Kentucky Colonel American Newspaper Articles

This page contains over 400 links to newspaper articles that helped to define the Kentucky Colonel in history, which combined with our bibliography section includes several thousand resources. 

Defining Historic Newspaper Articles

There are a number of historical newspaper articles that helped to define the ideal of the Kentucky Colonel during the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. It is our understanding that the first Kentucky Colonels are based in the founding of Boonesborough in the Transylvania Colony when many commissions and land warrants were issued while Kentucky was a part of Virgina. 

The term "Kentucky Colonels" was officially merged in the public imagination and American literature in 1889 through a newspaper article and a short story, then book by Opie Read that were published and read in most major newspapers across the country.

For more information previously collected. Please see our Resources page. 

"Kentucky Colonels"

How It Happens They are so Numerous In the Blue Grass State 

From the Louisville Post, September 1889 (Published in over 80 Newspapers Coast to Coast and in Canada)

It is somewhat hard for an outside barbarian to understand why "colonels" are so plentiful in Kentucky. In the first place Kentucky furnished a great many soldiers, both to the northern and to the southern armies, during the war and naturally some of these soldiers are sure enough colonels by rank and service. Others, who were minor officers or perhaps high privates, are now dubbed colonels by way of courtesy. Then we have a very few colonels who hold over from the Mexican war, and there are other colonels of militia, like the Louisville Legion, who come by their titles honestly. The governor of Kentucky has the privilege of appointing persons on his staff with the rank of colonel. These colonels are expected to look pretty and martial at the governor's ball and to ride horseback when the governor heads a procession. The last duty frequently gives them great pain and anxiety. 

There are scores and scores of these governor-staff colonels in this proud old commonwealth. Some executives have been more lavish than others in the distribution of these gilded honors. That kindly old gentleman, Gov. Luke Blackburn. M.D., was fond of creating colonels. During his term he made some sixty colonels in the city of Louisville alone, if I remember the figures correctly. There are various reasons which entitles a man to this gubernatorial compliment. Col. Will Hays is a colonel because he is such a gifted poet, while Col. Albert Dietzman was given his title by Lt. Gov. Knott because he was the greatest business manager on earth. 

I trust these facts will make it somewhat clearer to the wondering northerner why colonels are so plentiful in Kentucky. But there are other reasons. Many prominent citizens are honored with this complimentary title simply as a recognition of their merit by the community. Thus every man who conducts a large distillery is ipso facto a colonel; for instance, Col. John M. Atherton, or Col. Tom Sherley. Every prominent railroad official is also a colonel; for instance, Col. Milton H Smith. Every Congressman is a colonel, as Col. Asher G. Caruth. Every man with a government office is a colonel; as Col. George Du Belle. Every great editor is a colonel, like Col. Henry Watterson. The chief of the police department is a de facto colonel, as Col. Wood. Then there are other gentlemen who are colonels because no other title fits them. But the law on the subject is a little vague and has never been formulated by the legislature. 

If a man has been a captain in the war never call him captain; call him colonel. He is entitled to this promotion twenty-four years after the war closed. The only men proud to be called captain are the commanders of steamboats. The captains of fire companies, the conductors of railroad trains, and the officers in a Salvation Army. The title of major is comparatively rare, and. therefore, is really more of a distinction than colonel. Only prominent people who have seen actual service wear the for instance. Major Ed. Hughes and Major J. Washington Wann. But still if you call a major a colonel he is not likely to get mad at you. By the observance of these few rules I have jotted down the stranger can get along in Kentucky without committing any serious breach of etiquette. 

Colonels in History (Newspaper Articles)

Justice is the habit of the mind which attributes its proper dignity to everything, preserving a due regard to the general welfare. —Cicero

American News Articles About Colonels

This is an extensive search that was performed at the Library of Congress, InternetArchive, NewspaperArchive and other websites, most of the articles displayed herein are from newspapers before the development of the teletype machine in 1935. Many of these articles are very important historically and they are all included in the context of our printed work © Kentucky Colonels: Forefathers, Founders and Model Figures of Kentucky Culture, Customs, Folklore, History, Music, Society, Traditions, and Values, "title" registered under a US Copyright, much of which, is based on works that are sourced under a Creative Commons License 1.0 scheduled for release in 2021-2022. Content from this list and other portions of our WebSite are all sourced from the Public Domain, but its compilation is our legal ℗ Patent.

