Biographical Sketch of Smith G. Breckenridge, Washington County, MO

>From "History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and 
Gasconade Counties", Biographical Appendix, Goodspeed Publishing 
Company, 1888.

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Smith G. Breckenridge was born in Columbia, Tenn., in 1816.  The tradi-
tion of the family is as follows:  By tracing the genealogy of the 
family back as far as possible was found an old Scotchman of the 
"Lowlands," by the name of Henderson.  When the Highlanders invaded the
Lowlands, he would so stubbornly defend the country and drive them back
to the ridges that he was called Break-ridge.  Three of his sons came 
to America and assumed three spellings of the name: Brackenridge, 
Brickenridge and Breckenridge.  George, the father of Smith G., belong-
ed to the family using the last way of spelling the name.  He was a 
native of Virginia, but, as the Indians moved westward, he followed 
close after them, and located in Kentucky.  There he married Miss Eliz-
abeth Cowan, who was of Irish descent.  After marriage they removed to
Murray County, Tenn. (now Marshall), and, on June 19, 1819, they landed
at the farm where Mr. Breckenridge now lives, the place being settled
in 1803.  Both here spent the remainder of their lives, the father liv-
ing to be eighty-four years of age.  He represented this county in the
General Assembly in 1831 and 1832, and when in Tennessee followed sur-
veying.  While here he was also engaged in mining, farming and specula-
ting in land.  Of their family of fourteen children, seven sons and 
seven daughters, only two are now living.  The youngest of the children
but one was Smith G.  He was brought to this county when three years of
age, and received a very limited education.  He has made this county 
his home ever since.  In 1843 he married Miss Jane Shelton, a native of
Virginia, who bore him four children.  After her death he married Eliz-
abeth G. Phelps, in 1858.  She was born in this county, and bore him
seven children.  Politically, he was a Whig, a Union man, and is now a
Democrat.  During the war he was captain of Company I, Thirty-second
Enrolled Missouri Militia. He is an excellent farmer and owns 265 acres
in this county and 160 in Reynolds County.  He is a member of the Pres-
byterian Church, and his wife of the Methodist. 

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