[2] He received his education in the local schools, then studied law with an attorney in Monroe, Michigan.

[1][4] As a member of the Democratic Party,[5] Ashley served as district attorney of Monterey County from 1851 to 1852.

[1] In 1865, news accounts indicated he had been a passenger aboard the steamship Yosemite when her boiler exploded, killing 55 and injuring and burning dozens more.

[7] Later that year he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Nevada's at-large district.

[1] When his health began to fail in 1872, Ashley moved to San Francisco, California, where he lived in retirement until his death on July 18, 1873.