Eli Porter Ashmun

Federalist Senator of Massachusetts

Congresses Served

Senate Terms

June 24, 1770 (48 years old)

Birthday

May 10, 1819

Death

Served as a Federalist U.S. Senator from 1816 to 1818.
Was the eldest child in his family, with early life marked by displacement due to the American Revolutionary War.
Received legal training under Theodore Sedgwick and opened the first legal practice in Blandford, Massachusetts.
Married Lucy Hooker and had five children, including George Ashmun, who later served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Awarded an honorary degree by Middlebury College in 1807 and moved his law practice to Northampton.
Elected to the Massachusetts Senate, serving from 1808 to 1810, and later served with the Massachusetts Governor’s Council in 1816.
Replaced Christopher Gore as U.S. Senator following Gore’s resignation, serving until his death in 1819, possibly from heart disease.
His son, John Hooker Ashmun, became a prominent legal instructor at Harvard Law School.
Buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Massachusetts.