Buckner Thruston (February 9, 1763 – August 30, 1845) was an American lawyer, slaveowner and politician who served as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

from

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 Virgini ...

as well as 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-numbe ...

and became a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S ...

of the

United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia The United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (in case citations, C.C.D.C.) was a United States federal court which existed from 1801 to 1863. The court was created by the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801. History The D.C. ci ...

Early life and education

Born on February 9, 1764, in Petsoe Parish in Gloucester County,

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 1 ...

, His grandfather had been colonel of the local militia, as well as farmed using enslaved labor. His father Charles Mynn Thurston also farmed, but was educated and ordained as a minister, then moved his family westward to Frederick County where he again farmed (using enslaved labor), as well as served as a minister until 1776. Rev. Thruston became known as a "fighting parson" for he recruited a military company, joined the Continental Army and rose to the rank of colonel, but also lost the use of an arm as a result of a combat wound. Meanwhile, back in Frederick County, Buckner Thruston received an education appropriate to his class. His mother had died when he was an infant, but his father remarried, so the family included several brothers and sisters. He traveled to Williamsburg for higher education and received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1783 from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William II ...

Legal and political careers

Thruston was admitted to the Virginia bar and moved to what was then Kentucky County, then the District of Kentucky and the Commonwealth of

from June 1, 1792, where many revolutionary war veterans had received land. He established a private practice in Lexington.

Jefferson County Jefferson County may refer to one of several counties or parishes in the United States, all of which are named directly or indirectly after Thomas Jefferson: *Jefferson County, Alabama *Jefferson County, Arkansas *Jefferson County, Colorado **Jeffe ...

voters elected Thruston and Abner Field to the

in 1789, but replaced the pair the next year. Thus, he did not serve alongside his father, who was again one of the delegates representing Frederick County, Virginia in the previous and next sessions. After fellow legislators made his father a Virginia judge, Thruston became a commissioner for the boundary dispute between Kentucky and Virginia in 1791. He was a Judge of the Kentucky District Court in 1791. He was clerk of the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout Kentucky, the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. ...

from 1792 to 1794. Kentucky's legislature named Thruston as a Judge of the

Kentucky Circuit Court The Kentucky Circuit Courts are the state courts of general jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Jurisdiction and bench The Circuit Courts are trial courts with original jurisdiction in cases involving capital offenses and other felonies; ...

, where he served from 1802 to 1803. After his father moved to Louisiana shortly after President Jefferson made the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

, Thruston was offered an appointment as United States District Judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Orleans The United States District Court for the District of Orleans was a United States district court created on March 26, 1804, by 2 Stat. 283 for implementation on October 1, 1804 to resolve disputes in the Territory of Orleans, the portion of the Lo ...

in 1804, but declined. Kentucky legislators elected Thruston as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

, and he served from March 4, 1805, to December 18, 1809, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial appointment.

Federal judge

On December 12, 1809, President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

nominated Thruston to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Allen Bowie Duckett. The

confirmed him on December 13, 1809, and Thruston received his commission on December 14, 1809. His service terminated on August 30, 1845, due to his death in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was interred in

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

in Washington, D.C.

Personal life

Thruston married and had several children. The family also owned household slaves in Washington, D.C. In 1820, the Thruston household included 3 enslaved boys, as well as two enslaved mature women, and two free Blacks. In 1830, the Thruston household included five slaves.1830 U.S. Federal Census for Tenley, Washington, District of Columbia p. 10 of 14 His son

Charles Mynn Thruston Charles Mynn Thruston (February 22, 1798 – February 18, 1873) was a career U.S. Army officer who retired to Maryland where he became a farmer and politician, then returned to service as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Ameri ...

, became a career U.S. Army officer, and retired to Cumberland, Maryland, where he farmed and became the mayor as the American Civil War started, when he resumed service as a general of volunteers in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, though he relinquished the post in 1862 in favor of a younger generation.

Early life and education

Legal and political careers

Federal judge

Personal life

References

Sources

Further reading