The Biographical Dictionary of America/Ashmun, George

ASHMUN, George, representative, was born in Blandford, Mass., Dec. 25, 1804. A few years after his graduation from Yale college in 1823, he went to Springfield, Mass., where he practised law, gaining considerable prominence in his profession. In 1833 he was elected to the state legislature, serving four terms in the house of representatives, — one term as its speaker, — and two terms in the senate. He was elected a representative to the 29th Congress in 1845, where by re-elections he remained until 1851. While in Congress he made a reply to the attack of C. J. Ingersoll upon Daniel Webster, 1846; a speech on the Mexican war, 1847; and speeches on the revolution in France, and on the slavery questions, 1850. He was a director of the Union Pacific railroad. He died July 17, 1870,