George L. Ashmead

Ashmead, George L., Lawyer, was born in Philadelphia, on July 2d, 1809. He is a direct descendant of John Ashmead of Cheltenham, England, who came to Philadelphia in 1682, and settled on land which he purchased from William Penn, and named Cheltenham, now in Montgomery county. One of his ancestors was Captain John Ashmead, who served with distinction during the war of the Revolution; and another ancestor by the maternal line was Doctor George Lehman, who was a surgeon also in the Revolutionary army. By intermarriage the Ashmead family became connected with that of Governor Mifflin of Pennsylvania, and also with that of the distinguished and philanthropic Doctor Benjamin Rush. His father, Thomas Ashmead, now deceased, held for forty years, under every successive change of administration, an important position in the Custom-house at Philadelphia, and was universally respected for his integrity, kindness of heart, courteous and gentlemanly deportment. He himself received a liberal education, and was noted for intense application to his studies. When about twenty years of age, he commenced the study of the law, and was admitted to practice in 1832, obtaining a very creditable certificate from his examiners, among whom were the late venerable Charles Chauncey, and the late Hon. John K. Kane, the learned and distinguished Judge of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. By close attention to business, unwearied devotion to the interests of his clients, uprightness of character, and of the principles of law, he acquired an extensive practice in nearly all branches of law; but his predilections and tastes led him to prefer practice in the civil courts. In the course of his professional life he has participated in a number of important causes, among others, the cases of "Commonwealth vs. Gill," for murder, "Commonwealth vs. Von Vliet," for larceny, in which he was associate counsel with David Paul Brown and the Hon. William B. Read; "Potts vs. Hertzog," a celebrated ejectment case, in which property valued at several hundred thousand dollars was at stake, being therein associated with George W. Biddle, William L. Hirst, and other well-known and distinguished members of the Bar, one of whom said to him at the close of the case, "Mr. Ashmead, this cause was gained in your office;" and the well-known case of "The United States vs. Hanway," indicted for treason, in which he was one of the associate counsel for the United States. Shortly after his admission to the Bar, he was elected a director of public schools; at a subsequent period, he elected Solicitor for the large and important District of West Philadelphia, and while in this office he made and published a "Digest of the Laws and Ordinances pertaining to the District," which was remarkable for its completeness, clearness of arrangement, and accuracy. After the consolidation of Philadelphia, he was selected as First Assistant City Solicitor, under the administration of the Hon. William A. Porter, and it has been matter of remark, that the office of City Solicitor has never been administered more ably nor faithfully than then. Mr. Porter, before the close of his term as City Solicitor, was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and it became necessary for City Councils to elect a successor for the remainder of the term. He became a candidate, and was opposed by William L. Hirst, who was elected by a small majority. Having been an opposing candidate to the new Solicitor, he deemed it proper to send in his resignation as First Assistant, but at the urgent request of Mr. Hirst, he continued in office to the end of the term. At the time of the first nomination of the Hon. James R. Ludlow as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, his name was prominently before the Judicial Convention, and it was believed by his friends that his prospects for the nomination were very fair; but these prospects, whether fair or otherwise, were suddenly closed by the fact that a friend, who had been requested to present in his behalf to the Convention the usual pledge of candidates to abide by the nomination, neglected so to do, and under party rules, his name could not then be considered. In political life he is and always has been a Democrat, except that during the war of the Rebellion he deemed it his first duty to support men and measures to uphold the integrity of the Union. He is still in the vigor of manhood, and continues to manifest an active interest in public affairs. In his profession he ranks among our ablest and safest counsellors. During the intervals of professional toil, he has found leisure to indulge his scholarly tastes, and his conversation discloses a knowledge of general literature, familiarity with the best authors of the day, and classical attainments of a high order. Starting out in life with a proper estimate of the exalted duties of his profession, he, adopted a code of ethics no less stringent in its practice than the rules which govern judicial decrees. The purity of his life has been regulated by the severest discipline, his integrity is undoubted, and his clients all trust and honor him. In the practice of his profession, he has taken labor as the means of opening up the intricacies of his cases, and of drawing truth from the deepest wells. When he has finished the examination of his points, and matured his judgment and prepared for trial, there is nothing left undone. He has gone over the case and has seen all its points weak or strong. He is thus fully equipped for the contest. His style in pleading is clear, earnest and forcible. Disdaining all flights of oratory, he confines himself to the statement of facts in the simplest language, following this up with the support of the evidence, and so presenting his positions as to satisfy both judge and jury that he, at least, fully believes in the justice of his cause. From beginning to end he has an air of business, and is never betrayed into levity of manner or undue excitement. Ambitious of success, but too proud to seek it by tortuous means, he has won honorable distinction in his professional, public and private relations.

The Biographical Encyclopaedia of Pennsylvania of the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Company, 1874, p. 84.

Submitted by Nancy.