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 November 11, 2025 Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Office of the Governor, James F. Robinson: Governor's Official Correspondence File, Petitions for Pardons, Remissions, and Respites, 1862-1863 KYR-0001-029-0088 R3-138 to R3-139

Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky James Fisher Robinson (governor, state senator, businessman, attorney, and farmer) N001004 1800-10-04 1882-10-31 Categories: People

Twenty-second governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, banker, and legislator. Son of Jonathan Robinson and Jane Black Robinson. Married to Susan D. Mansell Robinson on December 26, 1821. Father of Emilie Jane Robinson and James F. Robinson, Jr. Married Willina S. Herndon Robinson on May 30, 1842. Father of Scott Herndon Robinson, John McCracken Robinson, George Sidney Robinson, Madison Johnson Robinson, Stephen Gano Robinson, Willa Ewing Robinson, Philip Eldon Robinson, and Stephen Gano Robinson. Educated at Forest Hill Academy and Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Trustee of Georgetown College. President of the Farmers' Bank of Georgetown. Represented Fayette and Scott Counties in the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1851 to 1855. Owned thirty-five enslaved persons in 1860. Represented Fayette and Scott Counties in the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1861. Speaker of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from September 3, 1861, to September 5, 1861. Speaker of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from August 16, 1861, to August 18, 1862. Governor of Kentucky from August 18, 1862, to September 1, 1863. Returned to practicing law and farming on retiring from politics in 1863.

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Scott County, District No 1, p. 216B, 230A. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Scott County, District No 2, pp. 235, 236, 252. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville Ward 4, p. 266. John David Smith, “James F. Robinson (1862-1863),” ed. Lowell H. Harrison, Kentucky’s Governors (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004), 89-92. William Henry Engle, Pennsylvania Genealogies: Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, 1886), 553, 556-7. John C. Adams (Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and lawyer) N00017479 1825? Categories: People

Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and attorney. Ohio native. Son of Joseph Adams. Attorney in Knox County, Ohio, in 1850. Judge of the Greenup County Court in Greenup County, Kentucky, from 1858-1861. Attorney in Greenup County in 1860.

Relationships Legal: Greenup Circuit Court Legal: Greenup County Court Legal: Jeremiah Davidson (Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney and newspaper publisher) Legal: George E. Roe (Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney) Legal: John S. Jones (Greenup County, Kentucky, county court clerk, postmaster, iron manufacturer & manager ) Legal: John Seaton (Greenup County, KY, judge) Legal: Ninth Judicial District of Kentucky Legal: Kentucky Court of Appeals Social: John Seaton (Greenup County, KY, judge) Legal: John Brough (Twenty-sixth Governor of the State of Ohio, newspaper editor, railroad president, and politician.) Political: Elijah Connor Phister (Mason County, KY, circuit court judge, attorney, and later? mayor) Political: Jonathan Williams (Greenup County, Kentucky, master collier.) Political: James Lawrence Waring (Greenup County, Kentucky, resident and farmer.) Political: Charles M. Smith (Greenup County, Kentucky, farmer.) Political: J. J. Thompson (Signed a petition to nominate Jeremiah Moor to fill a vacancy on the Greenup County Court.) Political: Andrew Suter Meek (Greenup County, Kentucky, day laborer and farmer.) Political: James Frisby (Greenup County, Kentucky, farmer and physician.) Political: Daniel McGarey (Greenup County, Kentucky, farmer) Political: Thomas M. Gambol (Greenup County, Kentucky, resident) Political: George W. Truitt (Greenup County, KY, farmer) Political: Matthew L. Thompson (Greenup County, KY, farmer) Political: Jeremiah Moore (Greenup County, KY, farmer)

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Ohio, Knox County, Monroe, p. 299A. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States(1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Greenup County, East Little Sandy, p. 839. "An Act for the benefit of John C. Adams, judge of the Greenup quarterly court," Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, (Frankfort, Ky: John B. Major and W. R. Hughes Public Printer, 1861, 1862, and 1863), 158. John Seaton (Greenup County, KY, judge) N00008740 1823? Categories: People

Greenup County, Kentucky, accountant and judge. Kentucky native. Married to Mary E. Seaton. Father of H. E. Seaton, Rebecca Seaton, William B. Seaton, Edward Seaton, Mary Seaton, and Dora Seaton. Accountant in Greenup County, Kentucky, in 1860. Judge of Greenup County Court in 1865.