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Authors and writers making reference for other works are welcome to cite our ℗ Patent and © Copyright "this webpage" as their "static permalink source" for their information under Creative Commons License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) with reciprocal Attribution:


Wright, Colonel David J., et. al., Kentucky Colonels: Forefathers, Founders and Model Figures of Kentucky Culture, Customs, Folklore, History, Music, Society, Traditions, and Values; Appendix: American News Articles Commonwealth Colonels WebSite Registered © 2020-2022, Madison County, Kentucky, 

Comic from 1892

Apparently most Commonwealth and State governors other than Kentucky had a personal military style staff dating back to their earliest initial histories. Articles not including Kentucky appear below in the second part of the list.

The "true emulation" of the "colonel" begins with the founders of the "Colony of Transylvania" and the relationships between Colonel Judge Richard Henderson, Colonel Daniel Boone, Colonel John Bowman, Colonel Captain James Harrod, and 9 other civilian Kentucky County, Virginia colonels and lieutenant-colonels who wrote and composed the Kentucky Magna Charta on May 23, 1775 in Boonesborough, Transylvania (Madison County, Kentucky). Their belief was that God played an important part in declaring their freedom under the new Kentucky Magna Charta, which continued. 

This history starting in 1775 is illuminated serving as the basis of the Most Honorable Order of the Transylvania Colonel™ (MHOTC)™. By 1799, the title of Colonel began to change for some, but for the most part Kentucky was still controlled by its new settlers a great many of whom were Revolutionary War veterans that received these land warrants as bounties, by 1810 all of these generals, colonels, other officers and privates were all called "colonels" as well, especially older gentlemen. 

Isaac Shelby conducted the first surveys as a commissioned surveyor for the Transylvania Company in August 1775. Later, he became Col. Shelby for Sullivan County, North Carolina, became one of the Over the Mountain Boys to defend much of what would have become the State of Franklin in the Revolution with other Transylvania Colony citizens Col. Joseph Hardin, Col. Arthur Campbell of Washington County, Virginia and Col. John Sevier in 1784. Instead, Shelby returned instead in 1783 to claim his original Transylvania Company warrant deed and start a home and garden. Col. Shelby goes on to become involved in seeking statehood from 1784-1791 to become the first governor of the 15th state in 1792.

In 1802, "colonel" took on a new official military meaning for many states when it was adopted as an official military title for the U.S. Army in its international interpretation of first under general. From this point on we see that each state and territory has had extra-official staff members often commissioned as "colonels" in California, Colorado, Connecticut and the Carolinas, and distinguished them apart of the U.S. Military usage. 

Colonels were commonly found in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Texas. In Kentucky though the colonel, was already part of its charm and attraction, socially and in a familiar sense. Colonels nonetheless held a highly instrumental role in the establishment of government, establishing laws, and creating social order in all of these places since their inception.

Best References: 

News Articles that do not Mention Kentucky 

It is clear that from 1861 there was a big shift in where and who could be named colonels, but this was not true in Kentucky because the origins of "colonelcy" were viewed differently and anyone who owned a considerable sized piece of land was already called a "colonel" notwithstanding the Civil War, that is once they matured to a certain age, or if they demonstrated a certain style that became atypical to colonels of a white goatee, a broad brimmed hat, and a flocked long-tail coat around 1889.

The Kentucky "Colonel"

Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, March 02, 1900

Some reminiscent time — long before Opie Read apostrophized that peculiar product of a sister state, the "Kentucky Colonel" was revered and honored, not for a knight of arms, but the milder attribute of manhood, genuine courtesy. It is true that he drank, but he never made a distillery of himself. He imbibed like a gentleman. He was not quarrelsome; he was gallant. To have been a Kentucky colonel In those old-fashioned times of chivalry was like as to be a Roman in Caesar's day. He was as fragrant then as the blue grass that now nods over the graves of the victims of his vulgar prototype today. The original Kentucky colonel has passed away, but he has imitators.

The Kentucky colonel of today is in a class by himself. He has lost the courtesy of his forebears. and assimilated the contamination of the times. Hereafter he must be designated as a belted cruiser, carrying so many guns. In certain situations he may be likened, to a torpedo boat. In others he assumes the terrifying and destructive qualities of the battleship of so many distillery gallons displacement.

