Samuel HOPKINS, Congress, KY (1753-1819)

HOPKINS Samuel , a Representative from Kentucky; born in Albemarle County, Va., April 9, 1753; educated by private tutors; served in the Revolutionary War for a while on the staff of General Washington and later as lieutenant colonel and colonel of the Tenth Virginia Regiment; moved to Kentucky in 1796 and settled on the Ohio River in 1797 at a point then called Red Banks; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; appointed chief justice of the first court of criminal common law and chancery jurisdiction in 1799 and served until his resignation in 1801; member of the State house of representatives in 1800, 1801, and 1803-1806; served in the State senate 1809-1813; appointed in 1812 commander in chief, with title of major general, of the western frontier (Illinois and Indiana Territory); elected as a Republican to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813-March 3, 1815); was not a candidate for renomination in 1814; retired to his country estate, ``Spring Garden,'' near Henderson, Ky., and died there September 16, 1819; interment in the family burying ground at ``Spring Garden.''

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present