James A. McKenzie | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883 | |
| Preceded by | John Y. Brown |
| Succeeded by | James Franklin Clay |
| 48th Secretary of State of Kentucky | |
| In office September 5, 1883 – August 30, 1887 | |
| Governor | J. Proctor Knott |
| Preceded by | James W. Blackburn |
| Succeeded by | George Madison Adams |
| United States Ambassador toPeru | |
| In office June 24, 1893 – April 13, 1897 | |
| Preceded by | John Hicks |
| Succeeded by | Irving B. Dudley |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives fromChristian County | |
| In office August 5, 1867 – August 7, 1871 | |
| Preceded by | George Poindexter |
| Succeeded by | Walter Evans |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1840-08-01)August 1, 1840 |
| Died | June 25, 1904(1904-06-25) (aged 63) |
| Resting place | Fairview Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Amelia C. Parish Blakey |
| Relations | Uncle ofJohn McKenzie Moss |
| Alma mater | Centre College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States Confederate States |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
James Andrew McKenzie (August 1, 1840 – June 25, 1904) was aU.S. Representative fromKentucky and uncle ofJohn McKenzie Moss.
Born inBennettstown, Kentucky, McKenzie attended the common schools ofChristian County andCentre College,Danville, Kentucky. He studied law andadmitted to the bar in 1861, and commenced practice inHopkinsville, Kentucky. McKenzie also engaged inagricultural pursuits during this time.
During theCivil War he served as a private in theConfederate States Army.
Following the war, he served as member of theKentucky House of Representatives from 1867 to 1871. McKenzie later was elected as aDemocrat to theForty-fifth,Forty-sixth, andForty-seventh United States Congresses (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1882.
McKenzie then served asSecretary of State of Kentucky under GovernorJ. Proctor Knott from 1884 to 1888 and as commissioner from Kentucky to theWorld's Columbian Exposition atChicago, Illinois in 1893. In that same year, he was appointedMinister to Peru by PresidentGrover Cleveland.
He resigned and settled on his farm nearLong View, Kentucky. He died atOak Grove, Kentucky, on June 25, 1904. He was interred in Fairview Cemetery,Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Journalist andToledo mayorBrand Whitlock described McKenzie as a colorful figure renowned for his flowery style of speaking:
He was tall and spare of frame, and his long moustache and goatee, and the great black slouch hat he wore made him in appearance the typical southerner of the popular imagination. **** He was fond of striking phrases; he it was who had referred toBlaine as aFlorentine mosaic; and his reference toMrs. Cleveland as “the uncrowned queen of America” had delighted the Democratic convention at St. Louis which renominatedher husband for the presidency. And again at Chicago, on that memorable night of oratory in 1892 in seconding the nomination of Cleveland on behalf of Kentucky he stood on a chair and referred to his state as the commonwealth “in which, thank God, the damned lie is the first lick, where the women are so beautiful that the aurora borealis blushes with shame, where the whiskey is so good as to make intoxication a virtue, and the horses so fleet that lightning in comparison is but a puling paralytic.”[1]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1877–March 3, 1883 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by James W. Blackburn | Secretary of State of Kentucky 1883–1887 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Minister to Peru 24 June 1893–13 April 1897 | Succeeded by |
| Chargé d'Affaires | |
|---|---|
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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| National | |
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