Desha Breckenridge (1867 - 1935)

Born 5 Aug 1867 in Lexington, KY

Ancestors

Husband of Madeline (McDowell) Breckinridge — married 17 Nov 1898 in Lexington, Kentucky,United States

Died 18 Feb 1935 at age 67 in Lexington, Fayette, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

Desha Breckenridge was born on 5 Aug 1867 in Lexington, KY, son of William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1837 - 1904) and Issa (Desha) Breckenridge (1843 - 1892).

His siblings were:

1. Lee Clay Breckinridge (1860 - 1860)
2. Eleanor Desha (Breckenridge) Chalkley (1862 - 1943)
3. Sophonisba Preston Breckenridge (1866 - 1948)
4. Campbell Preston Breckinridge (1869 - 1870)
5. Issa Desha Breckenridge (~1871 - ~1872)
6. Issa Desha Breckinridge (1871 - 1872)
7. Mary Curry Breckenridge (1875 - 1918)
8. Robert Jefferson Breckenridge (1887 - )

Desha Breckinridge (1867 – 1935) was the editor and publisher of the Lexington Herald from 1897 to 1935. In 1898 he married Madeline McDowell, who became nationally known as Madeline McDowell Breckinridge. He was a brother of Sophonisba Breckinridge and the son of William Breckinridge, a member of Congress from Kentucky and a lawyer. His grandfather was the abolitionist minister Robert Jefferson Breckinridge. His great-grandfather was John Breckinridge. Desha (31) married Madeline McDowell (26) (1872 - 1920) on 17 Nov 1898 in Lexington. She became nationally known as Madeline McDowell Breckinridge.

Desha Breckinridge (1867 – 1935) was the editor and publisher of the Lexington Herald from 1897 to 1935. He was a brother of Sophonisba Breckinridge and the son of William Breckinridge, a member of Congress from Kentucky and a lawyer. His grandfather was the abolitionist minister Robert Jefferson Breckinridge. His great-grandfather was John Breckinridge.

Desha was a founding member of The Kentucky Committee for Mothers and Babies, known as the Frontier Nursing Service in Appalachian Kentucky.^[1]

Desha died on 18 Feb 1935 in Lexington aged 67 and is buried in The Lexington Cemetery.^[2]

Research Notes

Notes from external profile

Note: His biography from The Kentucky Encyclopedia follows: BRECKINRIDGE,

DESHA. Desha Breckinridge, newspaper editor and reformer, was born

August 4, 1867, in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of U.S. congressman

W.C.P and Issa (Desha) Breckinridge. He attended State College in

Lexington and graduated from Princeton University in 1889. After

studying law at Columbia University and the University of Virginia, he

joined his father's Lexington law firm. In 1897 Breckinridge and his

father bought the Lexington Herald, where Breckinridge served as

managing editor and, after his father's death in 1904, as editor. A

Democrat, Breckinridge was frequently at odds with both parties in

championing such causes as regulation of business, child labor laws,

improvements in education, prison reform, and women's suffrage. He

married Madeline McDowell on November 17, 1898, and, largely through

the pages of the Herald, the two became leaders of the Progressive

movement in Kentucky. Active in thoroughbred racing, Breckinridge by

1922 was ranked as one of the top twenty horsemen in the country. In

1906 Breckinridge was instrumental in creating a state racing

commission, under which pari-mutuel betting replaced bookmaking.

Madeline Breckinridge died in 1920, and, on July 27, 1929, the widower

married Mary Frazer LeBus. Breckinridge died on February 18, 1935, and

was buried in Lexington Cemetery. See James Klotter, The Breckinridges

of Kentucky, 1760-1981 (Lexington, Ky., 1986). MELBA PORTER HAY

Sources

1. ↑ Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. I, No. 1, June 1925. Accessed 28 Jan 2023.
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8884801/desha-breckinridge: accessed 30 January 2023), memorial page for Desha Breckinridge (5 Aug 1867–18 Feb 1935), Find A Grave: Memorial #8884801, citing The Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Kris 'Peterborough K' Peterson (contributor 46537737).

• North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
• First Marriage Date: 17 Nov 1898
• Spouse: Madge McDowell