Ashbel P. Willard

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Ashbel Parsons Willard
Indiana House of Representatives
In office December 5, 1850 – December 4, 1852
12th Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
In office January 10, 1853 – January 12, 1857
Governor	Joseph A. Wright
Preceded by	James H. Lane
Succeeded by	Abram A. Hammond
11th Governor of Indiana
In office January 12, 1857 – October 4, 1860
Lieutenant	Abram A. Hammond
Preceded by	Joseph A. Wright
Succeeded by	Abram A. Hammond
Personal details
Born	Ashbel Parsons Willard October 31, 1820 Oneida County, New York, U.S.
Died	October 4, 1860(1860-10-04) (aged 39) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Hamilton College

Ashbel Parsons Willard (October 31, 1820 – October 4, 1860) was state senator, the 12th lieutenant governor, and the 11th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. His terms in office were marked by increasingly severe partisanship leading to the breakup of the state Democratic Party in the years leading up to the American Civil War. His brother-in-law John Edwin Cook was involved in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, and was executed. Willard went to the south to advocate unsuccessfully for his release, and became despised by southerners who accused him of having a secret involvement in the raid. He died two months before the start of the war while giving a speech on national unity, and was the first governor of Indiana to die in office.