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John Baptista Ashe (Continental Congress)

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John Ashe
Governor-elect of North Carolina
Died before assuming office
Preceded byBenjamin Williams
Succeeded byJames Turner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793
Preceded byTimothy Bloodworth
Succeeded byJoseph Winston
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 1st district
In office
March 24, 1790 – March 4, 1791
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byJohn Steele
Personal details
Born
John Baptista Ashe

1748 (1748)
Rocky Point, North Carolina, British America
DiedNovember 27, 1802(1802-11-27) (aged 53–54)
Halifax, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyAnti-Administration (before 1792)
Democratic-Republican (1792–1802)
SpouseElizabeth Montfort
Children1
RelativesJohn Ashe (brother)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceNorth Carolina militia
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitNew Hanover County Militia
Salisbury District Minuteman
6th North Carolina Regiment
1st North Carolina Regiment
CommandsMajors Company, 6th North Carolina Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
 • Battle of Brandywine
 • Battle of Germantown
 • Battle of Monmouth

John Baptist Ashe (1748 – November 27, 1802) was an American politician and military officer from Halifax, North Carolina.[1]

Biography

He was born in the Rocky Point District of the Province of North Carolina in 1748. He was the son of Samuel Ashe and Mary Porter Ashe (cousin to her husband and first wife). His father's residence was called the Neck and was on the northeast Cape Fear River. His father was to be governor of the state and also brother of North Carolina militia General John Ashe. He dropped the "a" from his middle name and was known as John Baptist Ashe.[2]

He owned at least 63 slaves as of the 1790 census.[3]

Military service

He served as a lieutenant in the Province of North Carolina New Hanover County militia during the time of the Regulator uprising in 1771. Later, during the American Revolutionary War, he served as a minuteman in the Salisbury District, and the 6th North Carolina Regiment of the North Carolina Line (Continental Army), leading the "Majors" company. He fought at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776, after which the minutemen battalions were disbanded in favor of local militia and the Continental Army. He joined the 6th North Carolina Regiment as a captain and later promoted to major and then lieutenant colonel. He was at Valley Forge and fought at the Battle of Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777; Battle of Germantown in Pennsylvania on October 4, 1777; and Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey on June 28, 1778.[4][2]

Political career

He served in the Province of North Carolina House of Burgesses in 1775. Ashe was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons (1784–1786) and served as Speaker of that body in 1786. He was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation in 1787. In 1789, Ashe was a delegate and Chairman of the Committee of the whole of the Fayetteville Convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States. That same year, he served in the North Carolina Senate.[2][5][6]

Ashe was elected to the 1st United States Congress and the 2nd United States Congress as an "Anti-Administration" (what became Anti-Federalist or Democratic-Republican) candidate, serving from 1790 to 1793.[2][5]

In 1802, the North Carolina General Assembly elected Ashe Governor, but he died before he could take office. He is buried in Halifax.[5][2]

Family

On October 7, 1779, he married Elizabeth Montfort. They lived on the outskirts of Halifax, North Carolina. They had one child, Samuel Porter Ashe, born on July 17, 1791.[2]

His namesake and nephew, John Baptista Ashe, served in Congress as a Representative from Tennessee.

References

  1. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 19, 2022, retrieved January 23, 2022
  2. ^ a b c d e f Davis, Curtis Carrolll. "John Baptist Ashe". NCPedia. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Lt.-Col. John Baptista Ashe (1748-1802) | Ashe Family". ashefamily.info. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  4. ^ Lewis, J.D. "Captain John Baptiste Ashe". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Congressional Biography
  6. ^ Lewis, J.D. "Royal Colony of North Carolina, 27th House of Burgesses". Carolana.com. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
U.S. House of Representatives
New constituency Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 1st congressional district
1790–1791 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 3rd congressional district
1791–1793 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor-elect of North Carolina
1802 		Succeeded by
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