Col. Jack Chinn of Kentucky

The Age-Herald, February 05, 1900

Colonel Jack Chinn, who so valiantly stood by Governor Goebel when the latter fell a victim to an assassin's bullet last Tuesday, is perhaps the most widely known person on the American turf. He is also well known in Kentucky politics.

Colonel Chinn is a typical Kentucky colonel of the old School, which of course means 'that he has an eye for the beautiful, a lover of fine horseflesh, is a judge of good "spirits” and also carries a gun.

Colonel Chinn’s home is at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where 'he for a long time conducted a stock farm. It was a splendid blue grass farm, and his home was for years a rendezvous for prominent turfmen and Kentucky politicians, and the host had few equals ad no superiors as an entertainer in the whole broad land of Kentucky. He has left his mark in the turf world, and has developed some of the greatest race horses of this day.

His "strings” from time to time have contained such noted performers as Leonatus, I.ouise, Ingomar and Lissak. The first-named was a winner of the Kentucky Derby and also gained fame as a sire. Lissak s career on the race course was of suoh a creditable nature that he was purchased by W. C. Whitney for a big round sum, and is now In the stud of this New York capitalist and thoroughbred breeder.

The colonel, in addition to being a stable owner, has often acted in an official capacity at various tracks in this country. His prominence on the turf was not attained solely, though, as an owner of fine horse flesh and as a starter of races. Being a "scrapper” and a disturber of national repute has won for him as much notice as his career in the more legitimate roles.

Colonel Chinn may not be wholly to blame for his record In this line, for it is said that his fighting nature, like that of the notorious Jones boys, was progagated by forces which he did not control. His first trouble of any note was with John Dowling at Chicago. Chinn and his brother-in law went to Chicago and opened a swell gambling house. The firm flourished and Dowling grew jealous and used his "hammer” to such good effect, that the Kentuckian was closed up.

The firm changed their base of operation to Minneapolis, where they again made a successful start. It Is related that Dowling pursued them and caused Chinn and Mason to be barred out of the Minnesota city.

It is claimed that this alleged persecution brought Dowling and Chinn together in the betting ring at Latonia during a race meeting late in the 1880s. Of the several thousand betters who were in the ring at the time only the principals and one peacemaker stayed in the game. Plungers, pikers, bookmakers and all sports and sportsmen left the betting quarters in pell mell fashion. Bob Tucker stayed with the colonel, and 'the latter’s cool-headedness put a check on the Kentuckian’s onslaught. Chinn and Dowling met again on Michigan avenue, in Chicago, to balance accounts, but the second meeting also resulted in a fluke.

Chinn next got into a difficulty at the East St. Louis track. He attacked Captain St. Clair, but was again checked by the Chlef of police. The Kentucky colonel was shot by the police officer before he got in his work on the St. Louis man.

The colonel’s career in politics has also been quite checkered. He gained celebrity in the political world by barring the legislative hall at Frankfort during the red-hot political fight four years ego. He was aided in this move by Colonel Jim Williams, also a Kentucky colonel. The noted turfman and politician next sprang Into prominence in polities on account of the part he played in aiding- in the election of his friend, Senator Clark, out In Montana.

A more recent political fight in which Colonel Chinn figured was his encounter with State Senator Bronson, at Phoenix hotel, at Lexington. Bronson left the battleground to get his artillery, but was prevented from appearing by the interference of friends. The disturbance was also settled without bloodshed.

In appearance Colonel Chinn is a remarkably fine-looking man. He "sizes up” well. He has dark, flowing hair and very dark eyes, which flash like electric sparks when he is warmed up. The colonel was never known to fail a friend in danger or misfortune, and with all of his reputation as a man ever ready with his gun, he is one of the most companionable of men. He is a good yarn-spinner and has a fund of good Jokes, which, if strung out, would reach from Hell’s Gate reef to the Golden Gate.

Colonel Chinn has three sons, all of whom are well known here in Memphis. Christopher Chinn, familiarly known as "Kit,” has acted as starter at Montgomery Park during several meetings. His other two sons, Phil and Morgan, are also well known turfmen. The former is publisher of the Thoroughbred Record, at Lexington, one of the 'best turf journals in the country.