Mary Breckinridge | |
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| Second Lady of the United States | |
| In role March 4, 1857 –March 4, 1861 | |
| Children | 6, including Clifton and John |
Mary Cyrene Breckinridge ( née Burch; August 16, 1826 – October 8, 1907) was the wife of John C. Breckinridge and served as the second lady of the United States from March 4, 1857, until March 4, 1861, while her husband was the 14th vice president of the United States.
Mary Cyrene Burch was born on August 16, 1826, in Georgetown, Kentucky to Clifton Rhodes Burch and Alethia Viley. [1] Her parents died when she was young and she was educated at boarding schools. [2]
After the Civil War ended in 1865, in which her husband served as the last Confederate States Secretary of War, he was indicted by the Federal government for high treason. Fearing that he would be put on trial, he fled the country, first into the wilds of Florida, then across the Caribbean to Cuba. [1]
In June 1865, Breckinridge settled initially in exile in Canada, living abroad for three years, traveling to England, France, and the Middle East. The Breckinridge family spent the summer of 1866 in Niagara, on Lake Ontario, [3] where they visited with family and friends, [1] including his cousin Mary Cabell Breckinridge Porter, widow of their cousin Col. Peter A. Porter, who died during the Battle of Cold Harbor, fighting for the Union side. [1]
The family settled in Toronto, Canada, where Breckinridge met other Confederate exiles, including the freed Jefferson Davis. Their daughter Mary later stated that exile was a quiet relief for Mary Burch Breckinridge, it was hard on John. He later rejoined his family in Canada and moved into a house that was within view of the United States border. Following President Andrew Johnson's amnesty for all former Confederates on Christmas Day 1868, John and Mary Breckinridge returned to the US in February 1869. [1]
On December 12, 1843, after a brief courtship, she was married to John Cabell Breckinridge, son of Joseph "Cabell" Breckinridge (1788–1823), the 13th Secretary of State of Kentucky, and Mary Clay Smith. Shortly after their marriage, they purchased a home for $1,250 in Georgetown near Breckinridge's law practice. [4] Together, they had six children, including: [5]
In 1875, Mary Breckinridge was widowed. She later died at her daughter's home in University Heights, Bronx on October 8, 1907. [1] [8] She was buried at Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky. [9]
Her grandchildren included James Carson Breckinridge (1877–1942), a lieutenant general of the United States Marine Corps and Mary Carson Breckinridge (1881–1965), a nurse-midwife and the founder of the Frontier Nursing Service. [6]
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving from 1857 to 1861, he took office at the age of 36. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and ran for president in 1860 as a Southern Democrat. He served in the U.S. Senate during the outbreak of the American Civil War, but was expelled after joining the Confederate Army. He was appointed Confederate Secretary of War in 1865.
John Breckinridge was an American lawyer, slave-owning planter, soldier, and politician in Virginia and Kentucky. He served several terms each in both state's legislatures before legislators elected him to the U.S. Senate. He also served as United States Attorney General during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson. He is the progenitor of Kentucky's Breckinridge political family and the namesake of Breckinridge County, Kentucky.
Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit 170-acre (69 ha) rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky.
Clifton Rodes Breckinridge was a Democratic alderman, congressman, diplomat, businessman and veteran of the Confederate Army and Navy. He was a member of the prominent Breckinridge family, the son of Vice President of the United States and Confederate General John C. Breckinridge and the great-grandson of U.S. Senator and Attorney General of the United States John Breckinridge.
Henry Skillman Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the prominent Breckinridge family and served as the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1913 to 1916. During the Lindbergh kidnapping trial he served as Charles Lindbergh's attorney. Breckinridge opposed the New Deal from the right. As an opponent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 Democratic primaries he polled less than 3 percent of the vote.
The John C. Breckinridge Memorial, originally on the courthouse lawn of Lexington, Kentucky, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 17, 1997, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. It commemorates John C. Breckinridge, who was born and died in Lexington. He was Vice President for James Buchanan and ran against Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 United States presidential election, winning nine Southern states. He served in the Confederate States Army, and was the last Confederate States Secretary of War, fleeing the country after the South lost.
The Ladies' Confederate Memorial is an American Civil War monument erected in 1874 in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 17, 1997, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. Unlike most Confederate monuments in Kentucky, it represents grief rather than Southern patriotism.
The Breckinridge family is a family of public figures from the United States. The family has included six members of the United States House of Representatives, two United States Senators, a cabinet member, two ambassadors, one United States Vice President, and one unsuccessful candidate for United States President. Breckinridges have served as college presidents, prominent ministers, soldiers, and theologians and in important positions at state and local levels. The family was most notable in Kentucky and most prominent during the 19th century, during nearly one third of which a member of the family served in the United States Congress.
The Confederate Monument in Cynthiana is located on the outer edge of Cynthiana, Kentucky in Battle Grove Cemetery. It was the first monument to the Confederate States of America dedicated in the State of Kentucky, and long believed to be the first Confederate memorial anywhere. Due to the 32nd Indiana Monument having been moved from its original location, the Cynthiana monument is the oldest Civil War monument still standing at its original location, where the second Battle of Cynthiana started, in the then-new town cemetery.
Peter Augustus Porter was a lawyer, politician, and member of the Breckinridge family and a Union Army colonel in the American Civil War. He died in the Battle of Cold Harbor.
Lexington, Kentucky was a city of importance during the American Civil War, with notable residents participating on both sides of the conflict. These included John C. Breckinridge, Confederate generals John Hunt Morgan and Basil W. Duke, and the Todd family, who mostly served the Confederacy although one, Mary Todd Lincoln, was the first lady of the United States, wife of President Abraham Lincoln.
Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Sr. was a Union Army officer from Kentucky during the American Civil War. In later life, he became a brigadier general in the U.S. Regular Army and Inspector General of the Army as well as a major general of volunteers in the Spanish–American War.
Joseph James Bullock was a Presbyterian clergyman who served as the first Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1838 until 1839, and as Chaplain of the United States Senate from 1879 until 1883.
Scott Dudley Breckinridge was an American fencer and gynecologist. He competed in the individual foil and team épée events at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Joseph Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer, soldier, slaveholder and politician in Kentucky. From 1816 to 1819, he represented Fayette County in the Kentucky House of Representatives, and fellow members elected him as their speaker. In 1820, Governor John Adair appointed Breckinridge Kentucky Secretary of State, and he served until his death.
The political career of John C. Breckinridge included service in the state government of Kentucky, the Federal government of the United States, as well as the government of the Confederate States of America. In 1857, 36 years old, he was inaugurated as Vice President of the United States under James Buchanan. He remains the youngest person to ever hold the office. Four years later, he ran as the presidential candidate of a dissident group of Southern Democrats, but lost the election to the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln.
Julia A. Tevis was a pioneer educator of women, from Kentucky. After teaching for several years in Virginia, she founded the Science Hill Female Academy in Shelbyville and led the institution to gain a national reputation for excellence. Teaching her students math and science, rather than how to be accomplished seamstresses, Tevis prepared young women for colleges.
Breckinridge is a surname, and may refer to:
John Witherspoon "Owen" Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician who served in the California State Assembly.
The Breckinridge family exerted a powerful influence in the divided slave state of Kentucky, with Breckinridge County dating back well before its current constitution of 1799. They were viewed as southern aristocracy, counting many Confederate generals among their cousins. But family members also fought in the Union army, and supported Lincoln throughout the conflict.
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