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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-0001-029-0502 R4-299 to R4-300

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. Mary Schmitt Yanner (Maria Jannar) (Louisville, Kentucky, seamstress) N00003073 1824? Categories: People

Louisville, Kentucky, seamstress. Native of Prussia. Mother of Anna Schmitt and Henrietta Schmitt. Married to Frederick Yanner. Seamstress in Louisville in 1860.

Relationships Familial: Frederick Yanner (Resident of Jefferson County and Frankfort)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 2, p. 468. Frederick Yanner (Resident of Jefferson County and Frankfort) N00003072 Categories: People

Resident of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Married to Mary Schmitt Yanner. Stepfather of Anna Smith and Henrietta Smith. Convicted of rape of his step-daughter, Anna, and served four years of ten-year sentence for rape in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Relationships Political: Thomas Claton (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) Political: Ernst Matz (Louisville, Kentucky, shoemaker) Political: Y. Tack (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) Political: Henry Link (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) Political: Mahail Diez (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) Political: Joseph Jacob (Louisville, Kentucky, clerk) Familial: Anna Schmitt (Louisville, Kentucky, resident) Familial: Mary Schmitt Yanner (Maria Jannar) (Louisville, Kentucky, seamstress)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 2, p. 468 Anna Schmitt (Louisville, Kentucky, resident) N00003074 1846? Categories: People

Native of Prussia. Lived with her mother, Mary Yanner, in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1860.

Relationships Familial: Mary Schmitt Yanner (Maria Jannar) (Louisville, Kentucky, seamstress) Familial: Frederick Yanner (Resident of Jefferson County and Frankfort)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 2, p. 468. Henrietta Schmitt (Louisville, Kentucky, resident) N00003075 1849? Categories: People

Native of Prussia. Lived with her mother, Mary Yanner, in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1860.

Relationships Familial: Anna Schmitt (Louisville, Kentucky, resident) Familial: Mary Schmitt Yanner (Maria Jannar) (Louisville, Kentucky, seamstress) Familial: Frederick Yanner (Resident of Jefferson County and Frankfort)

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 2, p. 468; KYR-0001-020-1447; KYR-0001-029-0502. Thomas Claton (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) N00003090 Categories: People

Resident of Louisville, Kentucky.

KYR-0001-029-0502. Joseph Jacob (Louisville, Kentucky, clerk) N00003076 1837? Categories: People

Louisville, Kentucky, clerk. Native of Germany. Son of Gudschaw Jacob and Sarah Jacob. Lived with parents in Louisville in 1850. Clerk in Louisville in 1860.

Seventh Manuscript Census of the United States (1850), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, District 1, p. 45. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 3, p. 672. Mahail Diez (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) N00003077 Categories: People

Resident of Louisville, Kentucky.

KYR-0001-029-0502. Henry Link (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) N00003078 1843-08-24 1902-09-25 Categories: People

Resident of Louisville, Kentucky. Native of Bavaria.

Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, Ward 8, p. 6; Find A Grave, "Henry Link (1843-1902)," Memorial #66733414, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66733414&ref=acom (accessed July 21, 2017); KYR-0001-029-0502. Y. Tack (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) N00003079 Categories: People

Resident of Louisville, Kentucky.

KYR-0001-029-0502. Ernst Matz (Louisville, Kentucky, shoemaker) N00003081 1818? Categories: People

Louisville, Kentucky, shoemaker. Native of Prussia. Married to Amelia Matz. Father of Enestine Matz. Shoemaker in Louisville in 1860.

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Ward 3, p. 616; KYR-0001-029-0502. John Bukurt (Resident of Louisville, Kentucky) N00008061 Categories: People

Resident of Louisville, Kentucky.

