Buckner Thruston

Buckner Thruston
Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
In office December 14, 1809 – August 30, 1845
Appointed by	James Madison
Preceded by	Allen Bowie Duckett
Succeeded by	James Dunlop
United States Senator from Kentucky
In office March 4, 1805 – December 18, 1809
Preceded by	John Brown
Succeeded by	Henry Clay
Personal details
Born	(1763-02-09)February 9, 1763 Gloucester County, Colony of Virginia, British America
Died	August 30, 1845(1845-08-30) (aged 82) Washington, D.C.
Resting place	Congressional Cemetery Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Children	Charles Mynn Thruston
Education	College of William & Mary (A.B.)

Buckner Thruston (February 9, 1763 – August 30, 1845) was a United States Senator from Kentucky and a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Born on February 9, 1764, in Petsoe Parish in Gloucester County, Colony of Virginia, British America, Thruston pursued preparatory studies and received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1783 from the College of William & Mary. He engaged in private practice in Lexington, District of Kentucky, Virginia (Commonwealth of Kentucky from June 1, 1792) from 1788 to 1789, from 1791 to 1792, from 1794 to 1802, and from 1803 to 1805. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1789. He was a commissioner for the boundary dispute between Kentucky and Virginia in 1791. He was a Judge of the Kentucky District Court in 1791. He was clerk of the Kentucky Senate from 1792 to 1794. He was a Judge of the Kentucky Circuit Court from 1802 to 1803. He was appointed a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Orleans in 1804, but declined the appointment.

Congressional service

Thruston was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the United States Senate from Kentucky and served from March 4, 1805, to December 18, 1809, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial appointment.

Federal judicial service

Thruston was nominated by President James Madison on December 12, 1809, to a seat on the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia vacated by Judge Allen Bowie Duckett. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 1809, and received his commission on December 14, 1809. His service terminated on August 30, 1845, due to his death in Washington, D.C. He was interred in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Family

Thruston's son, Charles Mynn Thruston, was a politician and Union Army general.

Sources

• United States Congress. "Buckner Thruston (id: T000249)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Buckner Thruston at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Further reading

• Buckner Thruston, O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family (accessed November 4, 2015) This person page networks the involvement of William Cranch in the legal records and proceedings of the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia between 1800 and 1845.