George W. Sulser et al. to Beriah Magoffin
- Document Genre
- Petition
- Repository
- Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
- Collection
- Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862
- Box / Folder
- MG18-67 to MG18-68
- CWGK Accession Number
- KYR-0001-020-0370
- Rights
- This image and its transcription are freely available to the public. Images appear courtesy of Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Transcriptions and annotations were created by Kentucky Historical Society staff, volunteers, and interns. When referencing this document, please use our preferred citation.; The use of transcriptions, images, or annotations from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce any material on CWGK is required.
- FTP Identifier
- 32208778
- People
- Brookover, Amanda Bradford
- Magoffin, Beriah
- Hord, Francis Triplett, Sr.
- Sulser, George William
- McAtee, Green H.
- Bassett, Hiram
- Poyntz, James P.
- Poyntz, John Baldwin
- Taylor, John D.
- Clarke, John Rogers
- Brookover, John W.
- Collins, Lewis
- Whitaker, Nelson
- Stanton, Richard Henry
- Owens, Samuel W.
- Throop, Thomas J.
Citation
George W. Sulser et al. to Beriah Magoffin, Office of the Governor, Beriah Magoffin: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons and Remissions, 1859-1862, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, https://discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/KYR-0001-020-0370 (November 12, 2026).
Hon B. Magoffin
Governor of Kentucky
Your Excellency has heretofore, we understand had your attention called to the pardon of William Brookover, & we deem it unnecessary to say any thing in regard to the facts of the case, & will only refer you to the record of the case on file in the Clerk's office of the Court of Appeals at Frankfort, We beleive that this case is one calling for the exercise of executive clemancy, & that you will agree with us, when you examine into the case as developed in this record —
Brookover has been prosecuted with unrelenting fury & rancor, No one can be injured by his pardon, The public will sustain no wrong thereby — His wife, who is a worthy woman, & who seems devotedly attached to him, will have a mountain weight removed from her mind.
We would suggest that the par-
don may be conditional, & void upon his return to Kentucky.
We believe this is a strong case for the exercise of clemency — and mercy, & hope it may accord with your views to grant the pardon as above indicated
I am well acquainted with Brookover & have had a great many dealings with him, before this transaction for which he was indicted & found guilty & I have always found him honest & correct. Public opinion seemed to be against him in this trial, he was prosecuted with an unrelenting fury, & great pains taken to poison the public mind against ^him^ but I have every reason to believe him innocent ^or great doubt, in regard to his guilt^ & that your Excellency ought to pardon him, if not for his own sake for the sake of his wife, who is a truly