MOREHEAD, James Turner, Congress, KY (1797-1854)

Senate Years of Service: 1841-1847
Party: Whig

MOREHEAD, James Turner, a Senator from Kentucky; born near Shepherdsville, Bullitt County, Ky., May 24, 1797; attended the public schools and Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky.; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1818 and commenced practice in Bowling Green, Ky.; member, State house of representatives 1828-1831; lieutenant governor 1832; upon the Governor’s death in 1834, he became Governor and served until 1836; member, State house of representatives 1837-1838; president of the State board of internal improvements 1838-1841; elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1847; chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs (Twenty-seventh Congress), Committee on Retrenchment (Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Congresses); continued the practice of law in Covington, Kenton County, Ky., until his death in that city on December 28, 1854; interment in the State lot of Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Ky.

Bibliography Dictionary of American Biography ; Jillson, W.R., ed. “Early Political Papers of Governor James T. Morehead.” Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society 22 (September 1924): 272-300, 23 (January 1925): 36-61.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present