John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) - Relocation To Kentucky

Relocation To Kentucky

Breckinridge's half-brothers, Andrew and Robert, moved to Kentucky in 1781, and his brother William followed in 1783. By 1785, Andrew and Robert were trustees of Louisville. Their letters described Kentucky's abundant land and plentiful legal business, in contrast to the crowded bar and scarce unclaimed land in Virginia. By 1788, Breckinridge was convinced that Kentucky offered him more opportunity, and the next year, he traveled west to seek land on which to construct an estate. Although reports of his death reached Virginia, he arrived safely in Kentucky on April 15, 1789, and returned to Virginia in June. The following year, he paid 360 pounds sterling for 600 acres (2.4 km2) along the North Elkhorn Creek about 6 miles (9.7 km) from present-day Lexington, Kentucky. The land, purchased from his only sister Betsy's father-in-law, lay adjacent to land owned by his sister, and in 1792, he purchased an adjacent 1,000 acres (4.0 km2), bringing his total holdings in Kentucky to 1,600 acres (6.5 km2). After the purchase, he instructed William Russell, a friend already living in Kentucky, to find tenants to lease and improve the land.

In February 1792, Breckinridge, a Democratic-Republican, was elected over token opposition to the U.S. House of Representatives. On the date of the election, he wrote to Archibald Stuart, "The People appearing willing to elect, I could have no objection to serve them one Winter in Congress." Despite this, he left for Kentucky in March 1793 and resigned without serving a day in Congress, which convened on March 4. He chose the longer but safer route to Kentucky, joining a group of flatboats at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, for the trip down the Monongahela and Ohio rivers to Limestone (now Maysville, Kentucky). His family, along with 25 slaves, arrived in April and established their plantation, Cabell's Dale. By the time of Breckinridge's move, he owned 30,000 acres (120 km2) in Kentucky.