Ashley, William Henry, c.1778–1838, American fur trader and politician, b. Virginia. In 1820 he was elected lieutenant governor of Missouri. He sent fur-trading expeditions up the Missouri River to the Yellowstone in 1822 and 1823; the parties included Jedediah Smith and other mountain men mountain men, fur trappers and traders in the Rocky Mts. during the 1820s and 30s. Their activities opened that region of the United States to general knowledge.
..... Click the link for more information. . A detachment of the second party under Thomas Fitzpatrick went through South Pass to the Green River valley. In 1825, Ashley accompanied another expedition that crossed from the upper Platte to Green River and began its exploration. In its valley he held the first rendezvous of the mountain fur traders and trappers. In 1826 he led an expedition that reached the vicinity of Great Salt Lake. Having acquired an ample fortune, he retired from the fur trade and devoted himself to politics. He was defeated for the governorship of Missouri in 1824 and 1836, but from 1831 to 1837 was U.S. Representative and an able advocate of measures favorable to Western development.

Bibliography

See H. C. Dale, The Ashley-Smith Explorations (1918); B. De Voto, Across the Wide Missouri (1948).

Ashley, William Henry

(born c. 1778, Powhatan, Va., U.S.—died March 26, 1838, Cooper county, Mo.) U.S. fur trader. Arriving in Missouri about 1802, he prospered in mining and land speculation. In 1820 he became the state's first lieutenant governor. With Andrew Henry (1771–1833), he organized the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. in 1822 and established a trading post at the mouth of the Yellowstone River. Forced to abandon the post by Indians, he instituted the annual rendezvous (1825), where trappers would trade their furs to him for supplies for the next year. By 1827 he had made a fortune and retired. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1831–37), he championed Western interests.