GABRIEL SLAUGHTER, 1767-1830 G•OVERNOR OF KENTUCKY ...

GABRIEL SLAUGHTER, 1767-1830 

G OVERNOR OF KENTUCKY, 1816-1820 

BY JOHN FR EmCK DORMAN 

Washington, D.C. 

A paper given before The Filson Club, April 4, 1966 

I 

Gabriel Slaughter, Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of the 

Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1816 until 1820, was born in Culpeper 

County, Virginia, on December 12, 1767. He was the son of 

Robert and Susannah (Harrison) Slaughter. 

There were three generations of Robert Slaughters among Gabriel 

Slaughter's direct ancestors. The first of these arrived in Virginia in 

1686 as an indentured servant boy and subsequendy, having made his 

way in the new world, married Frances, daughter of Lt. Col. Cadwallader 

Jones of Rappahannock and Stafford counties, Virginia, who was 

Proprietary Governor of the Bahama Islands from 1689 to 1694. The 

second Robert Slaughter was a justice of Spotsylvania, Orange, and 

Culpeper counties, vestryman of Saint Mark's Parish, colonel of militia 

during the French and Indian War, and for a short time in 1742 

member of the House of Burgesses from Orange County. His wife, 

Mary Smith, was daughter of Major Augustine Smith, justice, surveyor, 

militia officer and member of the House of Burgesses, and granddaughter 

of Colonel Lawrence Smith of Gloucester County, member of 

the House of Burgesses and commander of loyal forces during Bacon's 

Rebellion. The third Robert Slaughter, Gabriel's father, was a planter 

in Fairfax and Culpeper counties, Virginia, and later in Mercer County, 

Kentucky, who never held public or military ofnces. His wife, Susannah 

Harrison, was descended from three generations of William Harrisons 

who had been planters and military officers of Stafford County, Virginia, 

and through her mother was a great-granddaughter of Captain 

Simon Miller, one of the rebel commanders during Bacon's Rebellion) 

Robert Slaughter, the Governor's father, was in Kentucky as early as 

1776.2 His brother, Colonel Thomas Slaughter, was Chairman of the 

House of Delegates of the Transylvania Colony the preceding year, and 

his brother, Lt. Col. George Slaughter, was commander of the troops at 

Louisville in 1780 and 1781. Robert Slaughter did not settle permanently 

in Kentucky until 1789, however, when he moved to Mercer 

County.2 He continued to reside there until his death in 1804.4 

338

1966] Gabriel Slaughter, 1767-1830 339 

Of the early years and education of Gabriel Slaughter nothing is 

known. At about the age of nineteen he married his cousin Sarah 

Slaughter, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Buckner) Slaughter of 

Caroline County, Virginia. 5 Their elder child, Mary Buckner Slaughter, 

was born December 3, 1787, 0 and the younger, Susan Harrison Slaughter, 

was born about 1790-91. 7 

Soon after his father's departure for Mercer County, Kentucky, 

Gabriel also settled there. He sold his land in Culpeper County on 

September 8, 1791,s and was in Mercer County by 1792. In that year 

a school was conducted in the neighborhood by a Mr. Work. Robert 

B. McAfee, who boarded with the Slaughter family while attending the 

school, afterward stated that during this period Governor Slaughter 

treated him "... with the utmost kindness as much so as if I had been 

his own child... ,,o 

Almost immediately Slaughter began to take part in public affairs. 

On March 1, 1795, Governor Isaac Shelby appointed him a justice of 

the peace for Mercer County to continue in office until the end of the 

next session of the Assembly and in December, when it met, he was 

nominated as a justice by the Governor. ° 

This same year he was tax commissioner for one district of Mercer 

County and himself was taxed for 238½ acres of first rate land, one 

white male over the age of twenty-one, six slaves, three of whom were 

over the age of sixteen, six horses, and fourteen head of cattle. 11 

His farm was located on the waters of Shawnee Run, north of Harrodsburg, 

and comprised one-half of 476V2 acres which he and his 

brother Augustine Smith Slaughter had probably purchased when they 

first arrived in Mercer County. 12 This home was described in later years 

by Mrs. Maria Thompson Daviess as a " . . . modest frame house embosomed 

in orchards and locust groves in the center of a farm lying 

on the east of the Lexington and Harrodsburg turnpike, midway between 

Harrodsburg and Pleasant Hill. '' 8 The house was torn down 

after his death and another more pretentious one was erected in its 

place by Major John Handy who later became owner of the property. 1 

Some time after coming to Kentucky, Sarah (Slaughter) Slaughter 

died, leaving two daughters. Gabriel Slaughter returned to Virginia 

and in 1797 in Caroline County married Sarah Hord, daughter of John 

and Annie (Peyton) Hord of that county. TM With his new bride he 

returned to Mercer County. 

Three children were born to Gabriel Slaughter's second wife, John 

Hord Slaughter (on September 9, 17991°), Frances Ann Hord 

Slaughter, 17 and Felix Grundy Slaughter. 18 

In 1797 Gabriel Slaughter was elected to the Legislature as one of 

the representatives from Mercer County. Early in the session he was

340 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 40 

named as one of the five members of the Committee of Enrollments and 

although his name appeared last in the listing in the ]ournal, he probably 

acted as its chairman since he made the reports of the Committee. TM 

During this session he supported a bill to reduce the price of ungranted 

land south of the Green River, a measure that failed. In connection 

with the agitation for a new Constitutional Convention and elimination 

of a written ballot, a bill was presented to require that in all elections 

the voter should hand his ballot to the sheriff who would publicly read 

the vote cast unless it was requested that it not be read. He voted 

against this measure but did support an amendment requiring that when 

an election ran for more than one day the ballots must be counted and 

the totals announced at the end of each day.s° 

In 1798 he either did not stand for re-election or was an unsuccessful 

candidate. The Legislature this year, however, incorporated Harrodsburg 

Academy and named Gabriel Slaughter as one of the trustees. * 

He was again elected to the House of Representatives in 1799. During 

this session he was a member of the joint committee to report on the 

state of the Auditor's, Treasurer's, and Register's offices; was a member 

of the Committee on Privileges and Elections; and was a member of the 

Committee of Enrollments (on which he had served two years earlier). 

