Jesse Bledsoe (April 6, 1776June 25, 1836) was a slave owner and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

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 ...

Life and career

Bledsoe was born in

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is ...

in 1776. When he was very young, his family migrated with a Baptist congregation through

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

into Kentucky. Many of the adults in this traveling congregation were property:

Negro In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Jesse attended Transylvania Seminary and

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 ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar about 1800 and commenced practice. In 1808, Bledsoe was appointed Secretary of State. He was a member of 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 ...

in 1812. Afterwards he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and served from March 4, 1813, until his resignation on December 24, 1814. He then became a member 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 ...

in 1817, serving until 1820. That year, he served as a member of the Electoral College, voting for

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

. Bledsoe was judge of the Lexington circuit in 1822. He settled in Lexington and was professor of law in Transylvania University. He then became minister in the Disciples Church. He moved to

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

in 1833 and to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in 1835. He died near

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and special ...

under circumstances his contemporaries and kinfolk could only describe as a significant fall from grace. Sometimes a volatile being, he earned the sobriquet "Hot headed" Jesse Bledsoe. Besides being a prominent jurist, he was a maternal uncle to many notable individuals including, but not limited to, Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, who studied law under him, Walker Keith Baylor, who served in both chambers of the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both cham ...

and as a judge, Thomas Chilton, who likewise represented Kentucky in Congress, and William Parish Chilton, a provisional congressman of the Confederacy from Alabama.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bledsoe, Jesse 1776 births 1836 deaths Kentucky lawyers Kentucky state senators Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives United States senators from Kentucky Transylvania University alumni Politicians from Culpeper County, Virginia American Disciples of Christ Secretaries of state of Kentucky Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Kentucky Democratic-Republicans American emigrants to Mexico People of Mexican Texas 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly