Richard Menefee
Encyclopedia
Richard Hickman Menefee was a U.S. Representative
from Kentucky
. Due to his oratory skill, he was dubbed "the young Patrick Henry
of the West." He was presumed the successor to Henry Clay
as leader of the Whig Party
until his death at age thirty-one.
Menefee received a meager education in his early life. A dispute with his stepfather caused him to leave home in his mid-teens. He worked as a teacher to support himself and pay to finish his education. He graduated from Transylvania University
and studied law. In 1831, he was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney
for Kentucky's eleventh district and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives
the following year.
In 1836, Menefee was elected to the House of Representatives. His best known speech in that body urged restraint in the Caroline affair
with the British
. His reputation, and that of fellow Kentuckian John J. Crittenden
, were tarnished due to their involvement in a duel between Representatives William J. Graves
and Jonathan Cilley
in which the latter was mortally wounded. He did not stand for re-election following his term in office and returned to his legal practice. In 1841, he was elected to the U.S. Senate
, but died five days later before he could take office. Menifee County, Kentucky
, despite the spelling discrepancy, is named in his honor.
. He was the third of five sons born to Richard and Mary (Longsdale) Menefee. His father was an Irish
potter
who immigrated to Kentucky from Virginia
in the 1790s and became one of the founders of the city of Owingsville. Despite a limited education, the elder Richard Menefee was elected to multiple terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives and one term in the Kentucky Senate
.
It was while the elder Richard Menefee was in Frankfort
for a session of the General Assembly that his son Richard was born. When asked to name the child at his baptism
, his mother christened him Henry Clay Menefee, after Kentucky statesman Henry Clay
. When his father returned from his legislative duties, he changed the child's name to Richard Hickman Menefee in honor of his Senate colleague, Richard Hickman
.
Menefee's father died in 1815. Four years later, his mother married Colonel
George Lansdown, proprietor of a spa in Bath County
. Until the age of twelve, Menefee was educated by his mother. He then enrolled at Walker Bourne's preparatory school in Bath County, where he was a classmate of future congressmen Henry Smith Lane
and John Jameson. Two years later, family troubles forced him to withdraw from school and help support the family. He began work at a tavern
in Owingsville and engaged in farm work during the summer months. He continued his studies as time allowed and became a teacher at age fifteen. A short time later, he left home due to a dispute with his stepfather. He relocated to Mount Sterling, Kentucky
and paid his way through school.
At age eighteen, Menefee entered Transylvania University in the junior class. Though the college's rules forbade conveying degrees upon underage candidates, Menefee was granted an exception by President Horace Holley
and graduated with his class. Following his graduation, he read law
with Judge James Trimble. He returned to Mount Sterling, where he was admitted to the bar
in 1830 and opened a law practice in 1831. In October 1831, he enrolled at Transylvania University law school and on March 3, 1832, earned a law degree. Notable in Menefee's graduating class was George W. Johnson, who would later serve as governor of Kentucky's provisional Confederate government
during the Civil War
.
On August 14, 1832, Menefee married Sarah Bell Jouett, daughter of famed Kentucky painter Matthew Harris Jouett
. The couple had three children: Alexander (who died as an infant), Richard, and Mary.
Thomas Metcalfe
appointed Menefee to succeed his law tutor, James Trimble, as Commonwealth's Attorney for the 11th district. He held this office until 1836, when he resigned to seek election to the Kentucky House of Representatives. In the midst of the campaign, Governor James Turner Morehead
called for one thousand mounted soldiers for service in the Second Seminole War
. A company was raised in Montgomery County
, and they chose Menefee as their captain, but the requisite thousand men reached Governor Morehead before Menefee's company; consequently, Menefee's men were turned away. Menefee returned to the campaign trail, and he was elected as a Whig
to represent Montgomery County in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Menefee was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee. The first bill he offered to the House authorized the construction of the first turnpike
in Bath County and gave control of the turnpike to the Owingsville and Big Sandy Road Company; this bill passed and was signed into law by Governor James Clark
on February 16, 1832. His most notable action in the House was arguing against the repeal of an 1833 law that prohibited the importation of slaves. Fellow representative Thomas F. Marshall
called Menefee's speech on this occasion "the master effort of his mind that winter."
