Gov. Samuel Ashe

Samuel Swann Ashe born 1725 was married to Mary Moore Porter in either 1746 or 1747 in Wilmington NC. Mary was the daughter of John Swann Porter 1701-1744 and Mary Moore 1695-? Mary was born in Halifax NC in 1721 and died 9/1/1769 or 1765 in Wilmington NC. She is buried in the Ashe family cemetery on the plantation “The Neck” in Rocky Point MC. Her son Samuel Porter Ashe was also elected governor of NC but died before serving.

Governor Samuel Swann Ashe also married Elizabeth Merrick - there are various birth dates for her - from Green Co NC with 1728 or 1745. They married in 1769. Had 3 sons and she died in 1815.

Was the Anti-Federalist governor of the U.S. State of North Carolina from 1795 to 1798.

Ashe was born in Beaufort, North Carolina. His father, John Baptista Ashe, and brother, John Ashe, both served as Speaker of the North Carolina Colonial Assembly, or House of Burgesses. Ashe became an orphan at the age of 9. He married Mary Porter in 1748; they had three children, including John Baptista Ashe, who would serve in the Continental Congress. After Mary died, Ashe remarried, this time to Elizabeth Merrik.

Ashe studied law and was named Assistant Attorney for the Crown in the Wilmington district of the colony.

He became involved in the revolutionary movement and served in the North Carolina Provincial Congress and as a member of the North Carolina militia. For a little more than one month in 1776, Ashe served as president of the Council of Safety, the state's executive authority. He was also appointed to the committee that drafted the first North Carolina Constitution. In 1776, he was elected to the new North Carolina Senate and was elected its first speaker. The following year, Ashe was appointed presiding judge of the state Superior Court; a post he held until 1795.

In 1795, the General Assembly elected him governor at the age of 70. He served three one-year terms, the maximum constitutional limit, before retiring in 1798. Ashe continued to remain active in politics after his term as governor, serving as a member of the United States Electoral College in 1804.

Ashe County and the cities of Asheville, North Carolina and Asheboro, North Carolina are named in his honor.

In World War II the United States liberty ship SS Samuel Ashe was named in his honor.

Samuel Ashe (March 24, 1725 – February 3, 1813) was the ninth Governor of the U.S. State of North Carolina from 1795 to 1798.

Ashe was born in Beaufort, North Carolina. His father, John Baptista Ashe, and brother, John Ashe, both served as Speaker of the North Carolina Colonial Assembly, or House of Burgesses. Ashe became an orphan at the age of 9. He married Mary Porter in 1748; they had three children, including John Baptista Ashe, who would serve in the Continental Congress. After Mary died, Ashe remarried, this time to Elizabeth Merrik.

Ashe studied law and was named Assistant Attorney for the Crown in the Wilmington district of the colony.

He became involved in the revolutionary movement and served in the North Carolina Provincial Congress and as a member of the North Carolina militia. For a little more than one month in 1776, Ashe served as president of the Council of Safety, the state's executive authority. He was also appointed to the committee that drafted the first North Carolina Constitution. In 1776, he was elected to the new North Carolina Senate and was elected its first speaker. The following year, Ashe was appointed presiding judge of the state Superior Court; a post he held until 1795.

In 1795, the General Assembly elected him governor at the age of 70. He served three one-year terms, the maximum constitutional limit, before retiring in 1798. Ashe continued to remain active in politics after his term as governor, serving as a member of the United States Electoral College in 1804.

Ashe County and the cities of Asheville, North Carolina and Asheboro, North Carolina are named in his honor.

In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Samuel Ashe was named in his honor.

Ashe's grandson, William Ashe, was a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War, and a son of John B. and Eliza (Hay) Ashe. He was killed at Shiloh in 1862, a battle in which William's brother, Samuel Swann Ashe, also fought.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8076741

GEDCOM Note

was a member of the Council of Safety of the Provincial Congress 1744-6. He was appointed Chief Justice, 1777, which office he held until elected Governor. He served from 1795-1798. He was born in Albemarle County Va. died in Rocky Point, N.C. [Haywood-Shepperd-Ashe-Waring-Henry.FBK.GED.FTW]

Elected in April, 1777, Speaker of the House in the first N. C. Senate. Party Anti-Federalist