Richard Taylor Jacob was an American attorney and politician, elected as 17th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky.
Background
Jacob was born on March 13, 1825, in Oldham County, Kentucky, the descendant of John Jacob, who emigrated from England and settled in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, in 1665, and the son of John Jeremiah and Lucy Donald (Robertson) Jacob. His father left Maryland about 1806 for Kentucky, where he made a fortune in real estate and banking. Richard was born at the home of his great-grandfather, Commodore Richard Taylor, through whom he was related both to James Madison and Zachary Taylor.
Education
Jacob attended private schools and, for a time, Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana. Suffering from ill health, he was sent to South America in 1844. The next year he began the study of law in Louisville. As his health still remained impaired, he set out for California in the spring of 1846 and arrived on September 9, after war had been declared against Mexico. He immediately raised a company of men, became captain, and joined the forces of John C. Frémont.
Career
In 1847 after Mexican resistance had ended in California, Jacob returned to Kentucky by way of the Isthmus of Panama and arrived home in time to raise a company, which was, however, refused for the new state levy since the regiment was already filled. About this time he was called to Washington to appear as a witness in the court-martial proceedings against Frémont. Jacob married the third daughter of Thomas Hart Benton, and this marriage led him to move to Missouri, the home of Benton, where he engaged in farming. About 1854 he returned to Kentucky and bought a home in Oldham County, on the Ohio River, near Westport. Until this time Jacob's interests had been divided between military affairs and farming, but in 1859, with the intensification of the sectional struggle, he became interested in politics and offered himself as a candidate for the legislature. He was elected and was continued in that position until 1863. Though not a secessionist, he considered himself a Democrat and in 1860 voted for Breckinridge. When the Kentucky parties broke up on the question of secession, Jacob joined the Unionists. In the legislature, as a member of the committee on federal relations, he did a great deal to prevent Kentucky's seceding and to keep the state neutral. Although he agreed with Governor Magoffin's refusal to obey Lincoln's call for troops, he entered the Union Army when it became evident that neutrality was no longer possible. In 1862 he raised the 9th Kentucky Cavalry, became its colonel, took part in some hand-to-hand engagements, and was wounded. In 1863 he was inaugurated lieutenant-governor. Like many other Kentuckians, Jacob felt outraged at the treatment his state was receiving from the Federal government. He opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and made threatening speeches when the government decided to enroll negroes. In 1864 he announced his support of McClellan for president and went to New York City to begin the campaign with a speech in Cooper Institute. On November 11, after Lincoln's election, he was arrested by Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge, sent across the lines into the Confederacy, and forbidden to return under penalty of death. Since a great outcry was immediately raised in Kentucky, in order to prevent trouble, Lincoln permitted him to return. When he reached Frankfort he was received with wild acclaim. After the war he joined the Conservative Democrats and ran for Congress in 1867 on their ticket, but he was heavily defeated because he had turned against the Union too late in the war. By 1871 he had become a Republican. Although through the rest of his life he held no public office, except the positions of judge of Oldham County for a short time and park commissioner for Louisville from 1895 to 1899, he continued to enjoy a distinguished popularity in the community, was prominent in the Presbyterian Church and was a loyal supporter of the Grand Army of the Republic. Jacob died on September 13, 1903.
Achievements
Jacob is best remembered as the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. Although a slaveholder, he was loyal to the Union during the American Civil War, raising the 9th Kentucky Cavalry for its defense.
Connections
Jacob married, on January 17, 1848, Sarah, the third daughter of Thomas Hart Benton and the sister of John C. Frémont's wife. Having lost his first wife in January 1863 he married, on June 6, 1865, Laura Wilson of Lexington.
Father:
John J. Jacob
He was an American businessman, financier, real estate developer, and philanthropist active in Kentucky.