He was named to a number of committees appointed to prepare bills for 

the consideration of the House and on November 25, 1799, when the 

House sat as a committee of the whole, Slaughter was in the chair.22 

He was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1800.2s In 

1801 he was returned as the member of the Kentucky Senate from 

Mercer County and after serving out the four-year-term continued as a 

member of that body until 1808, and as Lieutenant Governor and its 

Speaker presided over the Senate until 1812.2' 

On December 19, 1801, the Kentucky River Company was chartered 

to improve navigation of rivers of the state and to clear out the obsrtuctions 

in the Kentucky River from its mouth to the mouth of is 

south fork. Ten thousand dollars in capital stock was provided, with 

shares at fifty dollars each. For Mercer County the commissioners were 

Gabriel Slaughter, James Birney, and James Moore, who were assigned 

to sell twenty-two shares.2 

During the session of 1803 he opposed a bill to change the method 

of choosing the electors to elect the President and Vice-President of 

the United States. When it was defeated by the close vote of twelve 

to eleven, he brought in another bill to take its place but it was too late 

in the .session for action to be taken on his proposal.2e He supported 

a resolution calling the poll tax unequal and inconsistent with a republican 

government, but found himself with the minority on this 

question.27 His last action in the session of 1803-04 was to report that


he and David Flournoy had waited on the Governor and informed him 

that the Senate was about to adjourn sine die.2s 

On December 24, 1803, Gabriel Slaughter was commissioned Lieutenant 

Colonel of the Fifth Regiment, Eighth Brigade, Kentucky Militia, 

which comprised men from Mercer County.29 

At the beginning of the legislative session of 1804 he was one of the 

committee named by the Senate to prepare an address to the Governor 

in reply to his speech on the state of the Commonwealth. On November 

10, 1804, it was he who informed the Senate of the death of the 

Lieutenant Governor. In the ensuing election of a Speaker pro tempore 

of the Senate, he was one of the nominees for that position. Thomas 

Posey and Green Clay were more popular candidates, however, and 

Posey was elected on the second ballot,s° 

When in 1805 there was an election by the Senate to fill out the 

unexpired term in the United States Senate, Slaughter supported General 

John Adair, who was to succeed him as governor of the state, in 

opposition to John Pope, who was later to be his close associate,sl 

The next year, 1806, following General Adair's resignation, Henry 

Clay and George M. Bibb were nominees to fill the unexpired term. 

Clay won by 68 votes to 10. Slaughter was one of his supporters,m 

During the session of 1807-08, he was one of the five members of 

the Committee of Propositions and Grievances and was apparently its 

chairman since he usually made its reports. On the first day of the 

session he moved the appointment of a joint committee to wait on the 

Governor to inform him the General Assembly was ready to receive his 

message in the House chamber and, with Green Clay and Philip Buckner, 

was named to it. Among his stands on issues before the Senate 

was his support of an Act to suspend the sale of lands for debts due the 

state and his opposition to one designed to prevent the future migration 

of mulattoes and free Negroes into Kentucky.83 

II 

In 1808 Gabriel Slaughter stood for election to the office of Lieutenant 

Governor. He received a majority of the votes cast for the four 

candidates in the race and more than three times as many as his nearest 

opponent.8' Early in that year, prior to his election, he had endorsed 

the candidacy of James Madison for President of the United States. 

Following the signatures of the Governor, Secretary of State, and speakers 

of the House and Senate, his name appeared first among a large 

number of prominent Republicans.8s 

During the next four years he presided over the Senate and executed 

the other limited duties of that office.


Although his early training had certainly been in the Church of 

England, Slaughter had been a member of the Baptist Church for many 

years and was a very early member of the congregation at Shawnee Run 

in Mercer County. 3 In 1808 he was clerk of the South District Association 

of Baptists which met at Shawnee Runa and in 1809 held the 

same office when they also met in Mercer County.3s He was a messenger 

from his church to the several associations with which it was connected 

for more than thirty years and was moderator of the South 

District Association for nine years.89 

Sarah (Hord) Slaughter probably died before her husband became 

Lieutenant Governor. On October 3, 1811, Gabriel Slaughter married 

a third time, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Thomson) Rhodes of Scott County,4° 

widow of Waller Rhodes and daughter of William and Ann (Rhodes) 

Thomson. 

Since the Constitution did not permit the re-election of the Governor 

and Lieutenant Governor, Gabriel Slaughter retired in 1812. He had 

hoped to be nominated as Governor by the Republicans, but Isaac Shelby 

was again elected Governor of Kentucky41 and Richard Hickman 

succeeded to Slaughter's office. 

In 1813 the Kentucky Bible Society was founded at Lexington. 

Among the founders and active managers and supporters were many 

clergymen and public officials including Gabriel Slaughter. 2 

During the two years following his retirement from public office, 

Slaughter engaged in farming. But when on October 20, 1814, Govenor 

Shelby issued a call for men for the New Orleans campaign he 

immediately answered. Three regiments were raised on November 10 

under the command of Slaughter, Presley Gray, and William Mitchusson.48 

The troops suffered difficulties from the beginning. Their boats had 

to be procured privately. They were refused the promised supplies by 

the United States Quartermaster and, having expected them, few had 

necessary clothing for the campaign. The long-delayed Kentucky 

militia finally reached New Orleans on January 4, 1815. In speaking 

of the condition of the Kentucky troops on their arrival, General Jackson 

said in an official report: "Not one man in ten was well armed, and 

only one man in three had any arms at all. ''44 Those they had were 

their own, for the government supplies did not arrive until long after 

the battle. The citizens of New Orleans contributed enough to arm 

Slaughter's regiment of about seven hundred and Major Reuben Harrison's 

battalion of Mitchusson's regiment of 305 men. Jackson's total 

strength was 6,504 men, all but 884 of them raw militia. Opposed to 

them were nearly 18,000 men, nearly all regulars. 

