George Ashmun

George Ashmun
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1845  March 3, 1851
Preceded by Osmyn Baker
Succeeded by George T. Davis
Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1841–1841
Preceded by Robert Charles Winthrop
Succeeded by Thomas Kinnicut
Personal details
Born December 25, 1804
Blandford, Massachusetts
Died July 16, 1870 (aged 66)
Springfield, Massachusetts
Political party Whig, Republican

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 was married to Martha E. Hall in 1828. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837, and the Massachusetts Senate from 1838 to 1840. In 1841, he returned to the Massachusetts House where he served as Speaker.

Ashmun was elected to the U.S. Congress from the Sixth District of Massachusetts in 1844, held office from 1845 to 1851 and was a member of the committees on the judiciary, Indian affairs, and rules. He opposed the Mexican-American War, and was a strong supporter of Daniel Webster.

And the birth of the Republican Party

After leaving Congress, Ashmun moved to Springfield, Massachusetts where he spent the rest of his life practicing law in the firm Chapman & Ashmun, founded with Reuben A. Chapman. There he met newspaper publisher Samuel Bowles (journalist), with whom he helped to found the U.S. Republican Party. Immediately, Ashmun joined the Republican Party, and presided over the Republican Party's convention in 1860 that nominated Abraham Lincoln for President.

Death

George Ashmun died in Springfield, Massachusetts on July 16, 1870.

References

    United States House of Representatives
    Preceded by
    Osmyn Baker
    Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
    from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district

    March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1851
    Succeeded by
    George T. Davis
    Massachusetts House of Representatives
    Preceded by
    Robert Charles Winthrop
    Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
    1841
    Succeeded by
    Thomas Kinnicut
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