Quick Facts
- NAME: James Mitchell Ashley
- OCCUPATION: Governor, U.S. Representative
- BIRTH DATE: November 14, 1824
- DEATH DATE: September 16, 1896
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- PLACE OF DEATH: Alma, Michigan
- AKA: James M. Ashley
- AKA: James Ashley
- Full Name: James Mitchell Ashley
Best Known For
James Mitchell Ashley was best known as a U.S. congressman and abolitionist who laid the foundation to pass the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery.
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Play NowJames Mitchell Ashley. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:32, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933.
James Mitchell Ashley. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"James Mitchell Ashley." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 05:32 http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933.
"James Mitchell Ashley," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"James Mitchell Ashley," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
James Mitchell Ashley [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933.
James Mitchell Ashley, http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
James Mitchell Ashley. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/james-mitchell-ashley-20990933. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Ashley’s interests then turned to the railroad industry. From 1877 to 1893 he served as president of the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Railroad company. During this time he also ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1890 and 1892, but lost both elections.
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Personal Life
Ashley married Emma Smith in 1851. His family, including his namesake James Ashley Jr., resided in Ohio and Michigan.
In 1863, Ashley experienced a severe diabetes attack. Though he survived, he fell ill again three years later. Ashley died in Alma, Michigan, on September 16, 1896. His body was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.
In 1897, a eulogy held at the Unitarian Church in Ann Arbor described Ashley’s personal character, stating that he was a large man, "intellectually, physically and morally. There was nothing petty, small or mean about him."
His impact as a railroad industry leader was felt in the communities he affected. Ashley Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the train station still stands, was named in his honor.
Ashley is the great-grandfather of the late Thomas William Ludlow Ashley, a U.S. representative from Ohio.
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