In the battle which, although fought after the peace treaty was signed,


was to be one of our great victories, Slaughter, Harrison, and Carroll's 

Tennesseeans occupied the center and left center of the long American 

line and bore the brunt of the British attacks.45 Slaughter and the troops 

remained in New Orleans for several months. His tour of service 

ended May 10, 1815.4e 

III 

As the elections of 1816 approached there was a shifting in Kentucky 

politics. The Republicans were divided into two wings, pro- and 

anti-Clay. The Federalists had never had strength sufficient to elect a 

governor but they did control many votes. 

In this realignment John Pope was the leader of the anti-Clay forces. 

He had made himself unpopular with the dominant part of the Republican 

Party in Kentucky by his vote against war in 1812 while a 

member of the United States Senate. The next year he had not been 

re-elected by the Legislature and since then had been in private law 

practice in Lexington. He now sought a means of returning to political 

power through a combination of the anti-Clay and anti-war Republicans 

and the Federalists.*T 

This combination concerned itself primarily with the congressional 

races and Pope ran again st Clay in their home district. In the gubernatorial 

race the Republicans nominated Major George Madison, a veteran 

of the War of 1812. Colonel James Johnson, who announced as the 

Federalist opponent, soon retired stating it was impossible for him or 

anyone else to run against a man so universally popular and beloved as 

Madison. s The candidates for Lieutenant Governor were Gabriel 

Slaughter, Richard Hickman, and James Garrard. 

When Slaughter informed Pope early in 1816 of his intention to 

stand for Lieutenant Governor there seems to have evolved an understanding 

between them regarding the powers and opportunities accruing 

to that office. 49 Because of many Republicans' aversion to Pope he 

made no public display of his preference for Slaughter, although their 

friendship was known. Through the coalition, Pope was able to secure 

secret Federalist support of the candidacy as well.a9 

In favor with all sides, since he was himself a Republican and his 

war record was pleasing to that party, Slaughter had little difficulty in 

securing the election. The vote was 11,731 for Hickman and 7,723 for 

Garrard to Slaughter's 26,688, far more than the others combined. 5 

Madison, virtually unopposed, won the governorship. 

Hardly were the August elections over, however, when on October 

14, 1816, Governor Madison died. On the twenty-first Gabriel

344 The Filson Club History Quarwdy [Vol. 40 

Slaughter arrived in Frankfort from Mercer County m assume his duties 

as governorJz 

The first major action which Slaughter took after his arrival brought 

on the most bitter political disturbance the state had seen. Governor 

Madison had appointed as his Secretary of State Charles S. Todd. 

Realizing that his office was most closely associated with the governorship 

and that the holders of the two ought to be in complete sympathy, 

Todd wrote Slaughter stating he would offer no obstruction if the 

Governor wanted to make a different appointment. The letter was not 

one of resignation, however, even stating he wanted it distinctly understood 

he had no objection to cooperating with Slanghter. To Todd's 

very great surprise, the Governor replied politely accepting his resignation. 

a 

The reasons for SIaughter's hasty action puzzled many of his contemporaries 

and they are not entirely clear in retrospect. It is evident, 

however, that Pope in his haste to regain political power urged no delay 

with formalities and Slaughter, suddenly thrust into a position of leadership 

which he had not anticipated or planned for, sought the council of 

his friends. In addition, Charles S. Todd was Isaac Shelby's son-in-law 

and it is quite possible that Slaughter had not forgiven his loss of the 

gubernatorial nomination to Shelby four years earlier. 

The storm of controversy broke in great fury and attacks came from 

all sides. Pope was still anathema to the majority of Kentuckians and 

anyone connected with him was drawn in as being like him. The 

invective of the newspapers was especially bitter. The Frankfort Argus 

of Western America said: 

It is a proverb, that "misfortune seldom cortes done." The death of the 

beloved and lamented Madison -- your succession to the office of Governor, 

and your appointment of Mr. lohn Pops as Secretary of State, 

are to the patriotic melancholy confirmations of this grey adage?* 

The Lexington Reporter added: 

But for [the death of Madison] you would have attracted, as you deserved, 

but little of [the people's] notice and occupied but few of the columns 

of their newspapers. For it is a fact, not to be concealed, that but too 

little interest is at any time excited, as to who shaft fill the office of Lieutenant 

Governor. -- You, it seems, will have deserved this credit, that you 

will have taught them the wisdom, not to be unconcerned about it hereafter; 

-- the only good, which seems likely to grow out of your administration.B5 

James T. Morehead, who was later to serve as Governor, was one of 

those most active in denouncing the actions of Slaughter. But he was 

forced to acknowledge the integrity of the Governor:


From the conspicuous part you acted in the late war, and from the correct 

and unexceptionable course pursued by you, whilst during a former period, 

you occupied the place of Lieut. Governor of Kenmck'y, the people were 

flattered into the opinion, that you were in heart and in sentiment, a 

true republican; stedfastly attached to the measles of the present administration, 

and that you looked forward to the promotion of the Public 

Good, as the proudest aim of your ambition. 6 

The Republicans had won the election but they saw their government 

in the hands of the men they opposed. They declared they would fight 

the Governor in the Legislature and secure his removal by legislative 

enactment authorizing a special election. 

Slaughter next heaped coals upon the fire by appointing General 

Martin D. Hardin to fill out the term of William Taylor Barry in the 

United States Senate until the next session of the Legislature could elect 

his successor.57 Hardin was considered a Federalist by many Kentuckians. 

Hoping to allay some of the storm, Governor Slaughter visited the 

newspaper offices in Frankfort and requested the editors to refrain from 

discussing the subject.5s This suggestion was very naturally disregarded. 

By December, when the Legislature met, the anti-administration 

forces were ready. Had not the bitterness reached such a peak, the 

Governor's message should have won him friends; instead, it only laid 

him open to further criticism. The message was prefaced with this 

statement: 

Conscious that I am unequal to the high and important duties of Chief 

Magistrate of this commonwealth, I would cheerfully have declined the 

post which the coustitution has assigned me, had this deplorable visitation 

of Providence and the partiality of my countrymen left me this alternative. 

