John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) - Early Life and Family

Early Life and Family

John Breckinridge's grandfather, Alexander, immigrated from Ireland to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, around 1728. In 1740, the family moved to Augusta County, Virginia, near the city of Staunton. John Breckinridge was born there on December 2, 1760, the second of six children of Robert Breckinridge and his second wife, Lettice (Preston) Breckinridge. His mother was the daughter of John Preston of Virginia's Preston political family. His father had two children by a previous marriage, and it was through one of these half-brothers that John Breckinridge was uncle to future Congressman James D. Breckinridge. A veteran of the French and Indian War, Breckinridge's father served first as Augusta County's under-sheriff, then sheriff, then justice of the peace. Soon after John Breckinridge's birth, the family moved to Botetourt County where Robert Breckinridge became a constable and justice of the peace, as well as serving in the local militia. He died in 1773, leaving 12-year-old John 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land, one slave, and half ownership of another slave.

According to his biographer Lowell H. Harrison, Breckinridge may have attended school, including Augusta Academy (now Washington and Lee University), but any records containing this information have been lost. After his father's death, he helped support the family by selling whiskey, brandy, and hemp. He learned surveying from his uncle, William Preston, and between 1774 and 1779, he was employed as a recorder in the land office of Fincastle. Preston sought opportunities for his nephew to attend private schools alongside his sons, but such schools were prone to intermittent operation, and Breckinridge's other responsibilities interfered with his attendance. Preston also nominated Breckinridge as deputy surveyor of Montgomery County, a position he accepted after passing the requisite exam on February 1, 1780. Later that year, he joined his cousin, future Kentucky Senator John Brown, at William and Mary College (now College of William & Mary). The instructors who influenced him most were Reverend James Madison and George Wythe.

The Revolutionary War, forced William and Mary to close in 1781, as its buildings were successively used as barracks for British, French, and American troops during different phases of the war. Harrison notes that the most reliable records of Virginians' military service do not indicate Breckinridge's participation in the war, but less reliable sources mention him as a subaltern in the Virginia militia. If he enlisted, Harrison speculates that he served in one or two short 1780 militia campaigns supporting Nathanael Greene's army in southwest Virginia.