Representative Delos Rodeyn Ashley - Contact Information

Delos Rodeyn Ashley (February 19, 1828 – July 18, 1873) was a California and Nevada politician who served as State Treasurer of California and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada. A member of the Republican Party during his congressional career, he represented Nevada in the United States Congress from March 4, 1865, to March 3, 1869, serving two terms during a significant period in American history and contributing to the legislative process as part of the post–Civil War Congresses.

Ashley was born at Arkansas Post, Arkansas Territory, on February 19, 1828. He was the son of Chester Ashley, an attorney who later served as a United States senator from Arkansas. Delos Ashley received his early education in local schools and then pursued legal training in the traditional manner of the time, reading law under the supervision of an attorney in Monroe, Michigan. He was admitted to the bar in 1849, marking the formal beginning of his legal career.

Shortly after his admission to the bar, Ashley moved to Monterey, California, in 1849, where he established a law practice amid the rapid growth and social change brought on by the California Gold Rush. Initially affiliated with the Democratic Party, he quickly entered public life. From 1851 to 1852 he served as district attorney of Monterey County, California. He then represented the 3rd District in the California State Assembly from 1854 to 1855, participating in the early legislative development of the state. In 1856 he was elected to the California State Senate, where he served through 1857 as a member of the American Party, commonly known as the Know Nothings, and during his term he held the position of president pro tempore of the Senate.

Ashley later aligned himself with the Republican Party as national politics realigned in the years leading up to and during the Civil War. He was elected California State Treasurer and served in that statewide office from 1862 to 1863, overseeing financial matters for the state during a period of wartime economic and political strain. In 1864 he relocated to Virginia City, Nevada, then a booming mining center, where his legal and political experience positioned him to play a role in the affairs of the newly admitted state.

In 1865 Ashley survived a serious transportation disaster that drew wide public attention. Contemporary news accounts reported that he was a passenger aboard the steamship Yosemite when its boiler exploded on the Sacramento River, killing 55 people and injuring and burning dozens more. Ashley was blown into the river by the force of the explosion and escaped the wreck by swimming to shore. Later that year he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Nevada’s at-large district and was reelected in 1866, serving two full terms from March 4, 1865, to March 3, 1869. During his service in the House of Representatives, Ashley participated in the democratic process on behalf of his Nevada constituents at a time when Congress was grappling with the aftermath of the Civil War and the challenges of Reconstruction. He served as chairman of the Committee on Mines and Mining, a role of particular importance to Nevada, whose economy was heavily dependent on mineral resources. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1868.

After leaving Congress, Ashley continued his legal career in Nevada. In 1871 he moved to Pioche, Nevada, another important mining community, where he resumed the practice of law. His health began to fail in 1872, prompting him to move to San Francisco, California. There he lived in retirement until his death on July 18, 1873. He was originally interred at Calvary Cemetery in San Francisco. When that cemetery was later closed and its remains relocated, Ashley’s remains became part of a mass reburial at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California, where they rest in Section H.

Ashley was married to Annie (McNamara) Ashley. The couple had four children: Delos Richard Ashley (1852–1932); Annie Rosalie Ashley O’Connell (1854–1899), who married Daniel O’Connell; Ida Inez Ashley Eddy (1861–1932); and Victoria Frances Ashley (1864–1864), who died in infancy.