Thomas Turpin Crittenden

Hon. Thomas Turpin Crittenden

Find A Grave Memorial ID # 188613427

Thomas was the second son of John Crittenden and the younger brother of U.S. Senator John Jordan Crittenden of Kentucky. He was raised on the family farm in Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky. His father died when he was just 18.

Like his brothers, Thomas was educated at William & Mary College. He studied law and at the age of 22 and was appointed attorney general of the Illinois territory, replacing his older brother, John, who had resigned.

Two years later, he was appointed United States Attorney for the territory of Missouri, which had just been created, and lived in St. Louis.

In 1813, he moved back to Kentucky and married Mary Parker, daughter of Alexander Parker, who was a merchant in Lexington, Kentucky. They had four children between 1814 and 1822 and he was elected a member of the legislature.

In 1823, he moved to Huntsville, Alabama where he practiced law in partnership with his brother-in-law Harry Thornton for a few years. His sister, Lucy, Married Thornton in 1822. It was here that his son, Thomas, was born.

He returned to Kentucky in 1828 and was appointed secretary of the state for Kentucky, which he held until 1831. He was the appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of Louisville, but died in December 1832 from a sickness.