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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and a politician during the early days of Kentucky statehood.

Early and family life

Bullitt's family had come to America as refugee

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

s in 1685. Arriving first in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, part of the family settled in

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

. 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 major lawyer involved with local and colonial affairs. Alexander's early schooling was directed at making him a lawyer. His uncle

Thomas Bullitt Thomas Bullitt (1730 – February 1778) was a United States military officer, and surveyor from Prince William County, Virginia and pioneer on its western frontier. Early and family life Thomas was born to Benjamin and Sarah (Harrison) Bullitt in ...

was a pioneer and military officer, 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 houses 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-numbe ...

representing

Prince William County Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

Settling in Kentucky

However, his family's land claims and investments serving as an example, in 1784 he relocated 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 and subject to raids from Native Americans. Thus he relocated toward the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. His late uncle

, after commanding the Virginia militia westward during

Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War, also known as Dunmore's War, was a brief conflict in the fall of 1774 between the British Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo in the trans-Appalachia region of the colony south of the Ohio River. Broadly, the war in ...

, 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 in partnership with the Indiana Department ...

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

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. 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 of the novel

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', also known as ''Tristram Shandy'', is a humorous novel by Laurence Sterne. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next sev ...

. 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 Co ...

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 associations (her uncle was

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

). 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 increased to seventy. LYNDONMARKER

Political career

In 1784 Bullitt first became involved with Kentucky politics. He became an officer of the local militia, and was part of a convention at Danville 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 was part of the committee that drafted the first state Constitution. With the new constitution effective, 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 9, 1822) was an American farmer, Baptist minister and politician who served as the List of Governors of Kentucky, second governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Because of Term limits in the United ...

. 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 Annie Henry Christian (1738–May 4, 1790) was a colonial pioneer who documented the journey with her husband William Christian and their children westward to Kentucky. Her brother was Patrick Henry, the governor of Virginia. Her sister, Elizabet ...

(sister of

). Four of their children reached adulthood: William Christian, Anne, Helen Scott, and 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 cit ...

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.