{{short description|American politician}} {{About|the Massachusetts politician|the Ohio politician|George Parish Ashmun}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = George Ashmun | image = George Ashmun.png | state = [[Massachusetts]] | district = {{ushr|MA|6|6th}} | term_start = March 4, 1845 | term_end = March 3, 1851 | preceded = [[Osmyn Baker]] | succeeded = [[George T. Davis]] | title2 = [[List of Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives|Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] | term_start2 = 1841 | term_end2 = 1841 | predecessor2 = [[Robert Charles Winthrop]] | successor2 = [[Thomas Kinnicut]] | office3 = Member of the [[Massachusetts Senate]] | term3 = 1838–1840 | office4 = Member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] | term4 = 1833–1837 | birth_date = December 25, 1804 | birth_place = [[Blandford, Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = July 16, 1870 (aged 66) | death_place = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], U.S. | resting_place = | party = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]], [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''George Ashmun''' (December 25, 1804 – July 16, 1870) was a [[Whig Party (United States)|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 [[Massachusetts's 6th congressional district|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 Atwater Chapman|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 (United States)|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. He was buried in [[Springfield Cemetery (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Springfield Cemetery]].
==See also== * [[62nd Massachusetts General Court (1841)]]
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
* "Ashmun, George." ''Dictionary of American Biography''. Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons. 1928. * ''[[American National Biography]]'', vol. 1, p. 684. * {{cite BDA1906 |wstitle= Ashmun, George |volume= 1 |pages= 155 |short=1}} {{CongBio|A000318}} {{CongBio|B000071}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=6 | before=[[Osmyn Baker]] | after=[[George T. Davis]] | years=March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1851}} {{s-par|us-ma-hs}} {{succession box | before=[[Robert Charles Winthrop]] | title=[[List of Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives|Speaker]] of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] | years=1841 | after=[[Thomas Kinnicut]]}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashmun, George}} [[Category:1804 births]] [[Category:1870 deaths]] [[Category:People from Blandford, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Whig Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:Massachusetts state senators]] [[Category:Politicians from Springfield, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Yale University alumni]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]] [[Category:American people of English descent]]