Father, Patrick Henry Ahern, a clothier in New York City; son of James and Helen (Glassard)
Ahern of Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland. Mother, Ann (Dwyer) Ahern; daughter of Daniel and Catherine
(Waters) Dwyer of Limerick, Ireland.
De La Salle Institute, New York City; B.S. United States Military Academy 1882; attended Yale School of Law
1894-95 (LL.B. 1895; member Book and Gavel); commissioned Second Lieutenant, Infantry, June 13, 1882;
promoted First Lieutenant 1891 and Captain 1898; on frontier duty in Dakota Territory, Minnesota, and
Montana 1882-91 and 1895-97; in 1890 made reconnaissance trips in section of northwestern Montana
now set aside as Glacier National Park where Ahern Pass and Glacier are named for him; assigned by War
Department as professor of military science and tactics College of Montana 1891-94 and Montana State
College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts 1897-98; carried supplies to Cuban insurgents 1898 and awarded
Silver Star and cited for gallantry in action; went to Philippines with 9th U.S. Infantry 1899 and detailed to
military government of the islands; member Board of Claims 1899-1900; organized Office of Patents,
Copyrights, and Trade-Marks 1899 and Forestry Bureau 1900, acting as director of the former 1899-1903
and of the latter 1900-14; founded Philippine Forest School 1910; retired from active service, with rank of
Major, May 26, 1906, because of disabilities incurred in the line of duty; returned to active service July 1, 1916;
promoted Lieutenant Colonel (temporary) August 14, 1918; secretary Army War College, Washington, D.C.,
until relieved August 10, 1919; on duty at Veterans Bureau, Washington, 1920-24; Lieutenant Colonel
retired since June 21, 1930; author: Compilation of Notes on the Most Important Tree Species of the
Philippine Islands (1901), Special Report of Forestry Bureau, Philippine Islands (1901),
Deforested America (1928), Forest Bankruptcy in America (1933), and Why the American
Army Succeeded; in 1926 revised and extended Bibliography of the Woods of the
World . . . , by Samuel J. Record ['05 F.]; fellow Society of American Foresters
and American Association for the Advancement of Science; member American Geographical Society,
American Academy of Political and Social Science, and St. Patrick's Church (Roman Catholic), Washington.
Married April 30, 1890, at Fort Clark, Texas, Jean Gill (Yale School of the Fine Arts ex-'95), daughter of
William Harrison and Margaret (Henry) Gill. No children.
Death due to bronchopneumonia. Buried in The National Cemetery, Arlington. Survived by wife, two sisters,
Catherine Marie Ahern (B.A. Hunter Coll. 18860 and Mrs. Gertrude Louise Ahern Deane, both of Sayville, N.Y.,
and a brother, Philip Edward Ahern, of Sayville. |