William H. Ashley
William Henry Ashley (c. 1778 – March 26, 1838) was an American miner, land speculator, manufacturer, territorial militia general, politician, frontiersman, fur trader, entrepreneur and hunter.Before the war, he did some real estate speculation and earned a small fortune manufacturing gunpowder from a lode of saltpeter mined in a cave, near the headwaters of the Current River in Missouri.Jedediah Smith's party, part of Ashley's Hundred, were officially credited with the American discovery of South Pass in the winter of 1824.Ashley devised the rendezvous system in which trappers, Indians and traders would meet annually in a predetermined location to exchange furs, goods and money.His innovations in the fur trade earned Ashley a great deal of money and recognition, and helped open the western part of the continent to American expansion.
William Ashley (disambiguation)U.S. House of RepresentativesMissouriat-largeSpencer D. PettisJohn MillerLieutenant Governor of MissouriWilliam ClarkAlexander McNairBenjamin Harrison ReevesPowhatan County, VirginiaCooper County, MissouriMissouri MilitiaWar of 1812Andrew HenryRocky Mountain Fur Incorporatedmountain menSte. GenevieveLouisiana Territorypurchased by the United StatesSt. LouisgunpowdersaltpeterCurrent Riverlieutenant governor1824 Missouri gubernatorial electionFrederick BatesNorth American fur tradeRocky MountainsArikaraSamuel HawkenHawken rifleJedediah SmithSouth Passrendezvous systemIndiansAmerican expansionSalt Lake ValleyGreat Salt LakeUtah LakeFrances Fuller VictorColoradoSouth Platte RiverFront RangeCache la Poudre RiverLaramie PlainsGreen RiverSpencer Darwin PettisUnited States House of RepresentativesJacksonian Party1836 Missouri gubernatorial electionburial moundLamine TownshipLamine RiverMissouri RiverAshley, MissouriAshley National ForestBiographical Directory of the United States CongressThe Biographical Dictionary of AmericaWayback MachineU.S. House of RepresentativesMissouri's at-large congressional districtLieutenant governors of MissouriAshleyReevesDunklinCannonMarmadukeJacksonReynoldsStanardGravelyJohnsonColemanBrockmeyerCampbellMorehouseClaycombO'MearaMcKinleyGmelichPainterCrossleyBennettWinterHarrisEagletonMorrisPhelpsRothmanCarnahanWilsonMaxwellKinderParsonWasinger