John Speed (May 17, 1772 – March 30, 1840) was an American judge and farmer in

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 ...

. He built the

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

estate and served briefly in the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

Early life

John Speed was born on May 17, 1772, to Captain James Speed. He was ten years old when he came to

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 ...

with his father. He received education from schools in Kentucky.

Career

Speed worked with his brother Thomas Speed in merchandising and making salt at the licks near

Shepherdsville, Kentucky Shepherdsville is a home rule-class city on the Salt River in Bullitt County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county, located just south of Louisville. The population was 14,201 during the 2020 U.S. Census. History Nati ...

. In 1791, Speed served during the

under Brigadier General Charles Scott. Speed was appointed as a judge of Quarter Sessions Court in Jefferson County, Kentucky. In 1828, he wrote a series of articles on political topics. They were published as a paper called ''The Focus'' and he signed himself as "Plain Farmer".

Personal life

Speed owned a large tract of land near Louisville called ''Beargrass''. He started building a large house on this land called ''

'' in early 1810. The main crop of the land was hemp. He was a slave owner, but it was noted in the autobiography of Reverend James Freeman Clark that he was against the institution of slavery. By 1800, Speed married Abby Lemaster and they had four children, James, a second child named James, Mary and Eliza. Only Mary and Eliza survived infancy. They lived at Pond Creek in Jefferson County. Abby Lemaster died in July 1807. Speed married Lucy Gilmer Fry (1788–1874), daughter of Joshua and Peachy Fry, in 1808. They had eleven children: Thomas, Lucy Fry,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, Peachy Walker, Joshua Fry, William Pope, Susan Fry, Philip, John Smith, Martha Bell and Ann Pope. Peachy Speed Peay's daughter Eliza married John Hardin Ward, who served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

with the 27th Kentucky Volunteers. Lucy Fry Speed married

James D. Breckinridge James Douglas Breckinridge (1781 – May 6, 1849) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. He was a member of the noted Breckinridge family. Breckinridge was born in Woodville, Kentucky, in 1781. He attended Washington College (now Washing ...

, a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Philip Speed married Emma Keats, niece of John Keats. Joshua Fry Speed roomed with

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

in Springfield, Illinois and remained friends with Lincoln. James Speed became a lawyer and was appointed as

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

by President Lincoln. His grandson was James Breckenridge Speed, a businessman in Louisville. Speed died on March 30, 1840. He left Farmington and the land to Lucy Fry Speed. He was originally buried at the Farmington homestead, but his remains were moved to the

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

in Louisville.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speed, John 1772 births 1840 deaths People from Louisville, Kentucky County judges in Kentucky Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery American slave owners