Linn Boyd

Linn Boyd
20th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office December 1, 1851 – March 3, 1855
President	Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce
Preceded by	Howell Cobb
Succeeded by	Nathaniel P. Banks
Member of U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 1st district
In office March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1855
Preceded by	John L. Murray
Succeeded by	Henry C. Burnett
Member of U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 1st district
In office March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837
Preceded by	Chittenden Lyon
Succeeded by	John L. Murray
16th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office 1859
Governor	Beriah Magoffin
Preceded by	James G. Hardy
Succeeded by	Richard T. Jacob
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office 1827 1831
Personal details
Born	November 22, 1800 Nashville, Tennessee
Died	December 17, 1859 (aged 59) Paducah, Kentucky
Political party	Democratic-Republican Democratic
Spouse(s)	Alice Bennett Anna (Rhey) Dixon
Relations	Abraham Boyd (Father) Elizabeth Linn Boyd (Mother)
Children	Butler Boyd Linn Boyd Jr. Felix Boyd Rhey Boyd
Profession	Politician Farmer
Signature

Linn Boyd (November 22, 1800 – December 17, 1859) (also spelled "Lynn") was a prominent US politician of the 1840s and 1850s, and served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1855. Boyd was elected to the House as a Democrat from Kentucky from 1835 to 1837 and again from 1839 to 1855, serving seven terms in the House. Boyd County, Kentucky is named in his honor.^[1]

Early life

Boyd was raised and educated in Trigg County, and became a farmer in Calloway County. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives after first winning election in 1827. While Boyd represented Calloway County, his father represented Trigg County. In 1831 Boyd moved to Trigg County and was again elected to the state House.

U.S. Congressman

In 1833, Boyd lost his first campaign for the United States House of Representatives. In 1835 he was elected to the House and served there until 1837, when a Whig landslide resulting from the Panic of 1837 cost him his seat.

Boyd soon returned to the House, serving from 1839 through 1855. He was a strong supporter of President Andrew Jackson. Boyd played a key role in maneuvering the annexation of Texas through Congress during the term of President John Tyler in 1845. Boyd was also important in getting the Compromise of 1850, chiefly credited to Henry Clay, passed through Congress. Largely though his prominence in shepherding the compromise to passage, Boyd was elected Speaker of the House in 1851 and held that office until 1855.

Later career

Boyd was nominated for Governor of Kentucky in 1848, but declined to run and was replaced by Lazarus W. Powell. In 1852 he moved to Paducah. He was mentioned as a candidate for Vice President of the United States at the 1856 Democratic National Convention, but was never officially nominated; the eventual nominee was fellow Kentuckian John C. Breckinridge.

Boyd was elected the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky in 1859 but died shortly thereafter. This became significant with the onset of the Civil War. Governor Beriah Magoffin, supportive of slavery, secession and states' rights, became increasingly unpopular and distrusted as Kentucky sought to maintain a neutral course between the Union and the Confederate States of America. Unionists held a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly in summer 1861 and frequently overrode Magoffin's vetos. By August 1862 Magoffin made it clear that he was willing to resign the governorship. However, due to Linn Boyd's death, the person next in line to become Governor of Kentucky was Speaker of the Senate John F. Fisk, who was unacceptable to Magoffin. Fisk resigned as Speaker and was replaced by James F. Robinson. Magoffin resigned; Robinson became governor and Fisk was reinstalled as Speaker of the Senate.

Death and burial

Boyd died in Paducha on December 17, 1859. He was buried at Paducah's Oak Grove Cemetery.

References

1. The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. p. 34.

• United States Congress. "Linn Boyd (id: B000719)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Perrin, William Henry (1884). Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical. F.A. Battey Publishing Company. p. art II, p. 29.