Eli Porter Ashmun (June 24, 1770May 10, 1819) was a Federalist

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

from 1816 to 1818.

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 General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

in the Saratoga campaign of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. They settled in

Blandford, Massachusetts Blandford is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,215 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was the home of the Blandford Ski Area. History ...

, where Ashmun's father operated the tavern. Ashmun's education was quite rudimentary, but he was taken under wing by

Theodore Sedgwick Theodore Sedgwick (May 9, 1746January 24, 1813) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served in elected state government and as a delegate to the Continental Congress, a U.S. representative, and a senator from Massachusetts. H ...

, 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

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

, serving from 1808 to 1810. In 1816, he served with the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Counc ...

. Following the resignation of

Christopher Gore Christopher Gore (September 21, 1758 – March 1, 1827) was a prominent Massachusetts lawyer, Federalist politician, and U.S. diplomat. Born into a family divided by the American Revolution, Gore sided with the victorious Patriots, establis ...

, he was elected by the state legislature to replace him, serving from June 12, 1816, to May 10, 1818. He died in 1819, possibly of heart disease, and is interred in Northampton's Bridge Street Cemetery. Ashmun was the father of

George Ashmun George Ashmun (December 25, 1804 – July 16, 1870) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Ashmun was born in Blandford, Massachusetts to Eli P. Ashmun and Lucy Hooker. He graduated from Yale in 1823 and wa ...

(1804–1870), who served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, 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

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Political Graveyard

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashmun, Eli P. 1770 births 1819 deaths People from Washington County, New York People of the Province of New York American people of English descent Federalist Party United States senators from Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts Federalists Massachusetts state senators People from Blandford, Massachusetts Middlebury College alumni