Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-05-09
breckenridge and presbyterianism.

vi hoD sSNe
ven a private member of the Presby-
erian Church.
Tn 1883 when the two Presbyterian
Jhurches-North an South-met az
Philadelphia to celebrate the centen.
nal of the meeting OF the first General
Assembly of the church in that city IN
I7Ss. tiol. w. P. G. Breckenridge was
here by special invitation and de-
Iivered a historical address, not neces'
s~arially religious in it's character u
aside from this one time he has moi at
tended any of the meetings OF the
churcb courts of the Presbyterian
Church, unless he did 30 OF his w
accord, Just as any ordinary visitor;
ASH matter of justice to the Presoy-
toriou Church, as we'll as interest to
The nublic, we will give a brief sketch
rs tbe Breckinridge family, beginning
Win Hon. John Breckenridge, who was
IN hear Staunton, Virginia, Deem
ber > lT6O. In 1898 he removed 10
Kantncky. and during the admlnistra,
ton of jefferson was Attorney GeneI era
of the United States. he y IN iGgo
when only forty six years OF age ae
left four sons, three OF whom were
na;nisters in the Presbyterian Cnurch
and the other a distinguished lawyer
in Kentucky. -, wo,t;or
In This article we will only mention
+h.oo 4 them; Hon. Cabell breckln.
r .Ilee r Rev iOba ard Rev. Dr. ho0er'
J. Breckenridge. .D,sx, WAS an
Men. Cabell Brecki'" ~ aa Ken.
able and distinguished Law, 'ts young.
lucky who died when qm, aak1'
leaving a son, John Cabell BIZ, "a
ridge, who vas also a lawyer. git,,
and brilliant, and who took part in the
Mexican war and along about 1S49.51
was elected to Congress from Claws
old District while Clay was vet living.
ana who in 1856 was elected Vice
President of the United States on the
ticket with Buchanan. In 1860 he was
the candidate of the Southern faction
of the Democratic party for President
OF the United States. March 4, 1861,
when he surrendered the Vice Presi.
dency to Hannibal Hamlim, he was
Immediately sworn in as q Senator
from Kentucky, but after a few weeks.
perhaps, he came South and became
quite prominent in the Southern army,
a Lieutenant General and Secretary of
War, for a time, surrendering to Cen
eral Sherman in North Carolina in
1865, and died some years since in Ken
His son Clifton R. Breckin-
is now a member of Congress
from Arkansas. Another one of these
three brothers was Rev. John Brecken-
a distinguished Presbyterian
Divine, who graduated at %Princetown,
New Jersey, college, and married a
daughter OF Rev. DR.. Samuel Miller,
President of that Institution. DR..
John Breckenridge left a son, Judge
Samuel Miller Breckenridge who was q
living at st. Louis, and who
was also a Presbyterian Elder and took
quite a prominent part in church af
fairs. He was O member of the Cen
eral Assembly at Detroit in 1891 and
was one of the prosecutors in the cele-
brated Brigg, 3 case and made a speech
in that case, and just as he pronounced
the last words. II have only done my
he fell dead. Your correspond
ent was himself q member of that As
and was sitting nea the plat
form from which Judge Breckenridge
spoke and on which he died.
This Judge Breckenridge was a very
earnest, devoted Christian and a most
exemplary man in every way, and
being quite prominent in the councils
of the Presbyterian Church. The
chances are that many persons have
gotten him and his scape grace cousin,
Col. W. p. C, Breckinridge, mixed up
together.
We will now mention the third of
these Breckenridge brothers, Rev. DR..
Jefferson Breckenridge. He be-
gan his career in Kentucky as a law
yer, but soon gave up the law for the
ministry. Soon after he began the
practice of law he and the celebrated
Tom Marshall were associated together
in some case and the great Henry Clay
was employed ON the ether side. Brock
inridge and Marshall made their
speeches to the jury-speeches that
they had prepared with a great deal of
care. Then Clay arose and with one
sweep of his mighty lions paw, as it
we're, brushed their speeches and argu-
ments aside like cobwebs and 80 COM
squelched the young men that
Breckenridge in speaking of it after
wards, said that speech OF Clay's drove
Marshall to the bottle, and drove him
into the pdlpit.
Uncle Bob, as he was familiarly
called, was famous as a preacher, was
also a great politician and held some
offices in Kentucky. He was a great
Wing, and n tire he and his nephew,
John Cabell Breckenridge, who was a
Democrat, and afterwards Vice Presi-
dent of the United States, was oppos-
ing candidates for same Office and
made a joint canvass. n among the
most memorable and exciting ever
witnessed in Kentucky.
When the war came up in 1851,
''Uncle Bob" was one of the strongest
Union men in all the State of Ken
lucky and advocated the most extreme
measures for putting down the revolu-
ton. In 1864 he was permanent Chair
man of the National Republican Con
vention at Baltimore that nominated
Lincoln and Johnson for President and
Vice President of the United States,
and on the following Sabbath he
preached a great sermon in the House
of Representatives at Washington City,
in the presence of Lincoln and other
distinguished men of the Nation
But while this grand old patriot, DR..
Robert j. Breckenridge, was doing all
he could to ave the Union, his way
ward son, Col. VIM. G. P. Breckin-
ridge, was giving all the strength of
his young manhood to the cause of the
rebelliop-a Col. under General John
H. Morgan.
The Breckenridge family is n among
the oldest, most famous and most
numerous in the country, and many
of them have been distinguished as
lawyers, preachers and politicians.
This %"silver tongued" Colonel seems to
be the only one that has eve brought
disgrace on the fair name of this hon
ored family. But the great Presby-
49, Ol--l l 80 he nA.,.-