Elias Ashmole was born (1617) and educated at Lichfield. He began his career as a solicitor, but in 1644 entered the service of the Crown as a commissioner of excise. It was his marriage with Lady Mainwaring in 1647 which enabled him to indulge his tastes in alchemy and astronomy. These and other interests led him to form a wide circle of friends, some of whom bequeathed to him valuable manuscript collections (see Scope and Content). Ashmole had entered the Office of Arms as Windsor Herald after the Restoration, but about 1672 he retired on a pension, which he enjoyed until his death in 1692. The foundation of his Museum at Oxford was made possible by his acquisition by bequest from his friend John Tradescant of a large collection of 'curiosities'. They arrived when the building was ready in 1683. Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography .
From the guide to the Ashmole Manuscripts, 11th-17th century, (Bodleian Library, University of Oxford)
