Ashburner, Charles E. (1870-1932)

For many years, the leadership in Norfolk, Virginia, only consisted of a mayor and city council who ran day-to-day operations.  However, since 1918, the city manager has carried out these responsibilities.  After local voters elect representatives to their council, a professional manager is then appointed to fulfill this central role.  Origins of this shift in organizational structure can be traced to one individual: Charles E. Ashburner.  His selection as the nation’s first city manager transformed how local municipalities are governed.  He had ties to a couple locations in Virginia, but Ashburner will always be known as the first city manager in Norfolk history.[1]

Charles Edward Ashburner was born a citizen of the British Empire on May 9, 1870 in Bombay, India.  His father, a British army officer with the same name, spent nearly four decades stationed there during the Victorian Era.  Ashburner married Annie Barker who hailed from Chester, England and their union resulted in the birth of Charles, Jr.  Obtaining a European education, the younger Charles studied at Cheltenham College in England and later earned a civil engineering degree from Heidelberg University in Germany.  French tutors provided some instruction as well.  Since more job prospects awaited him in the United States, he immigrated to this country on February 22, 1889 while just eighteen years old.  Ashburner settled in Virginia and secured a job working on the harbor.  In October 1890, notable businessman and philanthropist, Lewis Ginter, hired Ashburner to be chief engineer for the burgeoning Ginter Park neighborhood, which is now a suburban area of Richmond, Virginia.  He also played a leading role in building the city’s historic Jefferson Hotel.  Around this time, Ashburner met Cora Michaux Hobson and they married on October 1, 1896 a short distance away in Powhatan County.  The couple raised four children: Cora Michaux Ashburner Preston, Eunice Neville Ashburner Wigg, Haskins Hobson “Buck” Ashburner, and Martha Macon Ashburner Land.[2]     

As the nineteenth century ended, Ashburner left for a New York contracting job, which kept him busy for the next two years, and then plied his trade in the West Indies.  When U.S. opportunities beckoned again in 1901, he started working for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway as an engineer.  Following a brief stint running a railroad construction company, Ashburner embarked on his newfound career in municipal government.  His journey began with the city of Staunton, Virginia naming him as its first city manager (and first in U.S. history) in 1908.  With no established precedent, he carved out a role that others later emulated.  He remained in this position until 1911.  Ashburner, prized for his knowledge and expertise, accepted an offer by Springfield, Ohio to serve as city manager just a few short years later.  Meanwhile, Norfolk sought to change how its own government served the citizens and passed a charter that went into effect on September 1, 1918.  Officials were impressed with Ashburner’s tenure in Springfield and approached him about filling their new vacancy.  He soon reached an agreement to head Norfolk’s new-look government and moved into a house at 611 Boissevain Avenue.  Ashburner did not waste any time in exerting his influence on city operations.  Recognizing that Norfolk used antiquated methods and facilities, he pressed for modernization.  He devised a network of roads throughout the city that made transportation much smoother.  Before Ashburner arrived, city streets had been laid out in a haphazard manner.  In another major endeavor, the administration changed how Norfolk obtained its water, which proved both successful and long lasting.  He also prioritized the construction of new facilities while updating ones already in use.  By 1923, his last year in office, Norfolk had started its campaign of expansion with the annexation of land from neighboring Norfolk County (present day Chesapeake).[3] 

Charles Edward Ashburner

Sargeant Memorial Collection Photos, MSS 0000-MPC, 

Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia

Ashburner remained the city manager of Norfolk for five years until Stockton, California came calling in 1923 and offered him a higher salary that he could not refuse.  The job in Stockton was quite similar to the one he had just left in Norfolk.  In his new city manager role, Ashburner accomplished many of the same things.  He also helped construct a waterway, which turned Stockton into a bustling seaport.[4]  Following his service of four years, he decided to retire from municipal government altogether.  Returning to Norfolk, he spent his final years managing stocks and bonds for Colonial Investors Corporation.  Membership in several organizations, such as the Masons and Shriners, provided Ashburner with a sense of civic pride as well.  During this time, he resided at the Meadowbrook Apartments located at 7224 Hampton Boulevard until his death.  During the early morning of October 26, 1932, Charles Ashburner, aged 62, passed away at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Norfolk.  Cause of death was listed as pneumonia, but he had also been experiencing heart failure before being admitted to the hospital.  Dr. Sparks White Melton, pastor of Freemason Street Baptist Church (see local wiki: Dr. Sparks White Melton and Freemason Street Baptist Church), performed the funeral service a day later.  Ashburner had been a member of the church.   He was laid to rest at Norfolk’s Forest Lawn Cemetery.  Cora survived him by twenty-five years and died in 1957.  Although not a recognizable figure to the general public, Ashburner had a lasting impact on municipal governments across the United States.[5]                 

