- William Shepperd Ashe
William Shepperd Ashe (
14 September 1814 –14 September 1862 ) was a Democratic U.S. Congressman fromNorth Carolina between 1849 and 1855.Born in
Rocky Point, North Carolina , Ashe attended school in Fayetteville and pursued classical studied at Trinity College inHartford, Connecticut . Ashe engaged in rice cultivation and studied law; he was admitted to the state bar in 1836 and practiced in New Hanover County.Active in the Democratic Party, Ashe was a presidential elector in 1844 and was elected to the
North Carolina Senate for a term of two years. (1846-1848). In 1848, he was sent to theU.S. House , serving in the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Congresses (March 4 ,1849 -March 3 ,1855 ). During the 32nd Congress, Ashe chaired the Committee on Elections. He did not run again in 1854, but served as the president of theWilmington & Weldon Railroad Company from 1854 until his death.He was elected to one further term in the North Carolina Senate between 1859 to 1861. He was a delegate to the Charleston
Democratic National Convention in 1860 and theNorth Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1861.During the
American Civil War , Ashe was amajor in theConfederate Army , in charge of all transportation betweenVirginia and the rest of the South. Ashe was killed in a railroad accident nearWilmington, North Carolina onSeptember 14 ,1862 . He is buried in a family cemetery inPender County, North Carolina .External links
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8076750 William Shepperd Ashe] on
Find-A-Grave
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.