• . . Bat duty commanded me to meet the respousibility thus devolved; 

from which, relying for support on a kind Providence, I could not, I will 

not shrink. Ardently devoted from my youth to the great and essential 

principles of liberty, as recognized and established by the tenth article of 

the constitution of this state.., my best exertions through life shall be 

made to perpetuate this best of governments to the latest posterity.... 

I commence my executive duties fully persuaded that I shall frequently err 

from want of information and defect of judgment; and that my conduct, 

when correct, will be often censured from prejudice and mistake. To you, 

however, and my constituents who have given me so many proofs of their 

confidence and affection, I pledge myself fairly and faithfully to administer 

the government according to the republican spirit and principles of our 

free constimtiun. s 

Following this a constructive program for the state was presented. He 

advocated the proper training and arming of the militia; stated he had


strong doubts about the change made in the circuit court system at the 

last session but since it was sanctioned by a majority of the reptesentafives 

he would give it a fair experiment; recommended a revision of the 

laws against selling offices and the enactment of penalties for violation; 

and discussed the improvement of navigation in the streams of the state 

and cooperation with others on the Ohio River. 8° 

In regard to the state penitentiary in Frankfort, which two years before 

had been called "... an honor to mankind... ,01 he pointed out 

the necessity of repairing and enlarging the building.62 

His stand on education, which was close to his heart, was particularly 

bold and noteworthy. He called for the endowing of colleges and universifies 

and also the making of county seminaries and schools free to 

poor children. He stated that he believed funds were within reach to 

establish throughout the state a system of education and urged action 

along that line. "Every child born in the state should be considered a 

child of the republic, and educated at the public expense, where the 

parents are unable to do it.''°s 

To secure swift action on these proposals so necessary for the progress 

of the Commonwealth, he called for united efforts for the public good 

and stated he would discourage party spirit. °4 In this the opponents of 

the administration found new fuel for their attack, stating he was 

seeking to do away with parties only to keep himself in o ce. 

The first test of strength in the Legislature was the election of United 

States Senator. Martin D. Hardin, who had been appointed ad interim, 

stood for the remainder of the term, along with Samuel H. Woodson, 

Norborne B. Beall, and Matthew Lyon. On the first ballot the administration 

showed its strength and Hardin was elected, seventy-four votes 

to a combined forty-five for the others.°" 

Five days later on December 10, 1816, in the election for Senator 

for a full term, however, the administration forces supporting General 

John Adair were defeated on the second ballot by their foes who 

favored John J. Crittenden.66 

The third and final test concerned the right of Slaughter to occupy 

the governorship. On January 21, 1817, Benjamin Mills moved a 

resolution in the House of Representatives that a committee be appointed 

to inquire into the constitutionality of authorizing by law an 

election for Governor at the next annual election. It was defeated, but 

on the twenty-seventh John C. Breckinridge read a resolution that 

•.. the general assembly of the commonwealth of Kentucky, provide 

by law for electing a overnor to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death 

of our late governor. ,0r On the twenty-eighth the House resolved itself 

into a committee of the whole where supporters of a new election were 

unable to muster a majority. The next day it was reported that a substi-


tute had been adopted. After a number of arguments regarding the 

phrasing of the Constitution, the new resolution concluded that the 

Constitution stated 

•..the governor shall be elected at the end of every four years; can we 

elect one in the intermediate space of time? The successor of the governor 

is pointed out, and even the successor of that successor; can we substitute 

another successor unknown to the constitution? The officer assigned 

to fill the place of the governor, must be elected simultaneously 

with him; can be create one that is not elected with him? Such a conclu. 

sion must not only be preposterous, but subversive of the instrument 

which we ought to support.... Without, therefore, further reasoning 

on this subject, this legislature does not hesitate to declare that the present 

lieutenant governor now acting as governor, is the constitutional incumbent 

of that office, until the next revolving period of four years has 

elapsed, when the right of free suffrage again will recur . . .6s 

The question was postponed until the elections of August, 1817, 

when the anti-administration forces, still bitter, brought forth candidates 

in almost every county. The refusal of the Governor to submit to a new 

election to determine his status was decried as proof that he recognized 

he was in the wrong. If he were the choice of the people, would he 

lose by a new election? e9 

A majority of those returned to the House were in favor of a new 

election, but the margin in the Senate was very close. The Governor's 

annual message was an exceptional one, "... a document far above the 

average for the governors of American states.''7° He reiterated his 

previous recommendations for the development of the Commonwealth, 

especially the importance of building up a school system. Calling 

attention to the balanced arrangement of the three branches of government, 

he said: 

Every man who will examine himself, must confess that he is often led by 

passion and prejudice into errors the most gross and extravagant; we acknowledge 

too that neighborhoods, counties, and nations are liable to err 

for a moment, from the same muse. If every impulse of any community 

was to be carried into full effect, there would be in such a state, neither 

confidence nor safety.71 

And he went on to intimate that the present uproar among the people 

resulted in part from their inability or refusal to understand the principles 

on which American liberties were based. From this his recommendations 

for a school system followed: 

When we reflect how much the very existence of our government depends 

on the virtue and intelligence of the people, and for how many ages the 

friends of freedom, and human happiness have been struggling to devise 

some form of government alike secure against tyranny and anarchy, how


indispensable it is to di/Tuse information, and qualify those who are to succced 

us, to understand the plan and principles of government, furnished us 

by our revolutionary sages. Without intelligence the people never can 

be safe against the delusions to which they me exposed from the violence 

of party spkit, and the arts and intrigues of designing ambition.TM 

Mindful of the Era of Good Feeling that was apparent in President 

Monroe's administration, he again called for the cessation of party 

spirit. TM And as before he was charged with seeking only to allay 

criticism. 

One of the first actions of the House of Representatives when it met 

was to appoint a select committee to prepare a bill for a new election. 4 

After a number of days of delaying tactics by the friends of the administration 

the bill to amend the existing election laws to provide for a 

gubernatorial election the following October passed. s But in the Senate 

it was defeated on the question of a second reading.TM Thus the movement 

collapsed and no further efforts were attempted to unseat Slaughter, 

although he was never recognized by his foes as more than Lieutenant 

Governor and Acting Governor, with which title he signed all official 

papers. 

