John Todd (March 27, 1750 – August 19, 1782) was an American military officer and politician who fought during the Revolutionary War and became the first administrator of the Illinois County of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

before that state ceded the territory to the federal government.

Early life

Todd was born in

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the List of counties in Pennsylvania, third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the List of the most populous cou ...

, the son of David Todd and the brother of

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and

Levi Todd Levi Todd (October 4, 1756 – September 6, 1807) was an 18th-century American pioneer who, with his brothers John and Robert Todd, helped found present-day Lexington, Kentucky and were leading prominent landowners and statesmen in the state of ...

, the latter being grandfather of

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...

. He was educated in Virginia at a school run by his uncle, the Rev. John Todd. After obtaining a license to practice law, Todd settled in

Fincastle, Virginia Fincastle is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 755 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Botetourt County. Fincastle is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town of Finc ...

Career

In 1774, Todd served in the Battle of Point Pleasant, which was fought near present-day

Point Pleasant, West Virginia Point Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. The population was 4,101 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Point Pleasant, ...

and is celebrated in West Virginia as the first battle in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He was then drawn west into the recently opened frontier of Kentucky where he purchased land near Lexington. Todd served in the

Virginia legislature The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1619 ...

in 1776 and then participated in

the expedition ''The Expedition'' is the live album by the American metal band Kamelot, released in October 2000 through Noise Records. The last three tracks are rare studio recordings: "We Three Kings" (instrumental) and "One Day" are additional material fro ...

led by George Rogers Clark against

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

and

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...

that captured the

Illinois Country The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...

from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1778. With Clark as commandant of the entire territory north and west of the Ohio river, Todd was appointed as County Lieutenant and Civil Commandant of "Illinois County", which had been organized by the Virginia legislature in 1778 with the government based in Kaskaskia. In 1780, Todd returned to Richmond, Virginia, as a delegate from the Kentucky County to the Virginia Legislature, where he married Jane Hawkins. His wife settled on their property in Lexington, while he left to administer affairs in Illinois County. Because of his duties on the frontier, he was seldom home. In 1780, the Virginia Legislature divided the original Kentucky County into three counties:

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

, and Fayette. Colonel Todd was placed in charge of Fayette County militia with

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

as lieutenant colonel. In 1782, Todd was killed fighting in the

Battle of Blue Licks The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east. ...

Robertson County, Kentucky Robertson County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,282. Its county seat is Mount Olivet. The county is named for George Robertson, a Kentucky Congressman from 1817 to 1821. I ...

, one of the last battles of the Revolutionary War.

Legacy

Todd County, Kentucky Todd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,460. Its county seat is Elkton. The county is named for Colonel John Todd, who was killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782 during t ...

is named after him.

References

Sources

Family of Mary Todd Lincoln
see Generation Four.

Chapter III of ''Transition to American Rule'' by Prof. W. C. Walton *
Colonel John Todd's record Book of 1779
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, John 1750 births 1782 deaths United States military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War Kentucky militiamen in the American Revolution Kentucky pioneers Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania People of Kentucky in the American Revolution 18th-century American politicians People in Dunmore's War