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 November 11, 2025 Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's official correspondence file, petitions for pardons, remissions, and respites 1863-1867 KYR-0001-004-1360 BR12-115-1 to BR12-116

Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky Thomas Elliott Bramlette (KY governor 1863-67, atty, D.A., col 3rd KY Inf) N001000 1817-01-03 1875-01-12 Categories: People

Twenty-third governor of Kentucky, attorney and soldier. Cumberland County, Kentucky, native. Married to Sallie Travis Bramlette in September 1837. Father of James T. Bramlette, William L. Bramlette, Eugene Bramlette, and Corrina Bell Bramlette. Practiced law in Clinton County, Kentucky, and Columbia, Kentucky. Represented Cumberland and Clinton counties in the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1841 to 1843. Commonwealth's attorney of the 8th Judicial District of Kentucky from 1848 to 1850. Owned two enslaved persons in 1850. Circuit judge of the 6th Judicial District of Kentucky from 1856 to 1861. Owned nine enslaved persons in 1860. Served as colonel of the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) from 1861 to 1862. District attorney of the United States District Court for Kentucky in 1863. Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from September 1, 1863, to September 3, 1867. Owned law firm of Bramlette & Van Winkle in partnership with Ephraim L. Van Winkle.

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Clinton County, District No. 1, p. 181A. Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Clinton County, District No. 1, p. 335 (p. 2 of 2 on microfilm). Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Adair County, The Town of Columbia 1st Division, p. 13 (p. 2 of 3 on microfilm). Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville Ward 8, p. 83B. Ross A. Webb, “Thomas E. Bramlette (1863-1867)” in Lowell H. Harrison, ed., Kentucky’s Governors (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004), 93-97 Lowell H. Harrison, "Bramlette, Thomas Elliott" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, ed. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 112-13. Joseph Gaston (Salem, Indiana) N00002363 1850? Categories: People

Convicted of theft in Louisville, Kentucky, around the age of 14 in 1864.

Relationships Legal: Smith Wingate (Louisville Hotel Keeper)

KYR-0001-004-1360. KYR-0001-004-1375. James Speed Pirtle (Louisville Banker and Attorney.) N00000798 1840-11-08 1917-09-25 Categories: People

Louisville, Kentucky, banker and attorney. Louisville native. Son of Henry Pirtle and Jane Anne Rodgers Pirtle. Married to Emily Bartley Pirtle. Father of Robert T. Pirtle, Jane Pirtle, William B. Pirtle, and Emily Pirtle. Graduated from Louisville Male High School. Graduate from University of Louisville Law School. Practiced law in partnership with George W. Caruth. Unsuccessfully ran for a legislative seat on the Democratic ticket in 1865.

Alwin Seekamp, Roger Burlingame, eds. Who’s Who in Louisville (Lousiville, The Louisville Press Club, 1912), 178. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 5, p. 119. Vital Statistics Original Death Certificates – Microfilm (1911-1964), KDLA, Roll #7016198, Jefferson County Deaths. "Well Known Citizens," The Courier-Journal, August 17, 1884, p. 12. Find A Grave, "Judge James Speed Pirtle (November 8, 1840-September 25, 1917)," Memorial #69115646, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69115646 (accessed July, 11, 2017). Selby Harney (Louisville, Kentucky, attorney, editor, and soldier.) N00002359 1838-06-19 1893-05-09 Categories: People

Louisville, Kentucky, attorney, editor, and soldier. Kentucky native. Son of John H. Harney and Martha Wallace Harney. Married to Caroline R. Taylor Harney in Hamilton County, Ohio, on September 17, 1859. Father of Selby Harney, Jr., John H. Harney, and Elizabeth Harney. Attended school in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1850. Household owned one enslaved person in Louisville in 1850. Attorney in partnership with William W. Harney in the law firm Harney & Bro., in Louisville in 1860. Editor of the Louisville Daily Democrat in Louisville in 1860. Served in the Louisville Provost Guard (U.S.A.) as a major from March 10, 1862, to October 3, 1862. Served in the 34th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) as a major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel, from October 3, 1862, to December 15, 1863. Attorney in partnership with William G. Reasor in the law firm Reasor & Harney in Louisville in 1865.

Relationships Legal: Seymour Edwards (Louisville Child (thief)) Political: James H. Montgomery (Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, tailor. )

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville District 2, p. 181A. Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville District 2. Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedule, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Two Mile House Precinct, p. 32. “Harney, Shelby,” Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Kentucky, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M397, Roll 0408. “Harney, Selby,” Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Kentucky, NARA RG 94, Microfilm Series M397, Roll 0470. Edwards' Annual Director to the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business firms, Etc., Etc., in the City of Louisville, For 1865-6 (Louisville: Edwards, Greenough & Deved, 1866), 490. The Louisville Directory and Business Advertiser for 1859-60, ed. Henry Tanner, (Louisville: Maxwell & Co., 1859), 103. Ohio Marriage Records, 1774-1993, Hamiilton County Marriages, Film 000355094. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, vol. 1, 1861-1866 (Frankfort: Kentucky Yeoman Office, 1866), 316-17, 346. "COL Selby T Harney (1838-1893)," Find A Grave, Memorial 81660388, accessed December 19, 2023, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/81660388. Seymour Edwards (Louisville Child (thief)) N00002358 1850? Categories: People

Louisville, Kentucky, resident. Kentucky native. Resident in Louisville in 1860. Indicted for theft in the Jefferson Circuit Court.