Sources:

1.      Peggy McPhillips, “Norfolk City Managers (1918-Present),” Southside Local Wiki, accessed July 24, 2025,

Norfolk City Managers (1918 - Present) - Southside Hampton Roads - LocalWiki; 

“General Information,” The City of Norfolk, accessed July 24, 2025, General Information | City of Norfolk, Virginia - Official Website;

  “Charles E. Ashburner, Nation’s and Norfolk’s First City Manager, Dies,” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), October 26, 1932, p. 1 and 8;

              “C.E. Ashburner, First Manager of City Is Dead,” Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch (Norfolk, Virginia), October 26, 1932, p. 2.

2.      “Charles E. Ashburner, Nation’s and Norfolk’s First City Manager, Dies,” p. 1; “C.E. Ashburner, First Manager of City is Dead,” p. 2;

        “Born in India, He Reformed and Came to America,” Norfolk Post (Norfolk, Virginia), April 20, 1923, p. 4; 

  Men of the South, New Orleans, LA: Southern Biographical Association, 1922, p. 699 and 750;

  “Charles Edward Ashburner,” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), March 9, 1919, p. 1C.   

3.      “Charles E. Ashburner, Nation’s and Norfolk’s First City Manager, Dies,” p. 1 and 8; “C.E. Ashburner, First Manager of City is Dead,” p. 2;

  “Charles Edward Ashburner,” Findagrave, accessed June 2, 2025, Charles Edward Ashburner (1870-1932) - Find a Grave Memorial;

  “Charles Ashburner,” Forest Lawn Cemetery, accessed June 2, 2025, Charles Ashburner; Men of the South, p. 699 and 750;

“Charles Edward Ashburner,” p. 1C; 1920-21 Norfolk City Directory (Norfolk, Virginia), p. 207.

4.      “Charles E. Ashburner, Nation’s and Norfolk’s First City Manager, Dies,” p. 8; “C.E. Ashburner, First Manager of City is Dead,” p. 2;

  “Charles Edward Ashburner,” p. 1C; 1926 Stockton City Directory (Stockton, California), p. 64.

5.  “Charles E. Ashburner, Nation’s and Norfolk’s First City Manager, Dies,” p. 1; “C.E. Ashburner, First Manager of City is Dead,” p. 2;

“Charles Edward Ashburner,” Findagrave;

“Charles Ashburner,” Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Full Name: Charles Edward Ashburner

Also Known as: Charles E. Ashburner

Birth Date: May 9, 1870

Birthplace: Bombay, India

Parents: Charles Edward Ashburner and Annie Barker

Ethnicity: British

Race: White

Spouse: Cora Michaux Hobson

Children: Cora Michaux Ashburner Preston, Eunice Neville Ashburner Wigg, Haskins Hobson “Buck” Ashburner, Martha Macon Ashburner Land

Marriage Date: October 1, 1896

Marriage Place: Powhatan County, Virginia

Death Date: October 26, 1932

Death Place: St. Vincent’s Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia

Burial Date: October 27, 1932

Burial Place: Forest Lawn Cemetery

Major Keywords/Search Terms: Ashburner, Charles Edward, Sr.| Barker, Annie|  Ashburner Preston, Cora Michaux| Ashburner Wigg, Eunice Neville| 

Ashburner, Hobson “Buck”| Ashburner Land, Martha Macon| St. Vincent’s Hospital| Forest Lawn Cemetery| Freemason Street Baptist Church| 

Ashburner, Charles Edward, Jr.| Powhatan County, Virginia| Bombay, India| Norfolk, Virginia| City Manager|  Municipal Government| Victorian Era| Mayor| 

City Council| British Empire|  Cheltenham College| Heidelberg University| Engineering| Ginter, Lewis| 

Chester, England| Richmond, Virginia| Ginter Park Neighborhood| Jefferson Hotel| 

New York City| Staunton, Virginia| Hampton Boulevard| Boissevain Avenue| 

West Indies| Chesapeake & Ohio Railway| Contracting| Springfield, Ohio| 

Stockton, California| Annexation| Melton, Dr. Sparks White| Norfolk County, Virginia| Chesapeake, Virginia| Colonial Investors Corporation| Shriners| Streets| Water| Masons| 

Waterway| Stocks and Bonds| Masons| Germany| Railroad Construction|