Son of James Pleasant Ham & Eliza (Jones) Ham -------------------------------------------------------

William Perry Ham, 73, former Atchison postmaster and resident of Atchison for more than 65 years, died at 9:35 pm on 18 Apr 1935 at the Atchison Hospital following an operation to which he submitted Saturday. His condition had been critical since he underwent the operation. His health had been failing noticably prior to his hospital admission, but he preferred to go about his normal daily activities.

All of Atchison and Atchison County will mourn the passing of Perry Ham. Throught the different public offices he held, both city and county, he had made hundreds of friends. He was one of the most unselfish men that a person could meet. The welfare of his family and others always appeared to concern Perry Ham more than his own welfare.

One of the most outstanding things about Perry Ham was his devotion to his family. He was a most considerate father and kept in close touch with his sons and daughters throughout his life. He was always ready to go to their assistance when they needed help of any kind, and not a day passed that he did not visit one or all of them. He was a splendid man and father.

Born in Flemington (**Note: misspelling of Flemingsburg), Fleming County, KY, October 11, 1861, Mr. Ham traveled with his parents from Kentucky to Rushville, MO in a covered wagon when he was 1 yr old. His father, James Ham, was an early-day minister and school teacher. The family lived at Rushville only a short time, however, due to the disturbances created as an aftermath of the Civil War. Confederate soldiers were encamped on the hills surrounding Rushville and the inhabitants of that community were subjected often to ill treatment on the part of the guerillas. During the time they lived at Rushville, Mr. Ham's mother died. She was buried at Rushville.

From Rushville, the Ham family moved to a farm near Williamstown, KS, southwest of Atchison, where they resided until 1867 when they moved to Atchison. Mr. Ham spent the remainder of his life here.

Besides farming, as a teen of 14 or 15, he worked with a survey crew mapping out townsites in the small communities that now surround Atchison. This provided him with a lot of knowledge of northeast Kansas and Atchison county that he never forgot.

One of his first jobs was as an assistant superintendent of the mule-drawn street cars of the early days. He later worked in a bakery operated by Matt Gerber and John Meyers, following which he went into the grocery business with C.W. Jackson. Leaving the grocery business, he took up farming for awhile, only to return to the grocery business upon returning to Atchison.

Mr. Ham became interested in city politics while operating a feed poultry business here and was elected to the city council, serving as a councilman for 6 yrs. He was successful in politics from the first time he held office. He was appointed chief of police by S.S. King, mayor here from 1907-1909, served 2 yrs as Head of the Atchison Police Dept., and in 1918 was elected to the office of Sheriff of Atchison county, serving 2 terms, from 1919 to 01 Jan 1923.

Mr. Ham was appointed postmaster of Atchison to succeed Louis Orr on 04 Sep 1923. He served until his retirement on 11 Sep 1933. He was a Republican and loyal to his party. He was quite knowledgeable to both his community and its inhabitants, being well-liked and welcome wherever he went.

Mr. Ham married Miss Rosa Frommer of Atchison, 12 Apr 1884, and a year ago this month celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Mrs. Ham survives as do 4 sons, 2 daughters, 15 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. One son, Walter Ham, died in May 1934. (**note: the children are listed by name & occupation in the obit, but removed here) Mr. Ham is also survived by a half brother, George Ham & a half sister, Cora Walker both of Kansas City.

Mr. Ham was a member of the Elks Lodge of Atchison and the Odd Fellows.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 pm tomorrow (Saturday) at the Methodist church with the Rev. W.R. McCormack, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Vernon Cemetery. - Sawin & Douglass Mortuary handled arrangements.

--excerpts of this comprised obituary were originally published 15 May 1934 in a local Atchison newspaper. The newspaper clipping was provided by Findagrave member, David Garrison.