Person

William Owsley (Kentucky governor, judge, and politician.)

b. 1782-03-24 d. 1862-12-09

Kentucky governor, judge, and politician. Virginia native. Son of William Owsley. Married to Elizabeth Gill Owsley in Garrard County, Kentucky in 1804. Judge on Court of Appeals from 1812 to 1828. Resident of Garrard County in 1820. Owned fifteen enslaved people in Garrard County in 1820. Resident of Garrard County in 1830. Owned twenty-one enslaved persons in Garrard County in 1830. Resident of Franklin County in 1840. Owned seven enslaved persons in Franklin County in 1840. Governor of Kentucky from 1844 to 1848. Farmer in Boyle County in 1850. Owned sixteen enslaved persons in 1850. Retired judge in Boyle County in 1860. Owned thirty-one enslaved persons in Boyle County in 1860. Household owned ten other enslaved persons in Boyle County in 1860. Emancipated Kitty [Unknown] in Boyle County upon his death in 1862.

Details

Sex
Male
Race
White

Bibliography

Fourth Manuscript Census of the United States (1820), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Garrard County, p. 86.

Fifth Manuscript Census of the United States (1830), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Garrard County, p. 219.

Sixth Manuscript Census of the United States (1840), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Franklin County, Frankfort City, p. 331.

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Boyle County, District No 2, p. 349A.

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Boyle County, District No 2, p. 572.

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Boyle County, Danville, p. 842.

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Boyle County, Danville, p.156A.

Kentucky, Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989, Kentucky County, District, and Probate Courts, Boyle County Wills, vol. 1-2, 1842-1847, p. 260-261.

Kentucky Marriage Records, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, Garrard County Marriages, Film # 000183256, p. 84.

William B. Allen, A History of Kentucky (Louisville, KY: Bradley & Gilbert, Publishers, 1872).

"William Owsley (1782=1862)," Find A Grave, Memorial #7182048, accessed June 28, 2022, 2022, http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7182048.

Citation

Owsley, William. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, https://discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/S32209821 (November 12, 2026).

The people, organizations, and places listed below appear in the same documents as William Owsley (Kentucky governor, judge, and politician.). They are sorted by the number of documents they share.

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