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Located at Margaret I. King Library at University of Kentucky
Portrait of John Coburn

John Coburn

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John Coburn (August 28, 1762 - February 10, 1823) was a Kentucky Pioneer, Circuit Court Judge, and Territory Judge.

Early Life

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John Coburn was born August 28, 1762, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a young man, he received a collegiate education, read law under Luther Martin, Attorney General of Maryland, and was admitted to the bar.  Martin took special interest in young Coburn, and under Martin's advice, Coburn moved from Philadelphia to Lexington, Kentucky in 1784.[1][1][2]

Career

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Upon Coburn's arrival in Lexington, he partnered with George Gordon, his future brother-in-law, in a lucrative mercantile business and was elected as a town trustee.[3][1] [4] [5]

In August 1785, Coburn was a member of the committee that convened in Danville, Kentucky for the purpose of taking steps for the admission of Kentucky as a state to the union.  Kentucky was a part of Virginia, made a separate county in 1776, and was granted statehood on June 1, 1792.[6]

By 1794, Coburn was married with four children and moved his growing family to the town of Washington, Kentucky, the second largest town, after Lexington, and the county seat for Mason County. [1] 

In 1795, Coburn was appointed Judge of the District Court of Mason County, and upon reorganization of the courts, became Circuit Court Judge, a position he held for 10 years.[7] 


In Washington, Coburn partnered with Dr. Basil Duke (grandfather of Basil W. Duke, Confederate Brigadier General) and Captain Nathaniel Wilson in land speculation and merchant trading.[8]  Coburn and Duke built a house on Green Street, opposite the court house, in which the families occupied separate apartments. [8]  Wilson built a house on an adjoining lot, now called the Albert Sidney Johnston House, the birthplace of the Confederate General who died in the Battle of Shiloh.  


After Wilson's death in 1796, Coburn and Duke continued their partnership and purchased large amounts of land in Mason County, the surrounding counties, and across the river in Ohio. [9]   In 1801 Coburn and Duke laid out the town of Decatur in what would eventually be Brown County, Ohio.[10]   They were also appointed to a committee tasked with building Franklin Academy in the town of Washington.[3]

In 1796, he was appointed by the Kentucky Governor, James Garrard, along with Robert Johnson and Buckner Thruston, to join three elected commissioners from Virginia to settle the boundary line between the states of Kentucky and Virginia, and Coburn wrote the final report. [11] [12] 


Coburn served in the Kentucky Electoral College for three presidential elections:  1796, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson; 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr; and 1804, Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton.[13][14]

In August 1798, in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, Coburn was appointed to a committee to request the governor of Kentucky to call for an early convening of the legislature.  The ensuing meetings of the Legislature resulted in the passing of the famous Kentucky Resolutions which were influential in undoing the Federalist Party and bringing about the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800.[15]


On February 23, 1805, Coburn was appointed Judge of the Territory of Michigan by President Thomas Jefferson, which he declined, but in October of that year, accepted an appointment from Jefferson for Judge of the Territory of Orleans.  He resigned that appointment in 1809, and on November 20, 1811, was appointed Judge of the Louisiana Territory by President James Madison. [16]


During the War of 1812, Coburn was appointed military aide to Governor Isaac Shelby and Revenue Collector for the 4th District of Kentucky by President James Madison, and continued in that office for seven years.[1] [4]


In March 1818, John Coburn and Samuel January offered lots for sale on the Ohio River, bordering the east side of Maysville.  They laid out streets and alleys with varying sizes of properties, Coburn owning the 280 acres east of Union Street.  Only a few of Coburn's lots sold prior to his death in 1823, and the remaining 275 acres were divided between his children and their heirs.  Today this is referred to as East Maysville and is predominantly residential. [17][18][19]

Daniel Boone

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Coburn and Daniel Boone became acquainted in the early 1780's when Daniel was a well known Kentucky Frontiersman and Coburn was a young merchant trader newly arrived from Philadelphia.  Coburn's name is on the Ft. Boonesborough Memorial as he was documented as a one-time visitor to the fort in the original minutes.  The two men remained lifelong friends despite Boone's legal difficulties that placed his name as a defendant on Judge Coburn's civil docket.


In 1799 Boone was offered a large tract of land by the Spanish west of the Mississippi River, but four years later the Louisiana Purchase threw these Spanish land grants into question.  In the fall of 1809, the federal land commission was reviewing the claims, and Coburn received inside information that the commission was about to rule against Boone.  Coburn informed Boone of the impending decision, and Coburn offered his assistance in writing an appeal to Congress.  In December, when the commission formally announced their ruling against Boone's claim, Judge Coburn had already drawn up a petition and presented it to his friends in Washington.  In Coburn's appeal to Congress he expressed sentiments that Daniel had spent his life exploring the wilderness and settling the western country at his own risk, opening the road to civilization in the new territories.  He claimed Boone's object had always been the defense of the country and to share with others and not for gain of personal wealth. Coburn's appeal eventually persuaded Congress to provide Daniel with land from the public domain in Missouri.  Coburn's petition was circulated in national newspapers which led to a resurgence of interest in the life of Daniel Boone.[20]

Death

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In June 1807, Coburn sold his ownership in the house on Green Street in Washington to his partner, Dr. Basil Duke..[21]  Sometime before 1816, he moved to his 275 acre farm on the Ohio River about one mile east of the town of Maysville, and there he passed away on February 10, 1823. [22] [23] [24][1]He is buried in the Maysville Cemetery beside his wife and several children and grandchildren. 

Coburn's portrait was donated to the University of Kentucky by his Great Great Grandson, Herman Lee Donovan, who was the 4th President of the University of Kentucky, 1941-1956.  The portrait is located at the university in the archives of the Margaret I. King Library.  His son, James's portrait was also donated and is located in the University of Kentucky Art Museum.

Family

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On August 26, 1786, John married Mary Moss, daughter of Hugh Moss and Virginia "Jennie" Ford. Mary's sister was Keturah Moss Leitch Taylor, the widow of David Leitch and wife of General James Taylor (founder of Newport, Kentucky). [4] Mary was also the aunt of Brigadier General Bernard Gaines Ferrar and Elizabeth Moss, the second wife of John J. Crittenden, the 17th Governor of Kentucky.

John and Mary Coburn had 13 children[25]:


1.   Mary Coburn (1787-1788)

2.   Dr. James Wynne Coburn (1789-1850) married 1) Susannah Smith Doniphan[26] and 2) Mary Walton[27].  His first wife was the first cousin of Col. Alexander William Doniphan.

3.   John Coburn (1791-1804), died unmarried.

4.   Dr. Wilson Coburn (1793-1833) married Anne Wood.[28]

5.   America Coburn (1796-1826) married 1)  Thomas Chalfont[28] and 2)  Milton Taylor[28].

6.   Anne Wilson Coburn (1798-1831) married Gilbert Adams.[27]

7.   Virginia Coburn (1800-1858) married Joseph F. Tureman.[27]

8.   Mary Ford Coburn (1802-1863) married Dr. William R. Wood[27].

9.   John Coburn (1804-1832) married Ann Chambers.[27]

10. Dr. Henry William Coburn (1807-1829), died unmarried.

11. Frances Thomas Coburn (1810-1840) married Phebe Maria Wood.[27]

12. William Sprigg Coburn (1812-1845) married Mary Goddard.[27]

13. Thomas Coburn (1815- aft. 1844) married Elizabeth Smith[29], granddaughter of Joseph Alvarez Hortiz, secretary to the last two Spanish Governors of Upper Louisiana, New Spain (Zenon Trudeau and Carlos Dehault Delassus) and niece of Joseph Marie LeBarge, Sr.

  1. ^ a b c d e Collins, Lewis (1882). Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky (Volume 2 ed.). Collins and Company. pp. 578–79.
  2. ^ Judicial Conference of the United States, Bicentennial Committee (1983). Judges of the United States (Second ed.). Washington, DC: Committee: For Sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S.G.P.O.
  3. ^ a b 1875-, Staples, Charles R. (Staples, Charles Richard),. The history of pioneer Lexington, 1779-1806. ISBN 978-0-8131-1913-7. OCLC 946550003. {{cite book}}: |last= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c C., Tenkotte, Paul A. Claypool, James (2009). The encyclopedia of northern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2565-7. OCLC 318875362.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Staples, Charles R. (1996). History of Pioneer Lexington, 1779-1806. University Press of Kentucky. pp. pg. 87. ISBN 978-0813119137. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ pub., Armstrong, J.M., & company, (1878). The Biographical encyclopædia of Kentucky of the dead and living men of the nineteenth century. J.M. Armstrong. OCLC 3031309.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ North American Family Histories, 1500-2000. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2016. p. 244.
  8. ^ a b Paxton, William McClung (2010). The Marshall Family or a Genealogical Chart of the Descendants of John Marshall and Elizabeth Markham, his wife, sketches of individuals and notices of families connected with them. Nabu Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-1142954314.
  9. ^ "Iron Bank, For Sale by Subscribers". Stewart's Kentucky Harold. June 6, 1797.
  10. ^ Matthews, Gary Robert (2005). Basil Wilson Duke, CSA: The Right Man in the Right Place. University Press of Kentucky. p. 10. ISBN 9780813123752.
  11. ^ Clark, Thomas D. (2014). Historic Maps of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 15. ISBN 9780813165264.
  12. ^ "Lexington, Sept. 24". Federal Gazette & Baltimore Daily Advertiser, Vol: V, Issue: 939. November 8, 1796. p. 3.
  13. ^ Collins, Lewis (1882). Collins Historical Sketches of Kentucky (Volume 2 ed.). Collins and Company. pp. 367–368.
  14. ^ Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily Advertiser, Vol: XIII, Issue: 2209. December 23, 1800. p. 3. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ author., Clift, G. Glenn (Garrett Glenn), 1909- (1936). History of Maysville and Mason County. Southern Historical Press, Inc. pp. 138–141. ISBN 978-0-89308-572-8. OCLC 1261639073. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Columbian Gazette, Vol: III, Issue: 134. October 7, 1805. p. 3. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ "Maysville, KY". The Eagle in Maysville, Kentucky, Vol: IV, Issue: 42. March 27, 1818. p. 4.
  18. ^ Mason County Deed Book W, pgs. 234-237
  19. ^ Mason County Deed Book W, pg. 235, June 9, 1818
  20. ^ Grover, Faragher, John Mack. Gardner, (2013), Daniel Boone The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer., Blackstone Audio Inc, ISBN 978-1-4708-8709-4, OCLC 825761251, retrieved 2022-12-14{{citation}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Mason County Deed Book J, pg. 344, June 1, 1807
  22. ^ Mason County Deed Book F, pgs. 23-24, April 5, 1823
  23. ^ Mason County Deed Book Q, pg. 189, May 16, 1831
  24. ^ Mason County Deed Book Q, pg. 189, September 7, 1816
  25. ^ Coburn Family Bible from Ancestry.com
  26. ^ Marriage Records of Mason County, Kentucky 1804-1811 Volume II, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g Kentucky, County Marriages, 1783-1965, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
  28. ^ a b c Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
  29. ^ U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007
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