Eli P. Ashmun
Eli Porter Ashmun | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Massachusetts | |
In office June 12, 1816 – May 10, 1818 | |
Preceded by | Christopher Gore |
Succeeded by | Prentiss Mellen |
Member of the Massachusetts Senate | |
In office 1808–1810 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Federalist | June 24, 1770
Spouse | Lucy Hooker[1] |
Children | George Ashmun, Lewis Ashmun, John Hooker Ashmun b. July 3, 1800, d. April 1, 1833.[2] |
Alma mater | Middlebury College |
Eli Porter Ashmun (June 24, 1770 – May 10, 1819) was a
Early years
Eli Porter Ashmun was the eldest child of Justus and Kezia Ashmun. He was born in the vicinity of Fort Edward, New York, from whence the family fled in 1777 during the advance of British troops of John Burgoyne in the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War. They settled in Blandford, Massachusetts, where Ashmun's father operated the tavern. Ashmun's education was quite rudimentary, but he was taken under wing by Theodore Sedgwick, who gave him legal training. He was eventually admitted to the bar, and opened the first legal practice in Blandford. He married Lucy Hooker, daughter of John Hooker of Northampton, with whom he had five children.
In 1807, Ashmun was awarded an honorary degree by Middlebury College, and moved to Northampton where he continued his law practice.
Political career
In 1807, Ashmun won election to the
Ashmun was the father of George Ashmun (1804–1870), who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and of John Hooker Ashmun. The latter served as a partner in his father's law practice, and operated the Northampton Law School for several years. He then became a prominent legal instructor at Harvard Law School.
References
- United States Congress. "Eli P. Ashmun (id: A000317)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Eli P. Ashmun at Find a Grave
- Political Graveyard
- Northampton Cemetery Inscriptions