Early Life
J. C. W. Beckham was born at Wickland, near Bardstown in Nelson County, Kentucky, son of William Netherton and Julia Tevis (Wickliffe) Beckham. His maternal grandfather, Charles A. Wickliffe, was governor of Kentucky from 1839 to 1840 and served as postmaster general in the administration of John Tyler. His uncle, Robert C. Wickliffe, served as governor of Louisiana.
Beckham obtained his early education at Roseland Academy in Bardstown. In 1881 he served as a page in the Kentucky House of Representatives at the age of 12. Later, he enrolled at Central University (now Eastern Kentucky University) in Richmond, Kentucky but was forced to quit school at the age of 17 to support his widowed mother. Two years later, he became principal of Bardstown public schools, serving from 1888 to 1893. Concurrently, he studied law at the University of Kentucky, where he earned his law degree in 1889. He was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Bardstown in 1893. He also served as president of the Young Democrats' Club of Nelson County.
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