John Pope (February 1770 – July 12, 1845) was a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Kentucky,

Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...

, and the third

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

Early life and education

Pope was born near

Bristow Bristow, or Bristowe, can refer to the following. People * Bristow (surname) * W.S. Bristowe (1901–1979), English naturalist Places ;In the United States * Bristow, Indiana * Bristow, Iowa * Bristow, Mississippi * Bristow, Missouri * Bristow ...

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manass ...

in 1770, the first son of the former Penelope Sanford Edwards (1757-) and her husband Col. William H. Pope (1740-1825). He had younger brothers William H. Pope Jr (1775-1844) who was born as the family continued moving westward into

Fauquier County, Virginia Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 160 ...

, as well as Alexander Pope (1781-1826) and

Nathaniel Pope Nathaniel W. Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the State of Illinois. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Delegate to the United States House of Repr ...

(1784-1850), both of whom were born as the family moved to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in what was then

Kentucky County, Virginia Kentucky County (then alternately spelled Kentucke County) was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective December 31, 1776. The name of the county was take ...

. His youngest brother Nathaniel would also become a lawyer, but continued the family's westward migration by first establishing a legal practice in the

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southea ...

before moving slightly east and holding various positions in the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ...

and ultimately becoming U.S. District Judge for District of Illinois. His birth family included several sisters who survived to adulthood and married, including Penelope Edwards Oldham (1769-1821), Jane Pope Field (1772-1852; also born in Fauquier County) and Hester Pope Edwards (1788-1868; born in Louisville). Both his parents had been born in

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a county located in the Northern Neck of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross. History As originally established by the Virginia colony's ...

, as had his grandfather Worden Pope (1705-1748) and great-grandfather Nathaniel "Bridges Pope III (1660-1719), although his grandmother Hester Netherton Pope was born in what was then

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest- ...

. John lost his arm during his youth and became known as "One-Arm Pope". He received a private education appropriate to his class, including at Salem Academy in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

. He returned to Virginia and graduated from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

before returning to Kentucky and studying law in Lexington under George Nicholas, who had graduated from the same college before crossing the Appalachian mountains to Kentucky, where he not only practiced law but became the primary drafter of the 1792 Kentucky constitution. Pope moved to

Springfield, Kentucky Springfield is a home rule-class city in and county seat of Washington County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,846 at the 2020 census. History Springfield was established in 1793 and probably named for springs in the area. The h ...

where he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

. He practiced law in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Shelby, and Fayette County, Kentucky.

Political career

Pope served as the presidential elector from Kentucky in 1801, and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1802. He served in the House again from 1806 to 1807. Pope was elected as a

Jeffersonian Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, serving from 1807 to 1813, and served as President ''pro tempore'' of the Senate during the Eleventh Congress in 1810 and 1811. His vote against the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

made since he leaned toward the Federalist Party at that time, but political gossip attributed this unpopular political stance to his wife's influence (Eliza Johnson Pope was daughter of an Englishwoman, Catherine Nuth, wife of Joshua Johnson, and she had spent much of her youth in England). The political fall-out led to his not running for re-election at the end of his term in 1813. He and his wife returned to live in Lexington, Kentucky where he practiced law and taught at

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

. Pope was appointed Secretary of State of Kentucky from 1816 to 1819, under Governor

Gabriel Slaughter Gabriel Slaughter (December 12, 1767September 19, 1830) was the seventh Governor of Kentucky and was the first person to ascend to that office upon the death of the sitting governor. His family moved to Kentucky from Virginia when he was very y ...

. He served as a member of the Kentucky Senate from 1825 to 1829, and was also elected three times to the

, initially as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and then as a Whig, serving Kentucky's District 7 between 1837 and 1843. From 1829 to 1835, he served as the Governor of Arkansas Territory. During his term as governor he arranged for the construction of the Old State House by the Kentucky architect

Gideon Shryock Gideon Shryock (November 15, 1802 – June 19, 1880) was Kentucky's first professional architect in the Greek Revival Style. His name has frequently been misspelled as Gideon Shyrock. Biography Shryock was born in Lexington, Kentucky on Novembe ...

. It remains the oldest surviving state capitol west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

Personal life

Pope was married to three socially well-connected women over his lifetime - outliving them all. In 1795 he married Anne Henry Christian (d. 1806), daughter of one of the first settlers of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and niece of

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...

. After Anne died, and while a U.S. Senator, serving as president ''pro tem'', he remarried in 1810. He married well again this time to Elizabeth Janet Dorcas Johnson (1786-1818), daughter of Joshua Johnson, the first American Consul-General to England. Her sister, Louisa, was the wife of

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

, who was at that time the U.S. Minister to Prussia and later, with John Pope's support, President of the United States. During this time, and primarily under the advisement of his wife Eliza, Pope built the avant-garde mansion in what was then on the edges of the "Athens of the West" Lexington, Kentucky which was designed by the noted American architect,

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...

. After the death of Eliza his second wife, Pope resigned from his position as secretary of state of Kentucky (under Governor

) and law professor at

, and in 1820 he moved to

. Mrs. Frances Watkins Walton of Washington County (1772-1843), widow of General

Matthew Walton Matthew Walton (died January 18, 1819) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, cousin of George Walton and John Walton. Walton received a limited schooling. He served as member of the conventions held in Danville in 1785 and 1787. He serv ...

, founder of Springfield and state politician. At the time of her marriage to John Pope, Mrs. Walton was one of the wealthiest people in the state. After his marriage, Pope lived in his wife's home
Walton Manor
and practiced law from the older brick cottage in front of the mansion. When his daughter married in 1829, he sold the Pope Villa which he had been leasing out, and he sold the Walton Manor to her husband John Watkins Cocke. Pope and his wife then moved to Arkansas where he served as Territorial Governor until 1835. He returned to Springfield with his wife, and they built a new house for themselves. This smaller house is also on the National Register of Historic Places. He served as a Kentucky representative to Congress from 1837 to 1843; but, soon before his third wife died, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1842 to the Twenty-eighth Congress. He was also the brother of

, a prominent figure in early

, and the uncle to both John Pope, Union General in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and

Daniel Pope Cook Daniel Pope Cook (1794 – October 16, 1827) was a politician, lawyer and newspaper publisher from the U.S. state of Illinois. An anti-slavery advocate, he was the state's first attorney general, and then congressman. Cook County, Illinois, is ...

, another prominent politician in the early history of the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Death

John Pope died in

on July 12, 1845, and is buried in Springfield Cemetery.

Legacy

Pope Villa of Lexington, Kentucky was built by

Benjamin Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in t ...

for him and his wife Eliza. It is only one of three extant Latrobe buildings in the U.S.

Pope County, Arkansas Pope County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,381. The county seat is Russellville. The county was formed on November 2, 1829, from a portion of Crawford County and named for John Pope, ...

is named for him.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Arkansas Profile

Kentucky Secretary of State
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, John (politician) 1770 births 1845 deaths 19th-century American politicians American politicians with disabilities Arkansas Democrats College of William & Mary alumni Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Governors of Arkansas Territory Kentucky Democratic-Republicans Kentucky Democrats Kentucky state senators Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Prince William County, Virginia Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate United States senators from Kentucky Secretaries of State of Kentucky Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky