Christopher Greenup (c. 1750 – April 27, 1818) was an American politician who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and the third Governor of Kentucky. Little is known about his early life; the first reliable records about him are documents recording his service in the Revolutionary War where he served as a lieutenant in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

and a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Virginia militia. After his service in the war, Greenup helped settle the trans- Appalachian regions of Virginia. He became involved in politics, and played an active role in three of the ten statehood conventions that secured the separation of Kentucky from Virginia in 1792. He became one of the state's first representatives, and served in the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

before being elected governor in a race where, due to his immense popularity, he ran unopposed. Greenup's term in office was marred by accusations that he had participated in the

Burr Conspiracy The Burr conspiracy of 1805-1807, was a treasonous plot alleged to have been planned by American politician and former military officer Aaron Burr (1756-1836), in the years during and after his single term as the third Vice President of the Unite ...

to align Kentucky with Spain prior to the former's separation from Virginia, but he vigorously and successfully rebutted these charges. Following his term as governor, he became less active in the political arena. He died on April 27, 1818.

Greenup County, Kentucky Greenup County is a county located along the Ohio River in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,962. The county was founded in 1803 and named in honor of Christopher Greenup. Its c ...

and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

were both named in his honor.

Early life in Virginia

Christopher Greenup was most likely born in Fairfax County in the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

around 1750.Harrison, p. 388 His early education was attained at the local schools of the area.''Encyclopedia of Kentucky'', p. 72 He learned

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

and studied law under Colonel Charles Binns at

Charles City County, Virginia Charles City County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and west of Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestown. It is ...

.NGA Bio During 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, he served in

Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment Grayson's Extra Continental regiments and Additional Continental regiments, Additional Continental Regiment was an American infantry unit that served for two years and three months in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Li ...

as a lieutenant, and may have seen action at Brandywine and Germantown.Ward, ''American National Biography'' He resigned his commission during the

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

encampment in 1778, but later served as a colonel in the Virginia militia. In 1781, Greenup helped settle the area now known as

Lincoln County, Kentucky Lincoln County is a county located in south-central Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,275. Its county seat is Stanford. Lincoln County is part of the Danville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Lincoln County ...

where he spent time as a surveyor and a land speculator. He was admitted to practice law in the county court in 1782.Hopkins, p. 12 Following Virginia's creation of Kentucky County in 1783, he was admitted to the bar of the

district court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

of Harrodsburg and served as clerk from 1785 to 1792. In 1783, he became one of the original trustees of Transylvania Seminary (later to become

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

.) He purchased two lots of land in Lexington and served as the clerk of the town's trustees. In 1785, Greenup was elected to represent Fayette County for a single term 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 ...

. During his service, he was appointed to a committee with Benjamin Logan and

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 ...

to make recommendations on ways to further divide the area that would become Kentucky.Everman, p. 4 The committee was also responsible for revising acts and surveys related to land and water surveys in the area. The committee ultimately recommended the creation of three new counties – Bourbon, Madison, and Mercer. When Mercer County was created later that year, Greenup was appointed a justice there. In 1786, Greenup served as a quartermaster in Benjamin Logan’s expedition against the Shawnees in the Ohio country. During this time, Greenup continued to practice law in Fayette County and pursued various other interests. He was a founding member of the Danville Political Club and in 1787, he joined the Kentucky Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Future Kentucky Governors

Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...

and James Garrard, as well as future

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

justice

Thomas Todd Thomas Todd (January 23, 1765 – February 7, 1826) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1807 to 1826. Raised in the Colony of Virginia, he studied law and later participated in the founding of Kentucky, ...

were also members of the Society.Everman, p. 20 In 1789, he helped organize the Kentucky Manufacturing Society. Later, he was appointed to the Kentucky River Company, a group dedicated to improving infrastructure on the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass re ...

. On July 9, 1787, during a brief return to Virginia, Greenup married Mary Catherine ("Cathy") Pope of

Hanover County, Virginia Hanover County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover, Virginia, Hanover. Hanove ...

; the couple had two children – Nancy and William.

