People Archives - Claremont NH Historical Society

A short report for the Claremont, N.H. Historical Society

Compiled by Rebecca Menard

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, here is a biography of Colonel Samuel Ashley (1720–1792), highlighting his life and the legacy he and his family left in Claremont and New England.

The Life and Legacy of Colonel Samuel Ashley

Samuel Ashley was born on March 20th, 1720 in Westfield, Massachusetts. The son of Joseph Ashley and Thankful Hawkes, Samuel direct descended from Robert Ashley, an early Puritan settler of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1742, he married Eunice Doolittle, the daughter of Northfield’s first minister; the couple eventually raised ten children.

Early Military and Civil Leadership

Ashley acted as a seasoned leaders before the Revolution ever began. He took part in early defense of the American frontier, serving several stints at Fort Dummer between 1740 and 1749. Fort Dummer was the first permanent European settlement in what is now the state of Vermont. Additionally, Colonel Ashley was a prolific founder of New England communities. He had original land grants and acted as first selectman of Winchester, New Hampshire in 1753. He was also a grantee of Windsor and Shrewsbury, Vermont, and later Claremont, New Hampshire. By the age of 40, he stood as a wealthy landowner, militia officer, and justice of the peace.

Revolutionary War Heroism

Ashley’s most significant contributions began at age 53 when he joined the patriot cause of American Independence. Ashley served New Hampshire as both a civil servant and a military leader.

He served as a delegate to a 1771 convention in Exeter which appointed representatives to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He also served as a delegate from Winchester to the Provincial Government in Portsmouth in 1774, helping to create a committee of correspondence to organize with patriots from other colonies. In 1775, he was appointed to the Committee of Safety, which was a group of influential citizens who enacted laws and ruled with the consent of the colonists, undermining the authority of the British crown.

As a military leader, Ashley was commissioned as a Colonel in 1775 and led his regiment to reinforce Ticonderoga in 1776 and 1777. In July 1777, he volunteered for General Stark’s staff as a Brigade Major and fought at the Battle of Bennington. He continued his service under General Horatio Gates until the surrender of Burgoyne. For his “spirit and expedition,” he and his troops received a formal letter of thanks from General Gates. Following the war, Ashley retired his colonelcy in 1779. In the same year, he was appointed to the Continental Congress but did not accept the appointment.

Outside of the Ashley home in Claremont

Legacy in Claremont and Beyond

After the war, Ashley’s influence shaped the early development of Claremont as we know it today. Following the Revolution, Ashley and his family possessed 22 of the town’s 75 land shares. This tract was laid out in 1784, with its boundary known as Ashley’s Line,” running from Ashley’s ferry landing along the Connecticut River to the Newport town line. An early map of the area now known as the Twin State Valley, Claremont is labelled as “Ashley”, a reference to the Colonel’s founding influence. Out of all 69 original grantees of Claremont, only 3 grantees came to live in the town and Samuel Ashley was one of them. The Colonel’s former home along the Connecticut River in Claremont was dismantled and the heritage building materials reclaimed by Keeper Barn, based out of Vershire, VT, in 2012.

At the time of its founding, Claremont was part of Cheshire county; Sullivan county did not exist until July 5, 1827. The colonel served as an associate and later chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Cheshire County until 1791. His sons also became prominent leaders. His son Oliver established a ferry across the Connecticut River and served as a Captain during the war. Another son, Samuel Jr., rose to the rank of Colonel in the New Hampshire Militia.

Colonel Samuel Ashley died of smallpox on February 18, 1792, and is buried in Union Cemetery in West Claremont. In his will, he left funds to support the Union Church (Episcopal) in West Claremont. His monument describes him as a man of “probity and fidelity” who displayed “the virtues of the patriot and Christian”.

The Claremont Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was named for Samuel Ashley.

References

BASCOM, R. O., & Holden, J. A. (1910). THE TICONDEROGA EXPEDITION OF 1775. Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association, 9, 303–389. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/42889435

COL Samuel Ashley (1720-1792) – Find a Grave… (2020). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33084192/samuel-ashley

Keeper Barn (2019). https://www.keeperbarn.com/#/waite-house-claremont-nh/

Trowbridge, F. B. (1896) History Of The Descendants Of Robert Ashley Of Springfield, Massachusetts. Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor.

Early Life and Family

Otis Waite’s 1895 book on the History of Claremont profiles Constance Fenimore Woolson as an “American Authoress”.

On March 5, 1840 in Claremont, NH March 5, 1840, Constance was born, one of eight children of Charles Jarvis Woolson and Hannah Cooper Pomeroy. Miss Woolson was part of an influential and literary family on both sides.

Her paternal grandfather, Thomas Woolson, described as an “ingenious mechanic” by Otis Waite and “a man of great inventive ability” and “very peculiar in his manners” by Hannah Cooper Pomeroy, was a state legislator and gifted inventor who operated a machine shop with Roswell Elmer east of the site of Sullivan manufacturing. His patents included the first successful iron cooking stove in America and parlor stoves – all known as Woolson stoves. Additionally, he created cast iron plows, machine cards, and clocks. Thomas built the Claremont’s town clock and other machinery related to the wool industry.

Constance’s maternal great-grandfather, Judge William Cooper, founded the village community of Cooperstown, New York. Woolson’s father met her mother when his work as a journalist brought him to Cooperstown, where the two wed in 1830. After some time, the newly wed couple returned to Claremont so Mr. Woolson could take up employment at his father’s firm. Hannah Cooper Pomeroy wrote a series of essays about her time in Claremont which are retained by the Claremont NH Historical Society.

The Woolson family lived on Sullivan Street in a home where the Methodist Church is presently. Charles Woolson also built a home on Sullivan Street beside the old library block while working for his father’s stove foundry. Their family spent time with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel P. Fiske. Following Constance’s birth and the death of Thomas Woolson, the Woolson’s family moved to Cleveland, Ohio to help the family grieve the deaths of her three older sisters with scarlet fever. The three children and the grandfather, Thomas, are buried in the Old Burying Ground behind the Fiske Free Library on Barber Street.

Constance acquired her taste for literature through education, travels and living in Europe, and her deeply literary family. Her grandmother Hannah Cooper Woolson, uncle James Fenimore Cooper (American Novelist of 19^th century known for the Last of the Mochicans), and her father Charles Jarvis Woolson all shared a love of literature and wrote. In addition to her study of classic literature, Miss Woolson studied French, German, and Italian in Europe.

Career and Impact

Constance Fenimore Woolson wrote fiction and essays for The Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s Magazine, poetry, short stories, and in the late 1800’s, published novels of her own.

Constance spent her life traveling the world and writing. She traversed Europe, with a particular affinity for Germany, England, France, Italy, and Switzerland. Other places she visited included Greece, Jerusalem, and Egypt. She never married.

Miss Woolson died on January 24, 1894 following a fall from a balcony in Venice, Italy. The conditions of her death are still the subject of speculation – was the fall accidental or intentional?

View pieces from Constance’s library and pick up a free copy of The Claremont Woolsons at the CHS museum today!

last edited 8/7/25