A portrait of Judge Ashur Ware by Joseph Greenleaf Cole, painted in 1846.

Ware (1782-1873), a native of Massachusetts and graduate of Harvard, came to Portland in 1817, was admitted to the bar, ran the "Eastern Argus," served as Secretary of State in 1820-21, and was appointed judge in U.S. District Court in Portland in 1822, a post he held until 1866.

He also was a trustee of Bowdoin College, president of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad, and president of Casco Bank and Exchange Bank.

Cole (1806-1858) worked in Portland for several years, but spent most of his career in Boston.