In April 1837, Menefee announced that he would challenge incumbent
Democrat
Richard French
for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Menefee defeated French by a margin of 234 votes and was the youngest member of the Twenty-fifth Congress
. Youth's History of Kentucky, an 1898 school textbook, records that some referred to Menefee as "the young Patrick Henry
of the West" due to his considerable oratory skill. He was appointed to the Committee on Expenditures of the Public Buildings and the Committee on Patents. He opposed several measures favored by President
Martin van Buren
, including a bill to cease distributing the federal budget surplus to the states and a bill authorizing the printing of an additional $10 million in currency. Both measures passed over his objections.
In 1837, rebels seeking a more democratic Canada
fled to Navy Island
in the Niagara River
. The rebels, led by William Lyon Mackenzie
, found sympathy with Americans across the river in New York
. These Americans carried supplies to the rebels aboard the steamship Caroline. In retaliation, a group of British and Canadian loyalists crossed the river, loosed the Caroline and set her on fire, then put her in the river's current, sending her over Niagara Falls
. The Caroline affair provoked anger and anti-British sentiment in the United States. It was upon this subject that Menefee made his most notable speech in the House. He urged restraint in responding to the British and proclaimed that he saw no great principles involved in the affair.
On February 1, 1838, a dispute arose surrounding the election of Seargent Smith Prentiss
and Thomas J. Word
– both of Mississippi
– to the House of Representatives. Menefee contested the claims of Virginia's James M. Mason
and South Carolina
's Hugh S. Legare
that the Mississippians had not been properly elected. Both were eventually allowed to retain their seats.
In 1838, Menefee and John J. Crittenden
served as seconds for fellow Kentucky representative William J. Graves
in a duel in which Graves killed Maine
representative Jonathan Cilley
. The House censure
d Graves over the incident, and the reputations of both Crittenden and Menefee were tarnished by their involvement. Shortly thereafter, the House passed anti-dueling legislation. Menefee's longest speech in the House was with regard to this law, and was delivered in three parts on April 23, 28, and 30, 1838. Menefee voluntarily retired from public life after serving only a single term in the House.
, where he resumed his law practice. On a return trip to Owingsville, he successfully defended a man accused of murder in a dispute over rights to an ore
bed. His opponent in the case was his old colleague from the House, Thomas F. Marshall. Menefee's biographer, John Townsend, called the case "the second greatest law case in which [Menefee] was ever engaged."
The greatest, according to Townsend, was the 1840 case involving the will
of a man named James Rogers. In the will, Rogers expressed that he had already provided assets from his estate amounting to five thousand dollars to the children of his first marriage and that upon his death, his estate was to be divided among his second wife and her children. A team of Menefee, future governor James F. Robinson
, and Madison C. Johnson represented the five children from the first marriage, who filed suit to set aside the will on the grounds that their father had suffered a stroke
and was not of sound mind when constructing the will. They argued opposite Henry Clay and Robert C. Wickliffe
. The case lasted six days, and the decision in the case went against Menefee and Robinson.
Menefee's health was already beginning to fail during the trial with Clay, and he last appeared in court in September 1840. In 1841, Cassius M. Clay nominated Menefee to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of John J. Crittenden. He was elected, but died five days later. He was commonly reported to have died of tuberculosis
, but Townsend claims the true cause of death was "consumption of the bowels." He was interred in a private cemetery in Fayette County
. On October 28, 1893, he was re-interred in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky
.
The Transylvania Law Society asked Menefee's colleague, Thomas F. Marshall, to deliver a speech on Menefee's life and character at Marshall's convenience. Marshall spent seven weeks preparing the eulogy. Afterward, the Society asked Marshall for the text of the speech, and it was published as a pamphlet. Kentucky historian Lewis Collins opined that, had he lived, Menefee would have succeeded Henry Clay as the leader of the Whig Party. Menifee County, Kentucky is named in Menefee's honor, despite the unintentional misspelling of the name.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Due to his oratory skill, he was dubbed "the young Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
of the West." He was presumed the successor to Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
as leader of the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
until his death at age thirty-one.
Menefee received a meager education in his early life. A dispute with his stepfather caused him to leave home in his mid-teens. He worked as a teacher to support himself and pay to finish his education. He graduated from Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
and studied law. In 1831, he was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney
Commonwealth's Attorney
Commonwealth's Attorney is the title given to the elected prosecutor of felony crimes in Kentucky and Virginia. Other states refer to similar prosecutors as District Attorney or State's Attorney....
for Kentucky's eleventh district and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
the following year.
