James 'Big Jim' Ashley (November 14, 1824 - September 16, 1896) was an Ohio politician and railroad builder who was involved in the building of the rail line from Toledo to Ann Arbor and points north. Ashley Street is named after him.
Timeline
- 1897. Eulogized in Ann Arbor at the Unitarian Church.
- September 16, 1896, Dies in Alma, Michigan. Obituary, New York Times.
- 1892. Runs for US House of Representatives, loses.
- 1890. Runs for US House of Representatives, loses.
- 1869. Appointed governor of Montana Territory by President Ulysses S. Grant.
- 1858. Elected to US House of Representatives from Toledo, Ohio; serves five terms as an abolitionist Republican.
More information
- James Ashley - Ohio History Central
- In 1869, President Ulysses Grant appointed Ashley governor of the Montana Territory. A majority of the people residing in Montana favored the Democratic Party and opposed Ashley's Radical Republican views. He served as governor for fifteen months and returned to Toledo after President Grant removed him from office. Ashley then became involved with railroad construction and helped to establish the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan Railroad. He ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1890 and 1892 but he lost both elections. He died on September 16, 1896, in Alma, Michigan.
- Wikipedia: James Mitchell Ashley
- 416 S. Ashley Street, Ann Arbor District Library
Annie was the brainchild of James M. Ashley, an energetic man who had been governor of the Montana territory, a United States congressman from Ohio, and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. In a eulogy at the Unitarian Church in Ann Arbor in 1897, he was described as a large man, "intellectually, physically, and morally. There was nothing petty, small or mean about him." The name of the street upon which this station stands was changed to Ashley to honor him.
- The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1891, p79
In the news
- IN A RECEIVER'S HANDS.; The Toledo and Ann Arbor Road Alieged to be Insolvent. New York Times, April 29, 1893, Wednesday, Page 11, 553 words
TOLEDO, April 28 -- Following in the wake of Vice President J.M. Ashley's financial reverses, the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railroad has been thrown into the hands of a receiver. The Hon. Wellington R. Burt of Saginaw, Mich., father-in-law of General Manager Harry W. Ashley, is the receiver.
