Eli Porter Ashmun was a Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

 United States Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 from 1816 to 1818.

Born in a small village north of Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

 on the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

, he attended the local school and attended Middlebury College

Middlebury College

Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...

, graduating in 1807. He studied law, was admitted to the state bar and began his practice in Blandford

Blandford, Massachusetts

Blandford is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the home of the Blandford Ski Area.- History :...

, soon moving to Northampton

Northampton, Massachusetts

The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...

, and was in the Massachusetts Senate

Massachusetts Senate

The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...

 from 1808 to 1810. In 1816, he served with the Massachusetts Governor's Council. Following the resignation of Senator Christopher Gore

Christopher Gore

Christopher Gore was a prominent Massachusetts lawyer, Federalist politician, and diplomat.-Biography:Gore was born in Boston in 1758, the tenth of thirteen children of Frances and John Gore, a successful merchant and artisan...

, he was elected to the US Senate, serving from June 12, 1816, to May 10, 1818. He died in 1819 and is interred in Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton.

Ashmun had one wife, Lucy, who died in 1812 at the age of 37. He was the father of George Ashmun

George Ashmun

George Ashmun was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.Ashmun was born in Blandford, Massachusetts to Eli P. Ashmun and Lucy Hooker. He graduated from Yale in 1823 and was married to Martha E. Hall in 1828...

 (1804–1870), who served in the U.S. House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.