- John Breckinridge (1760–1806)
John Breckinridge (
December 2 ,1760 –December 14 ,1806 ) was aUnited States Senator and Attorney General. He was the progenitor of the Breckinridge political family.Early Life in Virginia
Born in
Staunton, Virginia , Breckinridge attended the prestigiousWilliam and Mary College . He was first elected to theVirginia legislature when he was only 19 years old and still a student, but because he was underage, he was not allowed to serve until his third term.Breckinridge served in the Virginia
militia during theAmerican Revolutionary War . Afterwards he studied law, and began a private practice inCharlottesville, Virginia . He was elected to theUnited States Congress , but resigned in 1792 before his term even began.Kentucky and U.S. Politics
In 1793 he moved to
Lexington, Kentucky and began to practice law there. He purchased 2,467 acres (10 km²) of land and established a horse breeding operation that would becomeCastleton Farm , one of the most famous names in American horse racing history. He ran for a seat in theUnited States Senate in 1794, but was not elected by the legislature. He was, however, appointedAttorney General of Kentucky in 1795, although he resigned this position as well in 1797. He then successfully ran for a seat in theKentucky House of Representatives , and served for two years. During this time he became theSpeaker of the House .In 1799, he served in Kentucky's constitutional convention. Afterwards he ran, this time as a Democratic-Republican, for a seat in the United States Senate, and he was elected. He served from
March 4 ,1801 , untilAugust 7 ,1805 , when he resigned again, this time to accept an appointment as theAttorney General of the United States under PresidentThomas Jefferson .By many accounts, Breckinridge was an important adviser to Jefferson, and he sponsored Jefferson's
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions . Breckinridge died in 1806, while still serving as Attorney General. He was buried inLexington Cemetery .According to Ethelbert Dudley Warfield's book "The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798: An Historical Study" Breckinridge was the major author of the Kentucky Resolutions.
Legacy
*He was the father of minister and educator
Robert Jefferson Breckinridge .
*He was the grandfather of C.S. GeneralJohn C. Breckinridge , the fourteenthVice President of the United States , who was also related to SenatorsHenry Clay and Thomas Hart Benton.
*He was the grandfather of GeneralRobert Jefferson Breckinridge II , Spanish-American War Commander
*He was a great-grandfather of U.S. Representative and Minister to RussiaClifton R. Breckinridge , son of John C.
*He was a great-grandfather of US Navy officerJoseph Breckinridge son of Joseph Cabell Breckinridge 1842-1920
*He was a great-great-grandfather of actorBunny Breckinridge and ofJohn B. Breckinridge who succeeded him asAttorney General of Kentucky and as a member of theKentucky House of Representatives and who also served in theUnited States House of Representatives .
*Two of his other grandsons were US Congressman [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000790 William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1837-1904)] and Confederate General [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10882 John Breckinridge Grayson (1806-1861)] .{General Grayson was also a grandson of Virginia SenatorWilliam Grayson }.
*He was a cousin of CongressmanJohn Brown (Kentucky) .
*Breckinridge County, Kentucky is named in his honor.Further reading
*Harrison, Lowell. "John Breckinridge, Jeffersonian Republican". Louisville: Filson Club, 1969
*Klotter, James C. "The Breckinridges of Kentucky: Two Centuries of Leadership." Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1986.External links
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000787 Congressional biography]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/fayette/breckinridge.j.txt Biography from History of Kentucky by Lewis Collins]
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