Gabriel Slaughter

Kentucky’s 7th Governor

Gabriel Slaughter was born on December 12, 1767 in Culpeper County, VA.  He was the son of Colonel Robert and Susannah Harrison Slaughter.  He attended the rural schools in the county.

 In 1786 he married his cousin, Sarah Slaughter and they had two children.  He sold his land in VA and moved his family to Mercer County, KY.   Like his father, he was a skilled farmer.  

Slaughter faced many difficulties in his personal life.  After his arrival in KY, his wife died leaving him to care for his two daughters.   Slaughter returned to VA in 1797.  He met and married Sara Hord. They returned to KY and had three children.  Once again his wife died leaving three small children for him to care for.  In 1811 he married Elizabeth Thomson Rhodes.

Slaughter’s career change began in 1795 when Governor Isaac Shelby appointed him as the Mercer County Justice of the Peace.  He entered politics in 1797.  He was elected as a member of the KY House of Representatives three times.  His next office was serving in the KY Senate from 1801 to 1808.  Also, during this time he began his military career as a lieutenant colonel of the 5th Regiment, 8th Brigade of the KY Militia.  In 1808 he became the Lieutenant Governor of KY with Charles Scott as Governor.  Slaughter’s first attempt at being elected governor was in 1812.  KY’s first Governor Isacc Shelby was his opposition. He was easily defeated. He served another term as lieutenant governor in 1816 with George Madison as Governor.  On October 14, 1816, Governor George Madison passed away, and Slaughter assumed the duties of the governorship. However, the legality of this action was questioned.  Madison was the first governor to die in office. The legislature did not support the calling of a special election, and the decision for the lieutenant governor to fill the unexpired gubernatorial term remained in place. 

During Slaughter’s tenure as Governor he was often referred to as the “acting governor.”  This led to clashes with the legislature. The first controversial issue was when he removed Charles S. Todd, Isaac Shelby’s son in-law, as secretary of state and replaced him with John Pope.  The legislature tried to elect a replacement Governor but their attempts failed.  Feuding with the legislature led to the rejection of many of Slaughter’s proposals.  He wanted a comprehensive system for public education which included funding, penal system reform  and the creation of a state library. These proposals were all rejected.  Also, complicating Slaughter’s term, was the financial Panic of 1819. 

After losing a bid for State Senate, three years after leaving office of Governor, Slaughter was reelected to the Kentucky House of Representatives 1823.  He retired and returned to his farm where he preached and was a trustee of Georgetown College in Scott County. 

Gabriel Slaughter died on September 19, 1830, and was buried at the family graveyard in Mercer County, Kentucky.

I hope you enjoyed reading about 7th governor Gabriel Slaughter. He was the first governor to replace a governor who died in office. He doesn’t have a county or a town named after him which is sad because he has one of the most interesting  names of all the Kentucky Governors. One can only wonder if his time as governor would have been more successful if he had won the office in an election.