Born in
Genoa, New York, Asahel Finch Jr. married Mary De Forest Bristol in 1830 and they moved to
Adrian, Michigan. He began studying law in 1834, and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1838. He served in the
Michigan House of Representatives in 1837, then resigned before the end of his term, and moved to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1839, where he opened a law firm (now
Foley & Lardner) with
William Pitt Lynde. In 1867, Finch unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Milwaukee. Initially a
Whig, he aided in the creation of the
Republican Party and supported
John C. Frémont for President in 1856. ==References==