Relationships Legal: Kentucky State Penitentiary Legal: Smith Wingate (Louisville Hotel Keeper)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedule, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 2, p. 236. The Louisville Daily Courier, "A Coincidence," February 9, 1866, page 2. KYR-0001-004-1375. Louisville, Kentucky P00000337 Categories: Places

Seat of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Located on the Ohio River.

38.2527, -85.7585 "Louisville, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed June 12, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Robert M. Rennick, Kentucky Place Names (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1987), 179. Salem, Indiana P00002361 Categories: Places

Seat of Washington County, Indiana.

38.6056, -86.1011 Washington County Indiana Government, “About Washington County Indiana,” http://washingtoncounty.in.gov/washington-county-indiana-visitors-and-tourists/history-of-washington-county-indiana.html (accessed March 14, 2017). Indiana P001818 Categories: Places

State in the midwestern United States. Capital at Indianapolis. Located on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan.

39.7684, -86.158 Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, ed. David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994), 52. William Vincent D'Antonio and Robert L. Beck, "Indiana," Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed September 11, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/place/Indiana-state. "Indianapolis, Indiana," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed October 4, 2021, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Commonwealth of Kentucky O001025 1792 Categories: Organizations

Administrative body of the state of Kentucky. Capital at Frankfort, Kentucky. Governor(s): Beriah Magoffin (1859-1862), James F. Robinson (1862-1863), and Thomas E. Bramlette (1863-1867).

Paul Blanchard, "Office of Governor" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, ed. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 380. Malcolm E. Jewell, "General Assembly" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, ed. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 366. Paul J. Weber, "Court System" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, John E. Kleber, ed. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 233. Jefferson Circuit Court O001000 1850 Categories: Organizations

Part of the 7th Judicial District of Kentucky. Serves Jefferson County, Kentucky, with courthouse at Louisville. Judge(s): Peter B. Muir, George W. Johnston. Commonwealth's Attorney(s): Edwin S. Craig, James R. Dupuy. Clerk(s): James P. Chambers

Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1861, Legislative Document Series, No. 1 (Frankfort, KY: Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1862), 303-08. Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1862, Legislative Document Series, No. 24 (Frankfort, KY: Wm. E. Hughes, State Printer, 1863), 298-306. Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1863, Legislative Document Series, No. 10 (Frankfort, KY: Wm. E. Hughes, State Printer, 1864), 301-06. Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1864, Legislative Document Series, No. 1 (Frankfort, KY: George D. Prentice, State Printer, 1865), 9-12. Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1865, Legislative Document Series, No. 1 (Frankfort, KY: George D. Prentice, State Printer, 1866), 9-12. Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1866, Legislative Document Series, No. 1 (Frankfort, KY: John H. Harney, Public Printer, 1866), 347-50. Edwards’ Annual Directory to the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business Firms, Etc., Etc., in the City of Louisville for 1865-6 (Louisville: Edwards, Greenough, & Deved, pub., 1866), 155. J. D. Campbell’s Louisville Business Directory for 1864, ed. J. D. Campbell (Louisville: L. A. Civill, Publisher, Bookseller, Printer and Bookbinder, 1864), 70. Tanner’s Louisville Directory, and Business Advertiser for 1861, ed. Henry Tanner (Louisville: Directory Publication and Advertising Agency, 1861), 324. Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky 1864-12-05 Correspondence English Version 2 of page "1": Changes to page transcript. Version 1 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 2 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "2": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 1 of page "1": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "1": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile.
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Louisville, Decr. 5th, 1864. His Excellency Governor Bramlette: Dear Sir:

I enclose you a copy of a verdict in the case of the Commonwealth against Joseph Gaston, recommending him to the clemency of your Excellency. The prisoner is a boy about 14 years old and one of the handsomest best-looking boys you ever saw-- The articles he was found guilty of having stolen were an old copper boiler and brass kettle of very little value. I was appointed by the Court to defend him, he having no friends and no money, and being a stranger, a resident of Salem, Indiana. If it should please you to pardon him I shall endeavor to send him back

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to his widowed mother in Indiana

If your Excellency should decide to pardon my young client, will you please send the requisite papers before Saturday, which is the last day of Court --

I am, Sir, Very respectfully yours, James S. Pirtle

I find that a copy of the verdict has been sent you by Col. Harney with a petition for the pardon of Seymour Edwards, a little black boy who was jointly indicted with Gaston. I defended both parties, but Col Harney had been employed for the negro boy but was unable to be present at the trial --

very truly James S. Pirtle.