Alexander Scott Bullitt (1761 – April 13, 1816) was an American pioneer, planter, slaveowner, and politician from Virginia who became an early settler in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and a leader during the early days of Kentucky statehood.

Early and family life

Bullitt's family had come to America as refugee French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s in 1685. Arriving first in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, part of the family settled in

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manass ...

. Alexander was born there in 1761, the son of colonial planter and politician

Cuthbert Bullitt Cuthbert Bullitt (c. 1740 – 1791) was an American colonial planter and lawyer from Prince William County, Virginia. During the American Revolution, he was a local and colonial politician, and voted against ratification of the U.S. Constitut ...

and Helen (Scott) Bullitt. His father owned plantations and slaves, as well as was a leading lawyer in local and colonial affairs. Alexander's early schooling was directed at making him a lawyer. But his uncle Thomas Bullitt was a pioneer and military leader, involved with western exploration.

Career

At first, Bullitt emulated his father's career, serving part-time in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

representing

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

Settling in Kentucky

However, he followed up on his family's land claims and investments and in 1784 moved over the

Cumberland Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

. Bullitt settled first in an area that became Shelby County but soon found the area too isolated, as well as subject to raids from Native Americans. Thus he moved toward the Ohio River. His late uncle Thomas Bullitt, after leading the Virginia militia westward in

Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. H ...

, had returned to the

Falls of the Ohio The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Federal status was awarded in 1981. The fa ...

and surveyed a town site in 1773. In 1800 the Virginia legislature incorporated the new town and named it

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. Alexander bought 1000 acres (4 km²) about 9 miles (14 km) south of Louisville and began clearing another farm. He named the plantation ''Oxmoor'', after the fictional farm in

Tristram Shandy Tristram may refer to: Literature * the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne * the title character of '' Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne *"Tristr ...

. In August 1785, his neighbor, Colonel William Christian, who had represented

Fincastle County, Virginia Fincastle County, Virginia, was created by act of the Virginia General Assembly April 8, 1772 from Botetourt County.Pendleton, William C. (1920)''History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia: 1748-1920'' pp. 255-57. W. C. Hill Printing Com ...

during the American Revolutionary War and was now developing a neighboring Jefferson County property, brought his wife and family from Virginia. Two months later Alexander married their young daughter Priscilla, and thus also improved his political connections (her uncle was

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...

). They built Oxmoor Farm, starting the main house in 1787, and growing tobacco, hemp, and corn. In 1789, Bullitt owned twenty-three enslaved people at Oxmoor. By 1795, that number had grown to seventy. LYNDONMARKER

Political career

In 1784 Bullitt made his first steps in Kentucky politics. He became an officer in the local militia, and met with others at Danville in a convention that first proposed a separation from Virginia. After Colonel Christian died in a skirmish with Indians in 1786, Bullitt continued with the local militia and was promoted to the rank of major. He also became a trustee of the town of Louisville. In 1792 when the idea of Kentucky statehood was accepted, Bullitt became a delegate to the Convention (again in Danville) and sat the committee that drafted the first state Constitution. With the new constitution in place, in June he was one of twelve men elected to the State Senate. He was elected its speaker, and served there until 1800. When a second state constitution was sought, in 1799, Bullitt presided at the convention that wrote it. This new constitution created the office of Lieutenant Governor and he was elected to that office in 1800 serving under Governor

James Garrard James Garrard (January 14, 1749 – January 19, 1822) was an American farmer, Baptist minister and politician who served as the second governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Because of term limits imposed by the state constitution adopted in ...

. In 1804 or 1808 Bullitt returned to private life and full-time farming at Oxmoor.

Personal life

He married Priscilla Christian (1785-1806), daughter of William Christian and his wife Annie Henry Christian (sister of

). Four of their children reached adulthood: William Christian, Anne, Helen Scott, Cuthbert. After his first wife died, Bullitt remarried, to widow Mary Churchill Prather. They had two children, Thomas James and Mary (Polly).

Death and legacy

Bullitt died at Oxmoor in 1816 and is buried in the family graveyard.

Bullitt County, Kentucky Bullitt County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,217. Its county seat is Shepherdsville. The county was founded in 1796. Located just south of the city ...

was named in his honor. Henry Clay's last court case, concerned the will of Mary (Polly) Bullitt that her two brothers challenged.described in Henry Clay, the Essential American by David S. and Jeanne T. Heidler.