In 1836, Menefee was elected to the House of Representatives. His best known speech in that body urged restraint in the Caroline affair
Caroline affair
The Caroline affair was a series of events beginning in 1837 that strained relations between the United States and Britain....
with the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. His reputation, and that of fellow Kentuckian John J. Crittenden
John J. Crittenden
John Jordan Crittenden was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore...
, were tarnished due to their involvement in a duel between Representatives William J. Graves
William J. Graves
William Jordan Graves was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Graves was born in New Castle, Kentucky, and pursued an academic course early in life, choosing to study law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Kentucky before serving as member of the State house of representatives in 1834...
and Jonathan Cilley
Jonathan Cilley
Jonathan Cilley was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress. He died in office at Bladensburg, Md. as the result of being challenged to fight a duel with Congressman William J. Graves, a colleague from Kentucky...
in which the latter was mortally wounded. He did not stand for re-election following his term in office and returned to his legal practice. In 1841, he was elected to the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, but died five days later before he could take office. Menifee County, Kentucky
Menifee County, Kentucky
Menifee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 6,556. Its county seat is Frenchburg. The county is named for Richard Hickman Menefee, U.S. Congressman, although the spelling has changed. It is a prohibition or dry county.Menifee County is located...
, despite the spelling discrepancy, is named in his honor.
Early life
Richard Hickman Menefee was born on December 4, 1809 in Owingsville, KentuckyOwingsville, Kentucky
Owingsville is a city in Bath County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,488 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bath County, and is roughly in the center of the county, at the junction of US 60 and Kentucky Route 36....
. He was the third of five sons born to Richard and Mary (Longsdale) Menefee. His father was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
potter
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
who immigrated to Kentucky from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the 1790s and became one of the founders of the city of Owingsville. Despite a limited education, the elder Richard Menefee was elected to multiple terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives and one term in the Kentucky Senate
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
.
It was while the elder Richard Menefee was in Frankfort
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
for a session of the General Assembly that his son Richard was born. When asked to name the child at his baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, his mother christened him Henry Clay Menefee, after Kentucky statesman Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
. When his father returned from his legislative duties, he changed the child's name to Richard Hickman Menefee in honor of his Senate colleague, Richard Hickman
Richard Hickman
Richard Hickman was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, serving in that capacity from 1812 to 1816 under Isaac Shelby during Shelby's second term as governor....
.
Menefee's father died in 1815. Four years later, his mother married Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
George Lansdown, proprietor of a spa in Bath County
Bath County, Kentucky
Bath County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1811. As of 2010 the population is 11,591. Its county seat is Owingsville, Kentucky...
. Until the age of twelve, Menefee was educated by his mother. He then enrolled at Walker Bourne's preparatory school in Bath County, where he was a classmate of future congressmen Henry Smith Lane
Henry Smith Lane
Henry Smith Lane was a United States Representative, Senator, and the 13th Governor of Indiana; he was by design the shortest-serving Governor of Indiana, having made plans to resign the office should his party take control of the Indiana General Assembly and elect him to the United States Senate...
and John Jameson. Two years later, family troubles forced him to withdraw from school and help support the family. He began work at a tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
in Owingsville and engaged in farm work during the summer months. He continued his studies as time allowed and became a teacher at age fifteen. A short time later, he left home due to a dispute with his stepfather. He relocated to Mount Sterling, Kentucky
Mount Sterling, Kentucky
The Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Library was established in 1871. The Mt. Sterling – Montgomery County Library moved to the current location, accessible from both Main and Locust Streets, in July 1984. The building was officially dedicated on September 30, 1984...
and paid his way through school.
At age eighteen, Menefee entered Transylvania University in the junior class. Though the college's rules forbade conveying degrees upon underage candidates, Menefee was granted an exception by President Horace Holley
Horace Holley (1781-1827)
Horace Holley was a Unitarian minister and president of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky....
and graduated with his class. Following his graduation, he read law
Reading law
Reading law is the method by which persons in common law countries, particularly the United States, entered the legal profession before the advent of law schools. This usage specifically refers to a means of entering the profession . A small number of U.S...
with Judge James Trimble. He returned to Mount Sterling, where he was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1830 and opened a law practice in 1831. In October 1831, he enrolled at Transylvania University law school and on March 3, 1832, earned a law degree. Notable in Menefee's graduating class was George W. Johnson, who would later serve as governor of Kentucky's provisional Confederate government
Confederate government of Kentucky
The Confederate government of Kentucky was a shadow government established for the Commonwealth of Kentucky by a self-constituted group of Confederate sympathizers during the American Civil War. The shadow government never replaced the elected government in Frankfort, which had strong Union...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
On August 14, 1832, Menefee married Sarah Bell Jouett, daughter of famed Kentucky painter Matthew Harris Jouett
Matthew Harris Jouett
Matthew Harris Jouett was an American portrait painter.Jouett was the son of Sallie Robards and Jack Jouett, a hero of the American Revolution. The elder Jouett sent his son to Transylvania University and encouraged him to study law, but Matthew spent much of his time painting...
. The couple had three children: Alexander (who died as an infant), Richard, and Mary.
Political career
On November 15, 1831, GovernorGovernor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
Thomas Metcalfe
Thomas Metcalfe (US politician)
Thomas Metcalfe , also known as Thomas Metcalf or as "Stonehammer", was a U.S. Representative, Senator, and the tenth Governor of Kentucky. He was the first gubernatorial candidate in the state's history to be chosen by a nominating convention rather than a caucus...
appointed Menefee to succeed his law tutor, James Trimble, as Commonwealth's Attorney for the 11th district. He held this office until 1836, when he resigned to seek election to the Kentucky House of Representatives. In the midst of the campaign, Governor James Turner Morehead
James Turner Morehead (Kentucky)
James Turner Morehead was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state...
called for one thousand mounted soldiers for service in the Second Seminole War
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
. A company was raised in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Kentucky
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 26,499. Its county seat is Mount Sterling. With regard to the sale of alcohol, it is classified as a moist county—a county in which alcohol sales are prohibited , but containing a "wet" city where package...
, and they chose Menefee as their captain, but the requisite thousand men reached Governor Morehead before Menefee's company; consequently, Menefee's men were turned away. Menefee returned to the campaign trail, and he was elected as a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
to represent Montgomery County in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Menefee was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee. The first bill he offered to the House authorized the construction of the first turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
in Bath County and gave control of the turnpike to the Owingsville and Big Sandy Road Company; this bill passed and was signed into law by Governor James Clark
James Clark (Kentucky)
James Clark was a 19th-century American politician who served in all three branches of Kentucky's government and in the U.S. House of Representatives. His political career began in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1807...
on February 16, 1832. His most notable action in the House was arguing against the repeal of an 1833 law that prohibited the importation of slaves. Fellow representative Thomas F. Marshall
Thomas F. Marshall
Thomas Francis Marshall was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Kentucky. He was the nephew of John Marshall.-Early life and family:...
called Menefee's speech on this occasion "the master effort of his mind that winter."
In April 1837, Menefee announced that he would challenge incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Richard French
Richard French
Richard French was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Born near Boonesborough, Kentucky, French attended private schools.He studied law.He was admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in Winchester, Kentucky....
for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Menefee defeated French by a margin of 234 votes and was the youngest member of the Twenty-fifth Congress
25th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: Richard Mentor Johnson * President pro tempore: William R. King - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James K. Polk -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
. Youth's History of Kentucky, an 1898 school textbook, records that some referred to Menefee as "the young Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
of the West" due to his considerable oratory skill. He was appointed to the Committee on Expenditures of the Public Buildings and the Committee on Patents. He opposed several measures favored by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Martin van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
, including a bill to cease distributing the federal budget surplus to the states and a bill authorizing the printing of an additional $10 million in currency. Both measures passed over his objections.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fled to Navy Island
Navy Island
Navy Island is a small island in the Niagara River in the province of Ontario, managed by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is located about upstream from Horseshoe Falls, and has an area of roughly...
in the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
. The rebels, led by William Lyon Mackenzie
William Lyon Mackenzie
William Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish born American and Canadian journalist, politician, and rebellion leader. He served as the first mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada and was an important leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion.-Background and early years in Scotland, 1795–1820:Mackenzie was...
, found sympathy with Americans across the river in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. These Americans carried supplies to the rebels aboard the steamship Caroline. In retaliation, a group of British and Canadian loyalists crossed the river, loosed the Caroline and set her on fire, then put her in the river's current, sending her over Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
. The Caroline affair provoked anger and anti-British sentiment in the United States. It was upon this subject that Menefee made his most notable speech in the House. He urged restraint in responding to the British and proclaimed that he saw no great principles involved in the affair.
On February 1, 1838, a dispute arose surrounding the election of Seargent Smith Prentiss
Seargent Smith Prentiss
Seargent Smith Prentiss was the representative for Mississippi in the Twenty-fifth United States Congress...
and Thomas J. Word
Thomas J. Word
Thomas Jefferson Word was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.Born in Surry County, North Carolina, Word studied law, passed his bar exam, and established a private practice. He served as member of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1832...
– both of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
– to the House of Representatives. Menefee contested the claims of Virginia's James M. Mason
James M. Mason
James Murray Mason was a United States Representative and United States Senator from Virginia. He was a grandson of George Mason and represented the Confederate States of America as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to the United Kingdom and France between 1861 and 1865 during the American...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
's Hugh S. Legare
Hugh S. Legaré
Hugh Swinton Legaré was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Legaré was born in Charleston, South Carolina, of Huguenot and Scottish ancestry....
that the Mississippians had not been properly elected. Both were eventually allowed to retain their seats.
In 1838, Menefee and John J. Crittenden
John J. Crittenden
John Jordan Crittenden was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore...
served as seconds for fellow Kentucky representative William J. Graves
William J. Graves
William Jordan Graves was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Graves was born in New Castle, Kentucky, and pursued an academic course early in life, choosing to study law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Kentucky before serving as member of the State house of representatives in 1834...
in a duel in which Graves killed Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
representative Jonathan Cilley
Jonathan Cilley
Jonathan Cilley was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress. He died in office at Bladensburg, Md. as the result of being challenged to fight a duel with Congressman William J. Graves, a colleague from Kentucky...
. The House censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
d Graves over the incident, and the reputations of both Crittenden and Menefee were tarnished by their involvement. Shortly thereafter, the House passed anti-dueling legislation. Menefee's longest speech in the House was with regard to this law, and was delivered in three parts on April 23, 28, and 30, 1838. Menefee voluntarily retired from public life after serving only a single term in the House.
Later life and death
Menefee returned to Kentucky, settling in LexingtonLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, where he resumed his law practice. On a return trip to Owingsville, he successfully defended a man accused of murder in a dispute over rights to an ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
bed. His opponent in the case was his old colleague from the House, Thomas F. Marshall. Menefee's biographer, John Townsend, called the case "the second greatest law case in which [Menefee] was ever engaged."
The greatest, according to Townsend, was the 1840 case involving the will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
of a man named James Rogers. In the will, Rogers expressed that he had already provided assets from his estate amounting to five thousand dollars to the children of his first marriage and that upon his death, his estate was to be divided among his second wife and her children. A team of Menefee, future governor James F. Robinson
James F. Robinson
James Fisher Robinson was the 22nd Governor of Kentucky, serving the remainder of the unfinished term of Governor Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin, a Confederate sympathizer, became increasingly ineffective after the elections of 1861 yielded a supermajority to pro-Union forces in both houses of the...
, and Madison C. Johnson represented the five children from the first marriage, who filed suit to set aside the will on the grounds that their father had suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
and was not of sound mind when constructing the will. They argued opposite Henry Clay and Robert C. Wickliffe
Robert C. Wickliffe
Robert Charles Wickliffe was Lieutenant Governor and the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1856-60.-Early life and education:...
. The case lasted six days, and the decision in the case went against Menefee and Robinson.
Menefee's health was already beginning to fail during the trial with Clay, and he last appeared in court in September 1840. In 1841, Cassius M. Clay nominated Menefee to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of John J. Crittenden. He was elected, but died five days later. He was commonly reported to have died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, but Townsend claims the true cause of death was "consumption of the bowels." He was interred in a private cemetery in Fayette County
Fayette County, Kentucky
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....
. On October 28, 1893, he was re-interred in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
The Transylvania Law Society asked Menefee's colleague, Thomas F. Marshall, to deliver a speech on Menefee's life and character at Marshall's convenience. Marshall spent seven weeks preparing the eulogy. Afterward, the Society asked Marshall for the text of the speech, and it was published as a pamphlet. Kentucky historian Lewis Collins opined that, had he lived, Menefee would have succeeded Henry Clay as the leader of the Whig Party. Menifee County, Kentucky is named in Menefee's honor, despite the unintentional misspelling of the name.