot of money but when things went south for the British, they left him high and dry. He went to jail for being a 'traitor' to the newly formed United States and was only released when he agreed to fight on behalf of the US in the war of 1812. He was killed in 1815 at the age of sixty during the Battle of New Orleans.
After his death, he woke up to find a stranger sitting next to him on the battlefield. This man he came to learn was Nicodemus Bell, an immortal, who explained to him who he was. He stuck around the area for the better part of a year, learning the ins and outs of immortality from Nico. They were not family. Not even friends really. Nico made it clear he didn't trust Asher or anyone at all for that matter. Asher didn't understand the man - they were two broken old men, by all rights they should have had each other’s backs but it was Nico's way or the highway and at that time. Still, he stuck around the man and fought beside him in the Civil War.
Following the Civil War, Nico was done with a life of crime. The man had cheated, killed and stole his way to where he was now, but suddenly, he wanted to go straight? Asher wasn't buying it - leopards don't change their spots. Still, it would be interesting to watch. So, he stuck around for a while watching Nico settle on an old plantation and started to accumulate lost souls seeking attention - mortals with nowhere else to turn to. These people would tend the garden, pay the bills and support 'the family.' It all annoyed Asher - the more people came around, the higher and mightier Nico got. The man even began preaching to Asher about no longer stealing but from his point of view, Nico was still stealing -he was just convincing lost kids they were getting some sort of spiritual guidance in return for their money and labor. Asher pointed out his hypocrisy and while Nico claimed it wasn't what 'the family' was all about - that he as trying to enlighten people with the knowledge he'd accumulated. Asher called it like he saw it, Nico was using them so he could focus on learning more.... Nico was always trying to gain knowledge, like it mattered. Asher told him no amount of dark magic was going to fix whatever the hell was broken in Nico. It was their final fight. Asher had enough of the bullshit and left.
He stuck around the South, finding he fit in more. Northerners were too fast paced and often too smart. They were harder to snow. He settled in Texas in the 1900s. He was in and out of jail over the years but managed to keep his head.
In 2002, when the flu struck, he followed his dreams to Vegas. It was there he heard of a bounty on the heads of a few folks who had killed Flagg's bride. To his surprise, Nico was one of them. He knew he had a leg up to get close to Nico and the other 'wanted' folks... if he could find him. To what end... he wasn't exactly sure yet.
