Isaac Shelby

Kentucky’s 1st & 5th Governor

Isaac Shelby was born December 11, 1750 in Hagerstown, Maryland.  He was the son of Evan and Letitia Cox Shelby who had immigrated from Wales in 1735.  They had been loyal to the Church of England and then became Presbyterians after coming to British America.  Shelby was educated at the local schools and worked on his father’s plantation and as a surveyor.  He was appointed deputy sheriff of Frederick County at the age of eighteen.  After the Pontiac Rebellion his father lost money and then his business records were destroyed in a house fire.  After these losses, they moved to the Bristol, TN area in 1770 and built a fort and a trading post.  

Lord Dunmore’s War was a border conflict between colonists and the American Indians.  Isaac Shelby was commissioned as a lieutenant in the VA militia.  He earned commendation for his skill and gallantry in the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774.  After his unit was disbanded, Shelby surveyed for the Transylvania Company in KY.  He then rejoined his family in VA but returned to KY to claim land for himself.  

1n 1776, he became ill and returned to VA to recover.  The American Revolution was underway.  Shelby was a captain of a company of Minuteman then Patrick Henry appointed him to a position securing provisions for the army on the frontier.  In 1778 and 1779 he served in a similar role in the Continental Army.  

Shelby was elected to represent Washington County in the VA House of Delegates in 1779.  Later that year, he was commissioned as a major by Governor Thomas Jefferson and was to establish a boundary line between VA and NC.  

In 1780 the colonist’s were defeated at Charleston.  Shelby was surveying land in KY at that time.  He went to NC and assembled three hundred militiamen and joined General Charles McDowell in SC.  They surrounded the British stronghold at Thickey Fort with 600 men.  He demanded the British surrender but they refused.  Shelby brought his men within musket range and once again demanded surrender.  The British surrendered without Shelby’s men firing a shot.

Isaac Shelby participated in many battles during the war however, the Battle of King’s Mountain was the high point of Shelby’s military career.  While still serving in the military, Shelby was elected to the House of Commons of the NC General Assembly in 1781 and re-elected in 1782.  

In 1783, Shelby returned to KY and settled at Boonesborough.  He married Susannah Hart.  The couple had eleven children.  Their eldest daughter married Dr. Ephriam McDowell and their youngest daughter, Letitia, married a future KY secretary of state, Charles Stewart Todd.  The family moved near Knob Lick in Lincoln County in 1783.  The land was awarded to Shelby for his military service. 

Shelby worked to secure the separation of KY and VA.  He was a delegate to conventions and worked on a constitution for KY.  In 1791 Shelby was among those chosen by the VA legislature to serve on the Board of War for the district of KY.  Shelby was also chosen to be the High Sheriff for Lincoln Co.  He was a delegate to the final convention that framed the first KY Constitution.  

With his military and political experience Shelby was unanimously elected the first governor of KY on June 1, 1792.  KY became a state on this date.  His term was dedicated to establishing basic laws, military divisions and tax structure.  Shelby’s concerns were getting federal aid to defend the frontier and the free navigation of the Mississippi River.  

After his first term as Governor Shelby retired to Traveller’s Rest, his home in Lincoln County.  For the next fifteen years he led a quiet life and farmed his land.  

As the rumors of war between the US, Great Britain and France were looming, Shelby’s name was once again being mentioned as a possible candidate for governor.  The situation grew worse.  On June 18, 1812 the US declared war on Great Britain.  The push for Shelby to return as governor was heeded and he announced his candidacy.  He was re-elected to be KY’s 5th governor.  War preparations dominated Shelby’s 2nd term.   He revised militia laws to make more males eligible for service.  He also encouraged the state’s women to sew and knit items for KY’s troops.  

After leaving office in 1816, Shelby declined an offer to be Secretary of War under President James Monroe.  He was an active member on several committees and organizations throughout the state.

In 1820 Shelby experienced paralysis in his right arm and leg.  He died of a stroke on July 18, 1826 and was buried at Traveller’s Rest in Lincoln County.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Isaac Shelby, KY’s 1st and 5th governor. Shelby County is named after Governor Isaac Shelby.