Relationships Legal: Greenup County Court Legal: Jeremiah Davidson (Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney and newspaper publisher) Legal: George E. Roe (Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney) Legal: John S. Jones (Greenup County, Kentucky, county court clerk, postmaster, iron manufacturer & manager ) Legal: Ninth Judicial District of Kentucky

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Greenup County, East Little Sandy, p. 913. Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Greenup County, Greenupsburg, p.37B. KYR-0002-225-0072. Thomas Burke Stevenson (Mason County, Kentucky, newspaper editor. ) N00017568 1810-07-15 1863-11-13 Categories: People

Mason County, Kentucky, newspaper editor. Kentucky native. Son of Reuben Stevenson and Cassandra Jones Stevenson. Married to Sarah Elizabeth Combs Stevenson. Father of Mary Stevenson, Elizabeth "Bettie" A. Stevenson, Sarah "Sallie" Theobald Stevenson Williams, Martha "Mattie" Stevenson, Julia Stevenson, Suzane Stevenson, Thomas Stevenson, J. M. Stevenson, Louisiana Stevenson Caldwell, Anna Stevenson, and Horace Stevenson. Member of the Whig Party. Editor of the Frankfort Commonwealth in Frankfort, Kentucky, from 1841 to 1847. Editor of the Cincinnati Atlas and the Cincinnati Chronicle in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1847 to1849. Editor of the Eagle in Maysville from 1850 to 1853. Editor and published in Mason County, Kentucky, in 1850. Employed Franklin Bayhan, J. Carter Williams, James J. Ross, and Thomas Ross as printers in Mason County in 1850. Owned two enslaved persons in Mason County in 1850.Attorney in Mason County, Kentucky, in 1860. Employed Margaret Fenety as a servant in Mason County in 1860.

Relationships Social: [Unknown] Bradford (Kentucky judge) Social: John C. Adams (Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and lawyer) Social: John Seaton (Greenup County, KY, judge)

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Mason County, Maysville, p. 31A. Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Mason County, Maysville. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Mason County, Maysville/Ward 2, p. 340. Kentucky Marriage Records, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, Mason County Marriages, Film 005552770. "Death of Colonel Thomas B. Stevenson," Maysville Weekly Bulletin (Maysville, KY), November 19, 1863, p. 2. "Thomas Burke Stevenson (1810-1863)," Find A Grave, Memorial 128333715, accessed May 11, 2022, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128333715. Jeremiah Davidson (Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney and newspaper publisher) N00002432 1815-11-04 Categories: People

Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney. Lawrence County, Ohio, native. Son of John Davidson and Margaret Davidson. Married to Eliza A. Corum Davidson in December 1834. Father of Alfred W. Davidson, Henry C. Davidson, Charles W. Davidson, Theodore F. Davidson, Edgar P. Davidson, and Annie M. Davidson. Hotel keeper in Greenup County, Kentucky, from 1832 to 1843. Admitted to the bar in Greenup County on October 31, 1846. Magistrate and justice of the peace in Greenup County. Attorney in Greenup County in 1860. Editor and proprietor of the Greenup Record.

Relationships Legal: Greenup County Court Legal: George E. Roe (Greenup County, Kentucky, attorney) Legal: John S. Jones (Greenup County, Kentucky, county court clerk, postmaster, iron manufacturer & manager ) Social: John C. Adams (Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and lawyer) Legal: John C. Adams (Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and lawyer) Social: Elijah Connor Phister (Mason County, KY, circuit court judge, attorney, and later? mayor)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Greenup County, East Little Sandy, p. 838. Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Greenup County, Greenupsburg, p. 33B. W. H. Perrin, J. H. Battle, and G. C. Kniffin, Kentucky: A History of the State, 6th ed. (Louisville and Chicago: F. A. Battey and Company, 1886). Elijah Connor Phister (Mason County, KY, circuit court judge, attorney, and later? mayor) N00005415 1822-10-08 1887-05-16 Categories: People

Mason County, Kentucky, attorney and judge. Maysville, Kentucky, native. Son of Conrad Phister and Mary W. Conner Phister. Married to Jane A. Phister. Father of Anna E. Phister, Mary S. Phister, Amelia N. Phister, Thomas R. Phister. Graduated from Augusta College in Augusta, Kentucky, in 1840. Studied law with John Sargent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Admitted to the bar in 1844. Practiced law with the firm of Payne & Waller in Mason County. Circuit court judge in Maysville in 1860. Employed two enslaved persons owned by Joseph B. Lindsey in Mason County in 1860.

Relationships Legal: William M. Bartley (Ripley, OH laborer) Legal: Sarah C. Bartley (Ripley, Ohio) Legal: Matthew Warnock (Greenup County, KY, farmer) Legal: L. D. Ross (Greenup County, KY, attorney) Legal: Arnold Snider (Greenup County, KY, farmer and soldier) Legal: Greenup Circuit Court Political: Thomas A. Respass (Mason County, Kentucky, attorney) Political: Isaac Nelson (Maysville, Kentucky merchant) Political: John C. Adams (Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and lawyer) Legal: Erastus "Tuce" Lambden (Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, saloon keeper) Legal: Mason Circuit Court

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Mason County, District 2, p. 172. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Salve Schedules, Kentucky, Mason County, District 2, p. 21. Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool, eds., The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2009), 715. [Unknown] Bradford (Kentucky judge) N00017567 Categories: People

Mentioned as a judge in a petition to James F. Robinson in October 1862.

