Breckinridge family

Biographical Notes and Chronological List

Biographical Notes

(A Chronological list of the names of major family members, their spouses, and children is also available.)

Henry Breckinridge

• 1886, May 25: Born, Chicago, Ill.
• 1907: A.B., Princeton University,Princeton, N.J.
• 1910: Cambridge, Mass. Cambridge LL.B, Harvard University,Cambridge, Mass. Married Ruth Bradley Woodman
• 1910 - 1913 : Law practice, Lexington, Ky.
• 1913 - 1916 : Assistant secretary of war
• 1916 - 1917 : First vice president, Pacific Hardware and Steel Co.,San Francisco, Calif.
• 1917 - 1919 : Served with American Expeditionary Forces
• 1922 - 1960 : Law practice, New York, N.Y.
• 1927: Married Aida de Acosta Root (divorced)
• 1932: Counsel to Charles A. Lindbergh during kidnap ransom negotiations
• 1934: Candidate of Constitutional Party for senator from New York
• 1936: Entered presidential preference primaries in four states
• 1947: Married Margaret Lucy Smith
• 1960, May 2: Died, New York, N.Y

John Breckinridge

• 1760, Dec. 2: Born near present site of Staunton, Va.
• 1779 - 1780 : Attended College of William and Mary,Williamsburg, Va.
• 1785: Virginia Virginia Admitted to Virginia bar Married Mary Hopkins Cabell
• 1792: Virginia Virginia Lexington, Ky. Lexington Left Virginia and settled near Lexington, Ky.
• 1792 - 1795 : Practiced law
• 1795: Appointed attorney general of Kentucky
• 1797 - 1801 : Served in Kentucky state legislature
• 1801 - 1805 : Senator from Kentucky
• 1805 - 1806 : Attorney general of the United States
• 1806, Dec. 14: Died, Lexington, Ky.

John Cabell Breckinridge

• 1821, Jan. 15: Born near Lexington, Ky.
• 1839: Graduated from Centre College,Danville, Ky.
• 1840 - 1841 : Studied law at Transylvania College,Lexington, Ky.
• 1843: Married Mary Cyrene Burch
• 1849 - 1851 : Represented Fayette County in Kentucky state legislature
• 1851 - 1855 : Served in United States House of Representatives
• 1856: Elected vice president of the United States
• 1860: Presidential nominee of the Democratic National Convention
• 1861: United States Senator from Kentucky
• 1861 - 1865 : Served in Confederate army
• 1865 - 1868 : Lived in exile in Europe
• 1869: Returned to law practice in Lexington, Ky.
• 1875, May 17: Died, Lexington, Ky.

Joseph Cabell Breckinridge

• 1842, Jan. 14: Born, Baltimore, Md.
• 1861: Joined United States Army; promoted through grades to major general, 1903
• 1868: Married Louise Ludlow Dudley
• 1889 - 1903 : Inspector general, United States Army
• 1892 - 1899 : Vice president general, Sons of the American Revolution
• 1898: Participated in Santiago campaign, Spanish-American War
• 1900 - 1901 : President general, Sons of the American Revolution
• 1920, Aug. 18: Died, Washington, D.C.

Madeline (McDowell) Breckinridge

• 1872, May 20: Born, Woodlake, Ky.
• 1898: Married Desha Breckinridge
• 1919: 1912 - 1915 : President, Kentucky Equal Rights Association
• 1913 - 1917 : Vice president, State Tuberculosis Commission
• 1920, Nov. 15: Died, Lexington, Ky.

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge

• 1800, Mar. 8: Born, Fayette County, Ky.
• 1819: Graduated, Union College,Schenectady, N.Y.
• 1823: Married Ann Sophonisba Preston (died, 1844)
• 1824: Began law practice
• 1825 - 1828 : Served in Kentucky state legislature
• 1832: Princeton, N.J. Princeton Studied for the ministry at Princeton University,Princeton, N.J. Licensed to preach in Presbyterian church
• 1832 - 1845 : Minister, Second Presbyterian Church,Baltimore, Md.
• 1836: Representative of Presbyterian General Assembly in Glasgow, Scotland
• 1845 - 1847 : President, Jefferson College
• 1847: Lexington, Ky. Lexington Minister, First Presbyterian Church,Lexington, Ky. Married Mrs. Virginia (Hart) Shelby (died, 1859)
• 1847 - 1851 : Superintendent of public instruction for Kentucky public school system
• 1853 - 1869 : Professor, Danville Theological Seminary,Danville, Ky.
• 1858: Publication of The Knowledge of God, Objectively Considered... (New York: R. Carter & Brothers, 530 p.)
• 1859: Publication of The Knowledge of God, Subjectively Considered... (New York: R. Carter & Brothers, 697 p.) Married Margaret (Faulkner) White
• 1871, Nov 27: Died, Danville, Ky.

Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge

• 1866: Born, Lexington, Ky.
• 1888: S.B., Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
• 1901: Ph.D., University of Chicago,Chicago, Ill.
• 1902 - 1933 : Instructor and professor, University of Chicago,Chicago, Ill.
• 1908 - 1920 : Resident of Hull House,Chicago, Ill.
• 1915: Delegate to Women's Peace Congress,The Hague, Netherlands
• 1930: Delegate to Pan-American Children's Congress,Lima, Peru
• 1930: President, Illinois Welfare Association
• 1933: Delegate to Pan-American Conference,Montevideo, Uruguay
• 1934 - 1935 : President, American Association of Schools of Social Work
• 1948, July 30: Died, Chicago, Ill.

William Campbell Preston Breckinridge

• 1837, Aug. 28: Born, Baltimore, Md.
• 1855: Graduated from Centre College,Danville, Ky.
• 1857: Graduated from Louisville Law College and entered law practice, Louisville, Ky.
• 1859: Married Lucretia Clay (died, 1860)
• 1861: Married Issa Desha (died, 1892)
• 1862: Joined Confederate Army
• 1866 - 1868 : Editor of Lexington Observer and Reporter,Lexington, Ky.
• 1884 - 1894 : Served in United States House of Representatives
• ----: Married Louise R. Scott Wing
• 1897: Became chief editorial writer for Lexington Morning Herald,Lexington, Ky.
• 1904, Nov. 19: Died, Lexington, Ky.

Clifton Rodes Breckinridge

• 1846, Nov. 22: Born, Lexington, Ky.
• 1870 - 1883 : Cotton planter in Arkansas
• 1876: Married Katherine Carson (also addressed as Catharine)
• 1883 - 1894 : Member of United States House of Representatives
• 1894 - 1897 : United States United States Russia Russian Federation United States minister to Russia
• 1917: Democratic member of the Arkansas State Constitutional Convention
• 1932, Dec. 3: Died, Fort Smith, Ark.

Chronological List of the Names of Major Family Members, Their Spouses, and Children

Papers of the individuals listed here make up the greater part of the Breckinridge Family Papers. Names of children who are known not to have survived to adulthood are omitted.

Major Family Members and Spouses Children John Breckinridge (1760-1806) m. Mary Hopkins Cabell (1788-1823) Grayson Porter Breckinridge (1786-1831) Joseph Cabell Breckinridge (1769-1858) John Breckinridge (1788-1823) Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1800-1871) William Lewis Breckinridge (1803-1876) Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1760-1806) m. (1) Ann Sophonisba Preston (d. 1844) Mary Cabell (Breckinridge) Warfield (b. 1828) Sally Campbell (Breckinridge) Morrison (1832-1865) Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (b. 1834) Marie L. Preston (Breckinridge) Handy (b. 1836) William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1837-1904) Sophonisba Preston (Breckinridge) Steele (b. 1839) Joseph Cabell Breckinridge (1842-1920) (2) Virginia (Hart) Shelby (d. 1859) John Robert Breckinridge (b. 1850) (3) Margaret (Faulkner) White --- John Cabell Breckinridge (1821-1875) [son] of Joseph Cabell Breckinridge (1788-1823) m. Mary Cyrene Burch Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Clifton Rodes Breckinridge (1846-1932) Frances (Breckinridge) Steel John W. "Owen" Breckinridge Mary (Breckinridge) Maltby William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1837-1904) m. (1) Lucretia Hart Clay (d. 1860) --- (2) Issa Desha (1843-1892) Ella Desha (Breckinridge) Chalkley (b. 1862) Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge (1866-1948) Desha Breckinridge (1867-1935) Campbell Breckinridge Issa Desha Breckinridge Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Mary Curry Breckinridge (3) Louis R. Scott Wing --- Joseph Cabell Breckinridge (1842-1920) m. Louis Ludlow Dudley (1849-circa 1911) Mary Dudley (Breckinridge) Hines Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Louisa Dudley Breckinridge Ethelbert L. Dudley Breckinridge Mabel Warfield Breckinridge Lucian Scott Breckinridge Lucy Hayes Breckinridge Scott Dudley Breckinridge (1882-1941) Charles H. P. Breckinridge Henry [Skillman] Breckinridge (1886-1960) Margaret Scott S. Breckinridge John Preston Breckinridge Mary Desha (1850-1911) [sister-in-law of William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1837-1904)] Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge (1866-1948) Madeline (McDowell) Breckinridge (1872-1920) m. Desha Breckinridge (1867-1935) Henry [Skillman] Breckinridge (1886-1960) m. (1) Ruth B. Woodman Elizabeth Foster Breckinridge Louis Dudley Breckinridge (2) Aida de Acosta Root -- (3) Margaret Lucy Smith Madeline Houston Breckinridge

Hereinafter cited as Henry Breckinridge ("Skillman" appears to have been dropped after his early years).

From the guide to the Breckinridge Family Papers, 1752-1965, (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)