KYR-0001-029-0502 Thomas Todd (Shelby County, Kentucky, farmer, soldier, and politician) N00003088 1820-12-20 1909-04-29 Categories: People

Shelby County, Kentucky, farmer, soldier, and politician. Lincoln County, Kentucky, native. Son of Charles S. Todd and Letitia Shelby Todd. Married to Jane Smith Todd on January 14, 1841. Father of Charles S. Todd and Henry S. Todd. Married to Susie H. Jacobs Todd in 1851. Married to Elizabeth D. Bonney Todd in 1860. Father of Katherine S. Todd, C. D. Bonney Todd, Bessie V. Todd, Charles S. Todd, and Letitia S. Todd. Captain in the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.A.) in the Mexican-American War in 1847. Member of the Masonic Order in Kentucky from 1842 to 1909. Farmer in Shelby County in 1850. Member of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from Shelby County in 1850. Owned eight enslaved persons in Shelby County in 1860.

Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Shelby County, District 1, p. 59. Eighth Manuscript Census of the United States (1860), Slave Schedules, Kentucky, Shelby County, District 1, p. 27. Ninth Manuscript Census of the United States (1870), Population Schedules, Kentucky, Shelby County, Shelby County, Precinct 1, p. 1. E. Polk Johnson, A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry, and Modern Activities, vol. 3 (Chicago, IL: Lewis Publishing Company, 1912), p. 1501-03. Lewis Collins and Richard H. Collins, History of Kentucky, Volume II (Covington, KY: Collins and Company, 1878), p. 709. Kentucky Marriage Records, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky, Henry County Marriages, Film #000259288. Find A Grave, "Capt Thomas Steward Todd (1820- 1909)," Memorial #81020374, http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/81020374 (accessed August 2, 2018). 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. 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. 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. 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. Petition English Version 2 of page "3": Changes to page transcript. Version 1 of page "4": Changes to page transcript. Version 2 of page "2": Changes to page transcript. Version 1 of page "3": 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.
1

To His Excellency James F. Robinson Governor of Kentucky. --

The undersigned Citizens of Louisville Kentucky would make an appeal to your Excellency on behalf of the wife & family for the Pardon of Frederick Yanner who is now & has been for Four years past confined in the Penetentiary of Kentucky, being convicted and sentenced for Ten years in the Jefferson Circuit Court on the charge of an attempt to commit a Rape on his Step Daughter Anna Smith then under Fourteen years of age, Yanner had been for several years previous to this charge addicted to habits of very great Intemperance in drinking and had become so much reduced & his Physical Energies so much destroyed as to render it verry Improbable that he would attempt to commit such an offense & particularly on a child under his care and protection, On the night the offence is charged to have been committed the Mother of Anna left her and Yanner at the house. He being beastly Intoxicated & lying on the floor and Anna & a younger sister on the bed & asleep. And on the return of the Mother; Yanners wife; Anna made the charge & he was arrested tried & convicted Anna being the principal & only witness, some proof was made that the child had marks of violence on her person, Indicating that such an attempt had been made, but whether by Yanner or some one who came into the

2

house in the Mothers absence & while Yanner lay drunken & helpless on the floor is matter of doubt, The child was asleep & in her alarm at the attempt made & the drunken step father being aroused by her cries, she may have supposed the wrong was done by him while the Guilty party Escaped in the Darkness. Yanners wife has by her Labor supported herself & two Daughters since his Imprisonment she is now in feeble health & we think it would be right & proper under the circumstances that he should be released. We hope his Long confinement has destroyed the appetite for strong drink & that he will hereafter by his Labor aid in the support of his family-

Thomas Claton Joseph Jacob Mahail Diez H Link Y Tack E Matz John Bukurt

3

Upon a further examination of this case some additional details and upon full conversation and corroboration with Capt Todd. taking into consideration the past comportment of Frederick Yanner and paralized & hopeless physical condition I have concluded that policy humanity was probably proven will be by pardon and do herefore grant him a pardon as prayed for

J F Robinson

4

Frd. Yanner of Louisville Pettn for Pardon

I cannot find in this Pettn & evidence or safe grounds on which to interfere in the verdict of the Jury

J F Robinson

Jefferson Cir Ct

F. Yanner 10 yrs. Penty. Rape Pardon IssdAug. 7. 1863