Eli Porter Ashmun (June 24, 1770May 10, 1819) was a Federalist United States Senator from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

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 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. 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 Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, 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, serving from 1808 to 1810. In 1816, he served with the Massachusetts Governor's Council. Following the resignation of United States Senator

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

, 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 (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 Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

References

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Political Graveyard

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashmun, Eli P. 1770 births 1819 deaths People from Washington County, New York People from colonial 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 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century United States senators