<title type="main">Leslie Combs to Thomas E. Bramlette Edition created from new transcripts of this manuscript. Initial upload of this work's facsimile images and metadata to FromThePage for editing Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections Administrator of the CWGK Migration transcription project on FromThePage Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections made 4 edits between June 21, 2025 and June 21, 2025. Dynamic TEI export from FromThePage (version 22.10)

This image and transcription is publicly accessible. The image appears courtesy of the repository named in the Source Description. The transcription and annotation were undertaken by Kentucky Historical Society staff, volunteers, and interns. If referencing this document title, accession number, and permanent URL.

 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-0001-004-1647 BR13-118

Frankfort, Franklin 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. Leslie Combs (Clerk of the Court of Appeals) N00000881 1793-11-29 1881-08-22 Categories: People

Kentucky soldier, attorney, politician, and public servant. Clark County, Kentucky native. Son of Benjamin Combs and Sarah Richardson Combs. Married to Margaret Trotter Combs in 1819. Married to Mary Elizabeth Brownell Combs in 1849. Father of Lizzie B. Combs, Leslie Combs, and F. H. Combs. Educated by the Reverend John Lysle. Deputy clerk of the Courts of Jessamine County, Kentucky. Cadet in the 1st Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment under General James Winchester and in various capacities under General William Henry Harrison, General Green Clay. Completed education in 1816 and read law with Samuel Q. Richardson in Lexington, Kentucky. Admitted to the bar in 1818. Attorney in Lexington, Kentucky. Member of the Whig Party. Raised a regiment in response to the Texas Revolution in 1836. Member of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1827 to 1829, in 1833, from 1845 to 1847, and from 1857 to 1859. Delegate to the Whig Party Convention, supporting the nomination of Henry Clay, in 1840. Canvassed for William Henry Harrison in the Presidential Election of 1840. Unsuccessful candidate for the House of Representatives of the United States against John C. Breckinridge in 1851. Clerk of the Court of Appeals of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1860 to 1866.

Relationships Political: Beriah Magoffin (Governor of Kentucky 1859-1862) Legal: Peter Dudley (Frankfort, Military Board, Adj Gen'l and farmer) Legal: George Twyman Wood (Hart County, Kentucky, court clerk and politician.) Legal: Samuel Gill (Louisville, Kentucky, railroad superintendent and vet of Mex-Am War) Legal: Beriah Magoffin (Governor of Kentucky 1859-1862) Social: Nathaniel N. Cowgill (Fulton County, KY, minister) Legal: Thomas Johnson (Lexington, Fayette County, resident.) Legal: A. Ginger (Lexington, Fayette County, resident, free man of color.) Legal: Adair Circuit Court Legal: Marion Circuit Court Social: Thomas John Chesnutt (Franklin County soldier and clerk) Social: Richard "Dick" Rowan Bolling (Kentucky attorney and court clerk) Legal: Kentucky Court of Appeals Social: Ira Hart Stout (St. Louis, Missouri, resident and soldier.) Military: United States Army

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Fayette County, Lexington, Ward 4, p. 102. The Biographical Encyclopædia of Kentucky of the Dead and Living Men of the Nineteenth Century, vol. 1 (Cincinnati: J. M. Armstrong & Company, 1878), 79-80. Lewis Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, vol. 2 (Collins & Company, 1878), 170. Find A Grave, "Gen Leslie Combs (November 29, 1793-August 22, 1881)," Memorial #8875416, http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8875416 (accessed February 9, 2017). A. Ginger (Lexington, Fayette County, resident, free man of color.) N00010641 Categories: People

Lexington, Fayette County, resident, free man of color. Lexington, Kentucky native. Jailed for attempting to elope with enslaved woman circa 1864. Pardoned on April 25, 1865.

Relationships Legal: Thomas Johnson (Lexington, Fayette County, resident.) Legal: Adair Circuit Court Legal: Marion Circuit Court Legal: Leslie Combs (Clerk of the Court of Appeals)

KYR-0001-004-1647 Thomas Johnson (Lexington, Fayette County, resident.) N00010642 Categories: People

Lexington, Fayette County, resident. Partnered with free man of color A. Ginger to pardon Ginger, who was imprisoned, in March 1865.

