Chester Ashley

Chester Ashley ( born June 1, 1791 in Amherst, Massachusetts, † April 29, 1848 in Washington DC ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), who represented the state of Arkansas in the U.S. Senate.

Born in Massachusetts Chester Ashley was still a child when his parents moved with him to the state of New York, where the family settled in Hudson. But he returned to the study back to his home state and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown. After that, he was educated in Litchfield (Connecticut) to the lawyer; his legal studies he completed in Illinois and Missouri. In 1820 he moved to Little Rock, where he rose quickly become one of the most famous lawyers in the Arkansas Territory; at times he worked in a practice with the later territorial governor, Robert Crittenden. Together they founded the law firm Rose Law Firm, which still exists today and the third oldest law firm in the United States.

Ashley's reputation as a lawyer and his thereby increasing wealth meant that he went into politics. In the presidential elections in 1844, he led the campaign for James K. Polk, Arkansas, who was then elected against the Whig candidate Henry Clay as the new President. In the same year he was appointed by the state Legislature of Arkansas to succeed the late U.S. Senator William S. Fulton. He perceived his mandate from the November 8, 1844 and was re-elected in 1846. As a result, he was, among other things before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two years later, he died in Washington.

The Ashley County, Arkansas is named after Chester Ashley.