IV 

The governorship was not to become a position of ease, however. 

The financial panic of 1818-20 was beginning and by the fall of 1818 

it had reached the point of a considerable clamor for some sort of relief. 

The Legislature which met in the winter of 1816-17 prohibit "d the circulation 

of shinplasters and private notes, 7 but the next Legislature was 

to succumb to the clamor for a less restricted supply of money. 

On January 26, 1818, forty independent banks were chartered. They 

were located throughout the state, some in communities of less than one 

hundvM persons. The aggregate capital provided by law was 

$8,720,000. TM These banks immediately began to issue paper redeemable 

not in specie but in notes of the Bank of Kentucky (which had 

resumed specie payments) or in United Statm Bank notes. ° 

The speculation which followed quickly brought distressed times. 

Calls were made upon the public officials for relief. The feeling was 

rather general that a special session of the Legislature would pass laws 

giving relief. Those most seriously affected began to implore Governor 

Slaughter to convene a special session,s° But Slaughter refused on the 

grounds that the additional expense and drain on the treasury would be 

improvident,sz Instead, he preferred to wait until December when the 

regular session would meet.


Blame for the crisis was placed according to one's political partisanship 

for the most part, Slaughter and Pope being called either merciless 

tyrants who refused m give aid to their distressed fellowmen or as levelheaded 

off'rials who with deliberation rather than rashness were seeking 

to avert further ills. 

The Governor's message to the Legislature which met in December, 

1818, dealt at length with the problem of the banks as it was by far the 

most pressing, although he clearly showed it was not the only one 

which should receive their attention. It began: 

I regret, that owing m the declining health of an affectionate and promising 

son, for some months past, I am unable to give you so full. a view of 

the state of the commonwealth as I could wish to communicate,m 

He followed this immediately by calling their attention to the problem 

of the State Penitentiary, stating that a report on the condition of the 

buildings and pecuniary affairs would be laid before them. He spoke of 

the lack of authorization for the keeper to furnish those discharged 

even a "small pittance" to defray expenses until they could engage in 

honest employment or to supply them with clothing. He thanked the 

Kentucky Auxiliary Bible Society and the Lexington Independent Bible 

Society for Bibles furnished the penitentiary,ss 

To better the condition of the public roads, Governor Slaughter suggested 

that there be a levy for the purpose, allowing each person to pay 

in work on the road for which he would be taxed, and that sign posts 

be erected for the aid of travellers and militia companies,s4 

In regard to education he stated he would add nothing to his last 

message. At that time he had suggested the division of the state into 

school districts, but the Legislature " ... seem to have thought it better 

to accommodate the country with a number of banks, than good 

schools.''sB He further recommended the founding of a state library at 

the seat of government.as 

The finandal question first concerned the refusal of the Bank of the 

United States to pay the tax imposed on its branches in Kentucky. 

While he was not prompted by hostility to the bank, he recommended 

that the situation be looked into to see if the state had the right to levy 

such a tax, and if it did that every effort be made to collect it.87 He expressed 

his own feelings: 

I am indeed, ready to confess, that my sentiments or perhaps prejudices, 

ever have been, and still are strongly against the banking system. Time 

and experience instead of conquering these prejudices, have tended to 

confirm them. I have ever viewed these monied corporations with jealousy. 

I consider the corporate powers and privileges conferred on them, 

as so much taken from the power of the people, and a contrivance to rear 

up in our country, a monied aristocracy. Money is a power in whatever

35O The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 40 

hands it is placed; but it is less dangerous when divided amongst individuals, 

than when combined and organized in the form of banks.... 

Instead of having our national and state legishrures filled with men representing 

the feelings and interest ot the great agricultural class of the com. 

munity, I fear we shall see the towns through the country, with the aid 

of those banking aristocracies greatly preponderate on the legislative floor. 

I must ever be opposed to any system of policy, which independent of its 

peraicious and corrupting influence in other respects, tends to diminish, if 

not destroy the weight and influence of the farming interest, upon whose 

virtue and independence the duration of out free institutions so essentially 

depends,ss 

He then called for some cooperative plan to rid the state of the evil of 

the paper system, s° 

On November 20, 1818, the Bank of Kentucky and other banks in 

the state had suspended specie payment because of pressure from the 

United States Bank. In January, 1819, a series of resolutions was introduced 

which stated that banks in which individuals had an interest were 

monied monopolies and ought not to be tolerated. Instead, all paper 

money should emanate from the national and state governments,s° 

Governor Slaughter had gone further in advocating an amendment to 

the United States Constitution making it unlawful for any incorporated 

bank to exist within the nation's limits. 1 

This Legislature extended the charter of the Bank of Kentucky until 

1841, however, because although it had been forced to suspend specie 

payments for a while, it had been managed with care. 2 

The Governor's final message in 1819 contained the same appeals he 

had made when he first took office, nothing having been done about 

most of them. The jail and penitentiary was in a dilapidated state, 

unfit for its purposes, and "...hastening to ruin. ''°8 It had to be either 

repaired and enlarged or a new one built. He pointed out the necessity 

for adequate and proper prison facilities. "'To reclaim and reform our 

frail and misled fellow-mortals from the inveteracy of vicious habits 

• . . " was, he said, more in the spirit of the country than sanguinary 

methods.9. 

Ever searching for some way which might succeed in helping education, 

he suggested the use of the western lands recently acquired by 

treaty with the Indians to form a fund, or the use of fines and forfeitures 

to the state for the same purpose. It seems evident that from many 

suggestions he hoped the legislators would see fit to choose one. He 

spoke of aiding the extension of Transylvania University and of endowng 

several colleges.°" 

He called their attention to the report of the Commissioners determining 

the site of a canal at the falls of the Ohio (Louisville) and the 

preference they gave to the Kentucky shore.°e


Finally, he spoke of the failure of many banks to redeem their paper 

and of the national bank offices in Kentucky having caused much of the 

finandal troubles3 He recommended a law making the directors and 

stockholders of banks individually responsible for the redemption of 

their notes3s 

Feeling had become strong throughout the state, and the Legislature, 

rather than considering any revisions, repealed the law creating the independent 

banks. 8 

The election of 1819 had centered around the enactment of replevin 

laws and one of the first actions of the new Legislature was to pass a 

stay of sixty days on all executions. Governor Slaughter vetoed the 

bill, but it was passed again. His reason for this was that the permanent 

welfare of the state would be endangered by the delay or denial of complete 

justice. °° The day after the independent banks had been 

destroyed (February 11, 1820), the replevin law was enacted providing 

a twelve months stay if the plaintiff would agree to accept notes of the 

Bank of Kentucky, but two years stay otherwise. TM This was to result 

in events which shook the political and economic foundations of the 

state a few years later. 

