John Cornelius Asbury (1862–1941) was an American lawyer and state legislator in Pennsylvania. A Republican, he served two terms in the Pennsylvania General Assembly in the 1920s and sponsored civil rights bills.

Isaac E. Asbury was his brother. He studied at Washington and Jefferson College and received a law degree from Howard University in 1885. Early in his career, he served as Commonwealth's Attorney (similar to District Attorney) in Norfolk County, Virginia. from 1887 to 1891. He later moved to Philadelphia where he practiced law.

He was appointed to serve as Assistant City Solicitor in Philadelphia from 1916 to 1920. He served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1921 to 1924. He authored civil rights bills in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and founded Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania for African Americans.

He did not run for a third term in 1924. From 1928 to 1932, he served as the Assistant District Attorney of Philadelphia. Then, he served as the Deputy Auditor General, office of the Pennsylvania Auditor General from 1932 to 1937.

He married Kate E. Allen in 1886. She died in 1898, and he married Ida Elizabeth Bowser in 1901 and they had a son David Bowser Asbury.

He supported Downingtown Industrial School and Mercy Hospital.

See also
List of African-American officeholders (1900–1959)

References

Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
20th-century African-American politicians
20th-century American politicians
Washington & Jefferson College alumni
Howard University School of Law alumni
Pennsylvania lawyers
1862 births
1941 deaths
African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania
African-American lawyers
African-American men in politics
Politicians from Philadelphia
Politicians from Washington County, Pennsylvania
Lawyers from Philadelphia
Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia