Chester Ashley
Chester Ashley (
1791-
1848) was an
American politician who represented
Arkansas in the
U.S. Senate from
1844 until his death.
Ashley was born in
Amherst, Massachusetts in 1791; while a child he moved with his parents to
New York. He was a graduate, with honors, of
Williams College; following this, he took a course in law in
Litchfield, Connecticut. Ashley moved west upon completion of his education, going first to
Illinois, and thence to
Missouri. In
1820 he arrived in
Little Rock, Arkansas, soon becoming one of the best and most prominent lawyers in the
Arkansas Territory; for a time, his partner in practice was
Robert Crittenden.
For some twenty years Ashley's practice was the largest in the state, and he became a wealthy man. This led him to try his hand at politics; in 1844 he canvassed the state campaigning for
James K. Polk for president; the
Democrats were victorious, and Ashley was elected by the state legislature to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Soon after entering, he was made the Chairman of the
Judiciary Committee; in 1846, he was reelected to the Senate. Sadly, two years later he was taken suddenly ill in the
Senate Chamber and died not long after.
Chester Ashley is the namesake of
Ashley County, Arkansas.
http://www.cals.lib.ar.us/butlercenter/facts/ashley.htm - brief biography, with picture
