State Web Site

Higher Office(s) Served: Senator

JAMES TURNER MOREHEAD was born near Shepherdsville, Kentucky on May 24, 1797. His education was attained in the Kentucky public school system and at Transylvania University. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1818, and established a legal career in Bowling Green. Morehead entered politics in 1828, serving as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, a position he held until 1831. He also served as a delegate to the 1831 National Republican Party Convention, and was the lieutenant governor of Kentucky from 1832 to 1834. On February 21, 1834, Governor John Breathitt passed away, and Morehead, who was lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. During his tenure, the Kentucky association of professional teachers was authorized, and the organization of the Kentucky common school society was recommended. After leaving office, Morehead was reelected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1837. He also served as president of the State Board of Internal Improvements from 1838 to 1841, and served as a member of the U.S. Senate from 1841 to 1847. After finishing his senatorial term, Morehead returned to his legal practice in Covington, retiring from public service. Governor James T. Morehead died on December 28, 1854, and was buried at the State Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Sources:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Governors' Papers, Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives, Public Records Division

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Virtual American Biographies