Thomas Samuel Ashe (July 21, 1812 – February 4, 1887) was a slave owner, member of the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new na ...

, and U.S. Congressman from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Early years

Born in Hawfields, Orange County, North Carolina, he attended Bingham's Academy in Hillsborough, then the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, graduating in 1832. He was admitted to the bar in 1834 and began to practice law in

Wadesboro, North Carolina Wadesboro is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census. The town was originally found in 1783 as New Town but changed by the North Carolina General Assembly to Wadesboro in 1787 to honor C ...

in 1835.

Politics

In 1842, Ashe was elected to a single term in the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

. From 1847 to 1851 he was solicitor of the fifth judicial district of North Carolina, and in 1854, he served in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Ashe served in the Confederate House of Representatives from 1861 to 1864, and was elected to the

Confederate Senate The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

in 1864, but the war concluded before he was able to serve. In 1868, Ashe ran unsuccessfully for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

as the nominee of the "Conservative" party, then the name of the state Democratic Party. He accepted the nomination only after Zebulon B. Vance and Augustus Merrimon declined to run. In this election, waged under the supervision of the U.S. military and allowing African Americans to vote in large numbers for the first time, Ashe was defeated by the Republican nominee,

William Woods Holden William Woods Holden (November 24, 1818 – March 1, 1892) was an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th governor of North Carolina. He was appointed by President Andrew Johnson in 1865 for a brief term and then elected in 1868. ...

. This was the same election in which the new state constitution was approved by the people. Ashe and the Conservatives opposed the new constitution.1868 Election Ballots
/ref> Ashe was elected for two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, serving from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1877. Although he chose not to run again in 1876, he was elected an associate justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

in 1878 and re-elected in 1886.

Death

Ashe was still serving on the court at the time of the death in Wadesboro in 1887. Thomas Samuel Ashe was the cousin of fellow Congressmen

John Baptista Ashe John Ashe may refer to: * John Ashe (minister) (1671–1735), English dissenting minister *John Ashe (of Freshford) (1597–1658), MP for Westbury * John Ashe (priest) (born 1953), Church of England priest and Archdeacon of Lynn * John Ashe (genera ...

and

William Shepperd Ashe William Shepperd Ashe (August 12, 1813September 14, 1862) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from North Carolina between 1849 and 1855. Biography Born in Rocky Point, North Carolina in 1813, Ashe attended school in Fayetteville and pursue ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashe, Thomas Samuel 1812 births 1887 deaths Ashe family North Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party North Carolina state senators Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from North Carolina Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 19th-century American politicians