Political career in Kentucky

Greenup served as clerk of the first Kentucky statehood convention in Danville in 1784. He was elected as a delegate to the second and sixth statehood conventions in 1785 and 1788, respectively, and was a trustee of the city of Danville in 1787.Powell, p. 18 H.E. Everman, biographer of fellow delegate James Garrard, noted that despite Greenup's excellent legal background and legislative experience, his lack of oratorical skills prevented him from taking more of a leadership role in the conventions.Everman, p. 26 When Kentucky was admitted to the Union in 1792, Greenup moved to Frankfort where he was rewarded for his efforts on behalf of the state by being chosen as an elector for the state's senators and governor. He also served in the first

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. T ...

.Hopkins, p. 13 Following this, he was appointed to the court of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...

, but resigned immediately to accept a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.Harrison, p. 389 He was one of Kentucky's first two representatives in the House, and was elected to three successive terms, serving from November 9, 1792, to March 3, 1797. In 1798, he was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

, representing Mercer County. He also served as clerk of the state senate from 1799 to 1802. Greenup was a candidate for governor of Kentucky in

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

, but was runner-up to

in a four-man race that also included Benjamin Logan and

. Greenup garnered a majority of the vote in fifteen counties, just one fewer than Garrard, but Garrard enjoyed strong support in the populous central Kentucky counties and received 8,390 votes, compared with 6,746 for Greenup, 3,996 for Logan, and 2,166 for Todd.Everman, pp. 64–65 Garrard appointed Greenup judge of the

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

in 1802. After the Kentucky Senate refused to confirm Garrard's Secretary of State, Harry Toulmin, as registrar of the land office, Garrard nominated Greenup.Everman, p. 76 Greenup, however, intended to make another run at the governorship, and at his request, Garrard withdrew the nomination days later. Greenup resigned his circuit judgeship on June 5, 1804, to make another run for governor. Immensely popular, he ran unopposed, and served as governor from September 4, 1804, to September 1, 1808. During Greenup's administration, the state chartered the Bank of Kentucky and the Ohio Canal Company; Greenup became a director of the former in 1807. Despite his popularity, however, he was unable to pass much of his proposed agenda, which included provision of public education and reforms to the militia, courts, revenue system, and penal system. A partisan Frankfort newspaper implicated Greenup in the Burr conspiracy, but he successfully defended himself and preserved his reputation. He deployed the Kentucky militia along 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 ...

to defend the state from any threat that might result from the Burr conspiracy, but that threat had largely dissipated by 1807. Following his term as governor, Greenup was chosen as a presidential elector for the ticket of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

and George Clinton. In 1812, he became a justice of the peace in Franklin County. In August 1812, Kentucky Secretary of State Martin D. Hardin recommended to Governor

that Greenup be appointed Assistant Secretary of State."Secretary of State Christopher Greenup". Kentucky Secretary of State Shelby made the appointment, and when Hardin, resigned December 15, 1812, Shelby nominated Greenup as his replacement. The Kentucky Senate approved the nomination on February 3, 1813, and Greenup served until his resignation on March 13, 1813.

Personal life and death

On October 22, 1807, Greenup's wife Mary died in the Governor's Mansion.Clark, p. 13Speed, p. 56 According to legend, her ghostly image has appeared in clock faces and mirrors inside the mansion. Greenup died April 27, 1818, at Blue Lick Springs Resort, where he had traveled seeking relief from his

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

. He is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery.Congressional Biography

was named in his honor, as was its county seat of Greenup, Kentucky.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *Ward, Harry M. "Greenup, Christopher" (1750–1818), governor and congressman
American National Biography
Retrieved 24 Oct. 2021.

External links

Service record
from Francis B. Heitman's ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenup, Christopher 1750s births 1818 deaths Burials at Frankfort Cemetery Continental Army officers from Virginia Governors of Kentucky Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky state senators Politicians from Danville, Kentucky People from Loudoun County, Virginia Secretaries of state of Kentucky Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Politicians from Fairfax County, Virginia 19th-century Kentucky politicians 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 18th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly Candidates in the 1800 United States elections