Relationships Legal: A. Ginger (Lexington, Fayette County, resident, free man of color.) Legal: Adair Circuit Court Legal: Marion Circuit Court Legal: Leslie Combs (Clerk of the Court of Appeals)

KYR-0001-004-1647 Frankfort, Kentucky P00000308 Categories: Places

Capital of Kentucky. Seat of Franklin County, Kentucky. Located on the Kentucky River.

38.2009, -84.8733 "Frankfort, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed July 16, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Robert M. Rennick, Kentucky Place Names (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1987), 108. Lexington, Kentucky P001002 Categories: Places

Seat of Fayette County, Kentucky.

38.0406, -84.5037 John D. Wright, "Lexington (City)," in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, ed. John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 549-51. "Lexington, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed August 21, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Kentucky State Penitentiary O00000266 1798 1884 Categories: Organizations

State prison of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in Frankfort, Kentucky. Operated from 1798 to 1884. Keeper(s): Jeremiah W. South (1859-1863) and Harry I. Todd (1863-1871).

Relationships Economic: Harry Innes Todd, Sr. (Frankfort, Kentucky, merchant and penitentiary keeper) Legal: Gabriel Endicott (Lawrence County farmer and prisoner for man slaughter) Economic: Ephraim Whitesides (Frankfort, Kentucky, carpenter and assistant keeper of the penitentiary) Legal: Charles Hawkins (Frankfort, Kentucky) Legal: George Knorr (Newport, Kentucky farmer and felon) Legal: Angelo Devoto (Louisville, Kentucky, confectionery shop owner) Legal: James Duddleson (stub, mercer or boyle county) Legal: James Savage (Wayne County farmer and penitentiary inmate) Legal: James Johnson (Campbell County, Kentucky, prisoner) Economic: James Landon Sneed (Franklin County, Kentucky farmer and clerk) Economic: Robert W. Lawler (Franklin County, Kentucky, prison guard) Legal: William J. Tice (Steele) (Jefferson Co, Frankfort, and Covington, KY) Legal: Felix McDermot (Kenton County laborer and prisoner for grand larceny) Legal: David Schroeder (Louisville, Kentucky, butcher) Legal: Thomas Edrington (Louisville, Kentucky, carpenter and convict) Legal: Francis Pace (Harlan County, Kentucky, resident) Legal: Thomas Birmingham (Jefferson County, Kentucky) Legal: Daniel Bush (Jefferson County, Kentucky) Legal: William Nichols (Covington, KY steel mill worker) Legal: Charles T. Sullivan (Jefferson County, Kentucky, resident and inmate) Political: James Landon Sneed (Franklin County, Kentucky farmer and clerk) Political: Robert W. Lawler (Franklin County, Kentucky, prison guard) Political: John T. Hockensmith (Franklin County, KY, prison guard) Political: Luther S. Prentiss (Franklin County, KY, miller) Political: Robert W. Willhoit (Franklin County, Kentucky, petitioner ) Political: R. K. Taylor (Franklin County, Kentucky, prison guard. ) Political: James Gallahue (Franklin County, Kentucky, prison guard. ) Political: Thomas J. Frazier (Breathitt County, Kentucky, postmaster, politician, judge, and Register of the Land Office) Political: L. Tobias (Franklin County, Kentucky, prison guard) Legal: Thomas B. Wadlington (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farmer) Legal: Wesley [Unknown] (Caldwell County, Kentucky, enslaved man) Legal: William J. Wadlington (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farm laborer. ) Legal: Hezekiah Alexander Jr. (Meade County, Kentucky, resident. ) Legal: William Duerbeck (Ohio River boat steward.) Legal: John Smith (Mont Wilson) (Frankfort, Kentucky, inmate.) Legal: Austin Bingham (Trigg County, Kentucky, laborer. Convicted of murder in 1859.) Legal: Jeremiah W. South (Franklin County, Kentucky, farmer and keeper of the State Penitentiary) Legal: John J. Dyer, Jr. (Trigg County, Kentucky, farmer and sheriff.) Legal: William Johnson (Convicted of grand larceny in Franklin Circuit Court in 1863.) Legal: Daniel W. Clark (Kenton County, Kentucky, farmer) Legal: Stephen W. Duval (McLean County, Kentucky, laborer and soldier.)

