Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp (June 14, 1899 – April 15, 1971) was an American politician from the state of

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 ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he was elected the 41st

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garra ...

in 1951,

Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture The Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture is an elected position in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Commissioner of Agriculture serves as head of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The commissioner manages agriculture markets, rural develo ...

in 1959, and

Kentucky State Treasurer The Kentucky State Treasurer is elected every four years along with the governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, g ...

in 1963.

Biography

Isaac Emerson Beauchamp was born in

Logan County, Kentucky Logan County is a county in the southwest Pennyroyal Plateau area of Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,432. Its county seat is Russellville. History The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who had been s ...

on June 14, 1899, the son of Isaac Beauchamp and Ella (Offutt) Beauchamp. The Beauchamp family included several doctors, and Beauchamp's parents hoped he would enter the medical profession, so they called him "Doc" from an early age. Beauchamp became a farmer and was involved in politics from an early age, including serving as a legislative page, serving as assistant clerk and 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. T ...

, and winning election to leadership roles on the Kentucky Democratic State Committee. Beauchamp served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Beauchamp served as Logan County Clerk (1926–1932) and then Sheriff of Logan County (1938–1941). He was appointed chief clerk of the state senate in 1946 and director of the state department of personnel in 1947. From 1948 to 1951 he was the state's rural highway commissioner. In 1951 he was elected

and he served from 1951 to 1955. Beauchamp was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. From 1960 to 1963 he was Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture. He served as

from 1964 through 1967.

Death and burial

Beauchamp died in on April 15, 1971. He was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in

Russellville, Kentucky Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census. History Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was fi ...

Family

In 1924, Beauchamp married Elizabeth Orndorff. They were the parents of two sons, Russell and Emerson.

References

1899 births 1971 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II Lieutenant governors of Kentucky State treasurers of Kentucky People from Logan County, Kentucky United States Army soldiers {{Kentucky-politician-stub