Alfred Jacob Miller Portrait of Rev. Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1800-1871)

Alfred Jacob Miller American/Maryland, 1810-1874, active New Orleans 1837-1840 "Rev. Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1800-1871)" oil on canvas c. 1835, signed lower left, framed. Provenance: Collection of the sitter, c. 1835-1871; Sophy Preston Steele (Sophonisba Preston Steele), 1872-1926; Helen S. Breckinridge, 1926-1941; Lila Breckinridge Field, 1941-2004; Charles Field, 2004-2025; Private Collection. Note: Robert Jefferson Breckinridge was one of nine children of Senator John Breckinridga and Mary Hopkins Breckinridge (née Cabell). Early in life he proved headstrong and restless. He was suspended from Princeton University for fighting and eventually graduated from Union College in 1819. Rudderless, he indulged in attending parties post-college. Though he obtained a law license, he found that the work did not suit him. He set his sights on politics and was elected to his first term in the House of the Kentucky Legislature where he would be reelected three more times serving until he stepped down from his post in 1828 due to the personal struggles that arose from a serious illness as well as the deaths of two of his daughters. Through these personal challenges, he found his faith and direction, and he returned a final time to the halls of the legislature to argue for faith-based issues close to his heart: namely his support of emancipating the country's enslaved population. He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1832, later becoming pastor of Second Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, Maryland. He later became the President of Jefferson College then went on to be appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Kentucky reforming the public schooling system and campaigning for two-cent property tax for education which passed. With the Civil War looming, Breckinridge became a zealous supporter both Lincoln and the union. In 1864, he became the temporary chair of the Republican National Convention. He died in 1871 in Danville, Kentucky. Reference: Waugh, Dr. Barry. "The Southern Presbyterian Review: Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1800-1871)." PCA Historical Center. 2003. www.pcahistory.org. Accessed: Oct. 29, 2026.

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