Samuel Ashe (1725-1813) |
| Relationship to the Speculation Lands: |
| Ashe was Governor of North Carolina from 1795 to1798. As required by state law, it is his signature that appears on many of the earliest land deeds along with that of James Glasgow, Secretary of State. |
| Biography: |
| Born in Bath, in Beaufort County but lived in New Hanover
County, N.C. Ashe first served as a Delegate to the North Carolina state
constitutional convention in 1776. In 1777 he became an associate
justice of the North Carolina state supreme court and in 1795 Ashe, then
70 years old, was elected Governor and served three one-year terms. It
was during his second term in office that he became embroiled in the
Glasgow affair. Glasgow was charged with the sale of forged warrants for
lands in Tennessee. Ashe, acting on the advice of Andrew Jackson, called
for an investigation of Glasgow, the current state Secretary. Glasgow
was brought to trial, found guilty and left both his state office and
the state of North Carolina. As Governor, Ashe also presided as the
President of the University of North Carolina's Board of Trustees. Ashe
was a strong opponent of the Federalists though he supported John Adams
during the 1798 dispute with France (John Jay Affair).
He died on February 3, 1813. He is buried in Ashe County in the Ashe family cemetery. |
| On-Site Links: |
| 0009 Patent 1035, January 28, 1795, 1,920 acres. Assigned/sold to Tench Coxe, November 26, 1796. |
| Bibliography: |
| Ashe's letters and documents are found in the North Carolina State
Department of Archives and History, Raleigh and in the Southern
Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Powell, William S., ed. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, vol. 1, 1979. Ssunders, William L., et al eds., The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina (1886-1914). His obituary appears in the Raleigh Star, 5 February, 1893. |