James Breckinridge

Federalist Representative of Virginia's 5th district

Congresses Served

House Terms

March 7, 1763 (70 years old)

Birthday

May 13, 1833

Death

Virginia lawyer and politician, member of the prominent Breckinridge family
Served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the U.S. House of Representatives
Fought in the American Revolutionary War and served as a brigadier-general during the War of 1812
Born near Fincastle, Botetourt County, in the Colony of Virginia
Attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) and graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1785
Admitted to the bar in 1787 and practiced law in Fincastle
Built Breckinridge Mill in 1822, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Served as a delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates intermittently between 1789 and 1824
Elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh Congress and to three succeeding Congresses (1809–1817)
Associated with Thomas Jefferson in the establishment of the University of Virginia
Ran unsuccessfully for United States Senator in 1796 and for Governor in 1799
Died at his country home, “Grove Hill,” in Botetourt County, Virginia, in 1833 and was buried in the family burial plot near Fincastle