Not only the penitentiary but also other government buildings had 

fallen into disrepair and during Governor Slaughter's administration 

steps were taken to remedy the situation of the latter. In 1817 the 

sum of two thousand dollars was appropriated for the repair of the 

Governor's mansion. 1°2 The state house was also rebuilt at a cost of 

forty thousand dollars, being completed early in the year 1820.I°8 

One of Governor Slaughter's most frequent reasons for vetoing bills 

was their authorization of a lottery to raise money. At the beginning 

of his administration he expressed his views on the subject. 

I take this early opportunity of protesting against this mode of raising 

money. A lottery has ever been deemed a species of gaming, and if 

not so in the ordinary sense of the term, it awakens and generates a spirit 

of gambling, which public sentiment and public good require the legislature 

to control, and if practicable, suppress. All private lotteries have 

in civilized countries been held and declared to be public nuisances;...lo4 

Through his four years the Legislature continued to pass such bills, and 

he to veto them. z°5 

In August, 1820, the elections for Governor and new stare officials 

occurred. John Adair won over William Logan by about five hundred 

votes in a four-way contest. William T. Barry was elected Lieutenant 

Governor. 

The final portion of Governor Slaughter's message to the Legislature 

the December previous was his farewell.

352 The Filson Club History Quarterly [V'ol. 40 

Gandemen, the period during which it devolved on me ... to administer 

the government, is about to expire. At the commencement of tl t period, 

I solicited most earnesdy the aid and the forbearance of my fellow 

citizens, thinking both alike necessary to the just and satisfactory dis. 

charge of the high duties assigned me. I have to regret, that owing to 

some unhappy fervours to which our frail natures are but too incident, I 

did not experience either the assistance or the forbearance which I had 

hoped, and which I so much needed. To administer the government upon 

principles beneficial to all, and not according to the inclination of an excited 

portion of the community, was no less my inclination than my duty. 

It corresponded, moreover, with the anterior habits of my public life. 

Ambitious from my first entrance upon the public theater, of public approbation, 

I settled it with myself, that the best way to secure it, was to 

endeavor to deserve it. Upon that principle I have endeavored to act in 

every posture in which I have been pheed -- how far I have succeeded, 

it is not for me to say. I have much cause of gratitude to heaven, for 

sustaining me in the trying occurrences to which I have just alluded, 

and for enabling me to maintain the even tenor of my way thus far, 

without being seduced by the alhicements of apparent friendship, or 

driven by the menaces of apparent'enemies from the course which I had 

prescribed to myself. These matters are mentioned, not in a spirit of 

acrimony, but of amity and the view of soliciting for my successor, whoever 

he may be, the united support of all. 

Gentlemen, I invoke the blessing of Heaven upon your labors for the 

common good, and tender you the assurance of my prompt and cordial 

concurrence in every labour of that character.100 

V 

At the end of his term of office Governor Slaughter returned to 

Mercer County. He had failed to realize many of his dreams for progress 

in Kentucky but he did not retire from politics. In 1823 he stood 

for election to the Kentucky House of Representatives from Mercer 

County and was returned with George C. Thompson and Samuel 

Daviess. 1°7 

The House convened on November 3, 1823, and the Journal for the 

next day shows that he arrived late. °s The part he played in the 

ensuing session was an active one, but rather as an elder statesman than 

as a leader of any group. It was he who moved that the portions of the 

Governor's message relating to various items be referred to committees 

to study them and he was named to one of these to consider that portion 

relating to the Bank of the Commonwealth. 1°9 

Always interested in furthering the educational advantages of Kenmckians, 

Slaughter devoted attention to such measure which came before 

the House. He voted to ask Congress for aid for the Deaf and 

Dumb School and to raise the Commonwealth's support to $150 for


each indigent pupil,n° When a bill was introduced to take from 

"Seminaries of Learning" the fines and forfeitures which they had been 

receiving, giving them to the state treasury, he opposed it.tn 

At this time there was confusion in the handling of the state appropriations 

by Transylvania. A joint committee of the two houses of the 

Legislature was appointed to examine the condition of the University and 

Gabriel Slaughter was one of the four members from the House of 

Representatives.lm 

This was Gabriel Slaughter's last office as an elected ofl dal. During 

his later years he continued as a farmer in Mercer County. Before becoming 

Governor he had owned over a thousand acres in Ohio but he 

sold this land about 1819. He also owned 850 acres in Clark County 

for a short while, tl" His slaves numbered about sixteen dur'mg the 

years following his governorship, but in 1816 he had been taxed for 

thirty-two. From 1822 to 1826 he was taxed for a four-wheeled carriage. 

At the time of his death the inventory of his estate included sixty-six 

fat hogs, two yoke of oxen, eleven grown cows and seven young steers 

with a considerable supply of farm implements. Nine beds were included 

among the household furniture. In addition, he possessed a 

surveyor's compass and instruments, ten volumes of American State 

Papers (valued at ten dollars) and one lot of books (valued at five 

dollars). His fourteen silver tablespoons and thirty-one silver teaspoons 

were valued at fifty dollars, n4 

Throughout his later years he continued his interest in furthering the 

educational opportunities of Kentuckians. In the Act of the Legislature 

creating Georgetown College, January 15, 1829, he was named as one 

of the trustees,nB 

Late in 1829 he began the final settlement of his affairs, writing his 

will.ne Less than a year later, on September 19, 1830, he died and 

was buried in the graveyard in Mercer County where others of his family 

also reposed. Over his grave is erected a monument bearing the inscription: 

GABRIEL SLAUGHTER 

FORMER ACTING GOVERNOR OF' 

KENTUCKY 

He departed this life September 19, 1830, aged 64 

years. 

