Asahel Finch, Jr., (February 14, 1809April 4, 1883) was an American lawyer, politician, and pioneer of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He was a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

, representing Lenawee County during the 1837 session.

Biography

Born in

Genoa, New York Genoa is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,816 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Genoa in Italy. The town is located in the southwestern corner of the county and is north of Ithaca. Genoa is in the ...

, Asahel Finch Jr. married Mary De Forest Bristol in 1830 and they moved to

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 5th congressional district. The c ...

. He began studying law in 1834, and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1838. He served in the

in 1837, then resigned before the end of his term, and moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, in 1839, where he opened a law firm (now

Foley & Lardner Foley & Lardner LLP (often referred to simply as "Foley") is an international law firm founded in 1842. In terms of revenue, it ranked 45th on The American Lawyer's 2025 AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law firms, with $1.28 billion gross revenue in 2 ...

) with

William Pitt Lynde William Pitt Lynde (December 16, 1817December 18, 1885) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms, representing Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin in ...

. In 1867, Finch unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Milwaukee. Initially a Whig, he aided in the creation of the Republican Party and supported

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

for President in 1856. He died in Milwaukee on April 4, 1883.

References

External links

* 1809 births 1883 deaths People from Adrian, Michigan People from Genoa, New York Politicians from Milwaukee Members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan lawyers Wisconsin lawyers Michigan Whigs Wisconsin Republicans 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature {{Michigan-MIRepresentative-stub