Calvin Fairbank, Rev. Calvin Fairbank During Slavery Times: How He “Fought the Good Fight” to Prepare “The Way” (Chicago: R. R. McCabe & Co., 1890), 54-56; 104-117; 139-46. J. W. South. “Report of the Keeper and Lessee of the Kentucky Penitentiary to the General Assembly, September 13, 1861,” Legislative Document Series, No. 7 (Frankfort, Ky.: Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1862), 3-13. Report of the Special Committee on the Penitentiary to the Senate of Kentucky, February 26, 1880, Legislative Document No. 18 (Frankfort: E. H. Porter, 1880), 78. William C. Sneed, A Report on the History and Mode of Management of the Kentucky Penitentiary from its Origin, in 1798, to March 1, 1860 (Frankfort: Senate of Kentucky, 1860), 553. Marion Circuit Court O00000425 Categories: Organizations

Located in the 5th Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Judge(s): George W. Kavanaugh and John E. Newman. Commonwealth’s Attorney(s): Andy Barnett and Lorenzo H. Noble. Clerk(s): N. T. Berry, Frederick B. Merimee, and T. C. Jackson.

Relationships Legal: John St. Clair (Marion Co, Kentucky, petitioner)

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. Adair Circuit Court O00000338 Categories: Organizations

Located in the 6th Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1860 to 1861. Judge: Thomas E. Bramlette. Commonwealth's Attorney: Ephraim L. Van Winkle. Clerk: Junius Caldwell.

Located in the 15th Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1862 to 1865. Judge: Thomas T. Alexander. Commonwealth's Attorney: John H. C. Sandidge. Clerk: James T. Page.

Relationships Legal: Bal Daniels (Tennessee Refugee) Legal: Micajah Richards (Tennessee Refugee) Legal: John Mullins (Tennessee Refugee) Legal: Richard T. Garnett (Adair County Judge) Legal: Richard Smith (Cumberland County) Legal: Herschel Clay Baker (Adair County, KY, attorney) Legal: William E. Russell (Adair County attorney) Legal: R. M. Alexander (Cumberland County physician) Legal: Milton M. Smiley (Cumberland County) Legal: Benjamin B. Vaughan (Cumberland County) Legal: George W. Overstreet (Overton County, Tennessee, farmer, merchant and tobacco dealer) Legal: Robert C. Logan (Cumberland County Court Clerk) Legal: Timoleon Cravens (Adair County attorney) Legal: Alexander Naylor (Adair County) Legal: James M. Wilson (Adair Co. Farmer) Legal: Josiah Frankum (Adair County) Legal: Robert T. Bennett (Adair County) Legal: A. B. Williams (Adair County) Legal: Joel Robert Montgomery (Adair County) Legal: Hiram C. White (Adair County) Legal: Hugh K. Walker (Adair County) Legal: Samuel Wilburne (Cumberland County) Legal: Reece Morgan (Adair County) Legal: Jane Smith (Clinton County) Legal: Thomas Wood (Cumberland County) Legal: T. Q. Walker (Adair County physician) Legal: Louisa Morgan (Cumberland County) Legal: Sydney S. Dunbar (Adair County, Kentucky, farmer)

Annual Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Kentucky, for the Fiscal Year Ending October 10, 1860, Legislative Document Series, No. 1 (Frankfort, KY: Jno. B. Major, State Printer, 1861), 355-59. 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. Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky 1865-03-21 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.
1

His Exly Thomas E. Bramlette Frankfort March 21/65 My dear Sir,

I have been informed that there is now confined in the penitentiary & has been for a year or more, a mulatto freeman for attempting to run away with a mulatto girl, who was a Slave, in order to marry her -- Now, you know, I am no Abolitionist I would be as far as any man no earth from violating, or justifying the violation of the rights of the owner of a slave. but while the whole State, county & town & village, is filled with white men, in the constent habit of running off slaves -- men women & children, without the motive of feeling influencing this coloured man, & yet going "unwhipt of justice", I respectfully urge that it is a cruel mockery to keep this man longer confined -- He was raised in a barber Shop in Lexington by a remarkably respectable freeman of colour, and always bore a fair character for honesty & truth -- I therefore petition you to pardon him for the residue of his term of confinement & in so doing do but simple justice, in mercy --

Yrs truly Leslie Combs

2

Marion & AdairCir Ct vs A. Ginger ^F. M. C.^ & Thos Johnson Pardoned 25th Apl/65

Pardon