The State erects this tomb to tell the inquirer in 

after times where repose the remains of a soldier 

and patriot,nT


FOOTNOTES 

a John Slaughter Carpenter, "Slaughter Family," The Vir&inia Magazina of Histoey and 

Biography, v. 21, pp. 306-10, 427-30, v. 22, pp. 99-102, 208-11, 319-22; Robert. M. 

Torrence, Torreuu and Allkd Families (Philadelphia, 1938), p. 301; George Harrison 

Sanford King, The Register o[ Overwhwrton Palish, Stal ord County, Virginia, 1723- 

1758 (Fredericksburg, Va., 1961), p. 50. 

2Register ol the Kentucky Historical Society, v. 21, p. 182. He rlaimed 400 a tes and 

pre-emption of 1,000 acres for raising a crop of corn in that year. 

3 Culpeper Co., Va., Deed Book P, p. 360. On 24 Oct. 1789 he gave a power of 

attorney to his son Gabriel, stating that he was about to remove to the Western WaEers. 

4 Mercer Co., Ky., Chancery suit, Benjamin Fisher vs. Robert Sl,a,ug hter's heirs, 1814. 

William Buckner McGroarty, "William Buckner of Caroline,' Tykr' Qu rwrly Hirtofical 

and Genealogical Magazir , v. 21, p. 177; Virginia Hcraid, Fredetickshnrg, Va., 

SeI t. 21, 1816. 

John Wesley Gart and John. Calhnun Garr, Genealogy of tho De:cend nt: o/ Jol n 

Garr (Cincinnati, 1894), p. 72. She married Jeremiah Fisher of Boyle Co., Ky., and left 

de/cendants. 

7 Her gravestone in the Irvine and Caldwell graveyard in Boyle Co., Ky., states she died 

in July, 1825, aged 34 years. She married James Caldweil and left descendants. 

sCuipeper Co., Va., Deed Book R, pp. 1-2. He had acquired this tract of 118 acres in 

1786 (Culpeper Co., Vs., Land tax book, 1786) although he did not receive a deed lot 

it until 1789 (Culpeper Co., Va., Deed Book P, pp. 70-71). He was given 400 acres by 

his father in 1789 but sold that tract the next year (/bid., pp. 360-62, 520-22). 

Robert B. McAfee, "The Life and Times of Robert B. McAfee and His Family Connections," 

Register o/the Kantucky Historical Society, v. 25, p. 123. 

0 "Excerpts from the Executive Journal of Governor Isaac Shelby," Re&i t o] th8 Kentucky 

Hi:torica2 Society, v. 28, pp. 203, 208. 

z* Mercer CO.. Ky., Tax lists, 1795. 

lz Mercer CO., Ky., Quar r Sessions Deed Book 4, p. 128. On Feb. 24, 1796, they were 

deeded 426 acres by George Thompson, and on April 6, 1802 Thompson and Samuel 

McDoweil, Jr., con6tmed to them the 476 , acres on which they then lived, there having 

been a suit concerning the title to the land in 1796 (/bid., Deed Book 4, p. 341). On 

Jan. 9, 1801, William StarLing sold him 60 acres and he purchased another 30 acres from 

Starling on Aug. 13, 1813 (/bid., pp. 176-77; Deed Book 8, p. 451). He entered into 

deeds of division with A dn S. Slaughter on April 24, 1819 (/bid., Deed Book 11, pp. 

192-94). The title was probably still not dear, however, for in 1822 both Starling and 

McDoweil conveyed to him 286 acres on which he lived (/bid., Deed Book 12, pp. 

400-02 ). 

lSMarla Thompson Daviess, Hi tory of Mercer and Boyle Countles (l-[arrodiburg. Ky., 

1924), p. 59. 

14 lbi 

Carollne Co., Va., Marriage ret-arns, no. 2; Arnold Harris Hotd, The Hord Famibl 

o Virginia (n.p., 1915), p. 90. 

*eNotation William A. Slaughter Papers, Alderman IAbrary, University of Virginia. 

He married first Mary Belle Weisiger and second Mrs. Sarah Pleasants (Webster) Railey 

and left descendants by his second wife. 

17 Ruth Lawrence, ed., Colonial Pa nilies of Am ,ica (New York, n.d.) v. 5, pp. 292- 

93. She married The Rev. John trolley Worthington and left descendants. 

*sWestem Monitor, Lexington, Ky., Dec. 26, 1818. He died on Dec. 22, 1818. 

10 Kentucky House of Repsesentatives, Journal, 1797-98 (Frankfort, 1798), pp. 8, 10.11. 

2°lbid., pp. 21, 27, 60. 

* William Lircell, The Statute Law o Kentucky (Frankfort, 1810), v. 2, p. 240. 

*Kentudry House of Representatives, Journal, 1799 (Frankfort, 1800), pp. 6, 26, 32, 

60. 

ss Lewis Collins and Richard FL Collins, Hi:toLv'o] Kentuck (Louisville, 1924), v. 2, 

p. 604. 

Ibid., p. 603. 

Z lbid., v. l,p. 543. 

* Kentucky Senate, ]ournd, 1803 (Frankfort, 1804), pp. 14, 79, 82. 

* Ibid., p. 26. 

*e Ibld., p. 124. . '

1966] Gabdel S ughtw, 1767-1830 355 

e°G. Glenn Clih The "Corn Stalk" Militia of Kentucky, 1792-1811 (Frankffort, Ky., 

1957), p. 130- He had previously been commissioned major of the First Battalion on 

December 17, 1802. 

S°Kentuck Senate, Journal, 1804 (Frankfort, 1804), pp. 9, 11. 

a3 Kentucky Senate, ]ournM, 1807 (Frankfort, 1808), pp. 4-6, 14, 141. 

s* G. Glenn (:lift, Governors o Kentucky, 1792-1942 (Cynthiano, Ky., 1942), p. 20. 