Relationships Legal: John C. Adams (Greenup County, Kentucky, judge and lawyer)

KYR-0001-029-0088. Maysville, Kentucky P00001219 Categories: Places

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

38.6412, -83.7444 Jean W. Calvert, "Maysville" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, ed. John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 621-22. " Maysville, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed October 21, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Kentucky P001800 Categories: Places

State in the upper south of the United States. Capital at Frankfort. Located on the Ohio River.

38.2009, -84.8733 "Frankfort, Kentucky," USGS: Earth Explorer, accessed June 14, 2019, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. The Kentucky Encyclopedia, ed. John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992). 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. Greenup County, Kentucky P001759 Categories: Places

County in northeastern Kentucky. Seat at Greenup. Located on the Ohio River.

38.5666, -82.9502 Robert M. Rennick, Kentucky Place Names (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1988), 126. USGS: Earth Explorer, "Greenup County, Kentucky," https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ (accessed on November 18, 2019). 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. Kentucky Court of Appeals O00000311 1792 Categories: Organizations

The Supreme Court in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, with appellate jurisdiction and four appellate districts. Under the Third Constitution of Kentucky (1850) an elected judge served an eight year term, the first six years as an associate justice and the remaining two years as chief justice. Civil War-era Judge(s): Henry J. Stites, Alvin Duvall, Zachariah Wheat, Henry C. Wood, Belvard J. Peters, Joshua F. Bullitt, Rufus K. Williams, George Robertson, and William Sampson. Clerk(s): Leslie Combs.

Relationships Legal: Richard Smith (Cumberland County) Legal: Henry J. Stites (Christian County, Kentucky, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals) Legal: Caldwell Circuit Court Legal: James W. Blalock (Caldwell Co, Ky, farm laborer; pvt 8th Cav, sgt 12th Cav) Legal: William J. Wadlington (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farm laborer. ) Legal: John W. Prince (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farm laborer) Legal: Milton A. Cartwright (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farmer) Legal: Thomas B. Wadlington (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farmer) Legal: William Wadlington, Sr. (Caldwell County, Kentucky, farmer) Legal: Jefferson Rogers (Alleged murderer and criminal in Jefferson County, Kentucky) Legal: Benjamin Monroe (Frankfort, Kentucky, attorney and court reporter.) Legal: Joel L. Spraggins (Marion County, Kentucky, merchant.)

Lewis Collins and Richard H. Collins, Collins’ Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, vol. 1 (Collins & Company, 1874), 84, 500. John E. Kleber, ed., The Kentucky Encyclopedia (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992), 219. Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky 1862-10-25 Correspondence English Version 1 of page "4": Changes to page transcript. Version 2 of page "4": Changes to page transcript. Version 2 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "4": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 2 of page "1": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "3": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 1 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 1 of page "1": Changes to page transcript. Version 0 of page "2": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile. Version 0 of page "1": Empty transcript -- probably initial upload of page facsimile.
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Maysville Ky. Oct 25th 1862. Governor Robinson Louisville Ky Dr Sir,

The enclosed papers were transmitted to me to send to you for a remission of the fine of $20. imposed on Judge Adams by his Successorin office, in Greenup County Having met you but once in Frankfort some several years ago, under such circumstances that you may not recollect me, I felt that I had no such acquaintance with you as would authorize you to rely upon any recommendation of mine. I therefore handed the papers to your old friend Col. Stevenson, who knew the parties and whose impressions of the case you will find written in pencil on one of the papers.

The court of Appeals have decided in a recently famous case that a Judge's insisting on trying a case after there is an affidant against him for a change of venue is ground for reversal. It seems to me, from reading the papers, that there was such haste and impetuosity in this case as showed the personal ill will of which the Defendant complained -- And as the paper

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in question was filed in time for the regular duties of the Court, no good end can be accomplished by requiring a poor man these hard times to pay a fine of Twenty dollars, inflicted in ill tempered haste.

I therefore cheerfully unite in Col. Stevenson's recommendation for a pardon

Should your excellency grant one, will you please transmit it to Jeremiah Davidson GreenupCountyKy

With high respect E. C. Phister.

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4

Judge Bradfords Pettn for remission of fine

Examined & do not think a case presented authorizing Executive interference

J F Robinson

Jas. F. Robinson Governor of Ky Louisville Ky.