SZThe Western World, Frankfort, Ky., Feb. 25, 1808. 

S°John Henderson Spencer, A History o Kentucky Baptists From 1769 to 1885 (Cincinnati, 

1885), v. 2, p. 131 

m Douglm C. McMurtrie and Albert H. Allen, Check List o] Kentucky Imprints, 1811. 

1820 (American Imprints Inventory, no. 6; Louisville, 1939), p. 201. ' • " - .. 

as Minutes O/ the South District Association oJ Baptists -- Met at Union Meeting. 

House, in Mercer County, on the third Saturday in August, 1809, quoted iti ibid. 

a9 Spencer, lo¢. tit. 

•o Kentucky Gazette, Lexington, Ky., Oct. 15, 1811. 

4, The Reporter, Lexington, Ky., Nov. 6, 1816. 

42 Collins, op. tit., v. 1, p. 492. 

4a Anderson Chenault Quisenherry, Kentucky in the War of 1812 (Frankfort, .Ky., 

1915), p. 134. 

,4 Ibid., p. 140. ." • " . 

• Ibld., pp. 139-41, 150. ., . 

deU.S. Adjutant General, *'Enlistments &c, U.S. Army, Prior to May 17, 1815," M$, 

v. 23, p. 229, National Archives; S. E. Hill, ed., Roster of the Volunteer Officers.and 

Soldiers/tom Kentucky in the War o/1812 (Frankfort, Ky., 1891), p. 285. 

47 Orval W. Baylor, John.Pope, Kentuckian (Cynthiana, Ky., 1943), p. 102. 

•s Ibid., p. 124. 

49 Ibid., p. 120. 

°Ibid., p. 125. 

z Nilas' Register, quoted in Charles Kerr, ed., History o Kentucky, by William Elsev 

Connelley and E. M. Coulter (Chicago and New York, 1922), v. 2, p. 583. 

5u Kerr, loc. cir. 

Ibid. 

54 Quoted in The Reporter, Lexington, Ky, Nov. 6, 1816. 

ZSThe RGporter, Nov. 27, 1816. 

Willard Rouse Jilison, ed., "Early Political Papers of Governor James Turner Morehead,' 

Regist of the Kentucky Historical Society, v. 22, p. 287. 

Kerr, op. cir., v. 2, pp. 583-84. 

5s Temple Bodley and Samuel M. Wilson, History of Kentucky (Chicago and Louisville, 

1928), v. 2, p. 101. 

Kentucky House of Representatives, Journal, 1816 (Frankfort, 1817i, pp. 14-15. 

e°Ibid., pp. 16, 18-19. 

et NilejJ Register, quoted in Baylor, op. dt., p. 101. 

e2 Kentucky House of Representatives, ]omwal, 1816, p. 19. 

eSlbid., p. 17. 

e*Ibid., pp. 15-16. 

e Ibid., p. 27; The Reporter, Lexington, Ky., Dec. 11, 1816. 

The Ro ort , Dec. 18, 1816. 

0 Kentucky House of Representatives, ]ourtud, 1816, p. 225. 

as Ibid., pp. 238-39. 

Baylor, op. tit., p. 141. 

o Kerr, op. €/t.,v. 2, p. 589. 

n Gabriel Slaughter, Executive Journal, 1816-17, MS, Kentucky Historical Society, p. 86. 

T= lhld., pp. 86-87. 

:s Ibld., p. 88. 

: Bodley and Wilson, op. €it.,v. 2, p. 103. 

u Kentucky House of Representatives, Journal, 1817 (Frankfort, 1817), pp. 32, 49-50, 

59. 

•u Kentucky Senate, Journal, 1817 (F mkfort, 1817), p. 59. 

Collins, op. cir., v. 1, p. 28. 

s Bodley and Wilson, op. cir., v. 2, p. 124. 

• Ibid.


so Many letters making this request are filed with the stare papers of his administration 

at the Kentucky Historical Society. 

st Baylor, op. cir., p. 149. 

82 Kentucky Senate, ]ournal, 1818 (Frankfort, 1818), p. 8. 

s Ibid., p. 9. 

841bid., p. 10. 

ss Ibid., p. 11. 

s /bid. 

s7/bid. 

SSlbid., p. 12. 

Ibid. 

° Kerr, op. ¢/t., v. 2, p. 605. 

8t Publk Advertisar, Frankfort, Ky., Dec. 15, 1818. 

9- Colllns, o#. cir., v. 2, p. 29. 

°3 Kentocky Senate, Journal, 1819 (Frankfort, 1819), p. 15. 

94Ibid., p. 15. 

° lbid., p. 16. 

°°lbld., p. 18 

g7 Ibid., pp. 20-21. 

°Slbid., p. 17. 

Kerr, o0. c/t., v. 2, p. 606. 

xoo Ibid., p. 608. 

*ox Ibid. 

to2 Collins, op. ¢/t., v. 2, p. 28. 

lo* Ibid., p. 29. 

tO*Kentucky House of Representatives, Journal, 1816, p. 281. 

10s A number of such messages appear in the executive papers of his administration at 

the Kentuck Historical Society, 

l°e Kentucky Senate, ]ournal, 1819, pp. 22-23. 

o* Kentucky House of Representatives, ]ouenal, 1823 (Frankfort, 1823), p. 4. 

t Ibid., p. 8. 

lo Ibid., p. 39. 

11o Ibid , p. 273. 

1111bidl, p. 310. 

uz Kentucky Senate, lournal, 1823 (Frankfort, 1823), pp. 301-04. 

tla Mercer Co., Ky., Tax lists, 1795-1830, loc. c/t. 

1x4 Mercer Co., Ky., Will Book 9, pp. 397-400. 

ltSSpenc r, oP. eit., v. 1, p. 599. The purpose of this college was to obtaia a better 

educamd ministry for the Baptist Church. 

tta Mercer Co., Ky., Will Book 9, pp. 336-37. 

117 Register o[ the Kentucky Historical $odety, v. 1, no. 3, p. 31.

GABRIEL SLAUGHTER, 1767-1830 G•OVERNOR OF KENTUCKY ...

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