John W. Finnell

General John W. Finnell was born in Winchester, Kentucky, December 24, 1821. His ancestors were from Orange County, Virginia. His father, Nimrod L. Finnell, was a practical printer, and was, at various times, either sole or joint editor and proprietor of the Lexington Observer and Reporter, Lexington Intelligencer, Covington Licking Valley Register, and other papers in Kentucky; was an ardent Whig, and a bold, vigorous, and fearless writer; he died December 8, 1850. John W. Finnell graduated at Transylvania University when only 17 years of age; learned the art of printing, with his father, and at 19, assisted him in the editorial conduct of the Lexington Daily Intelligencer, 1840; studied law with Richard H. Menefee, and graduated at Transylvania law school, 1841; settled in Carlisle, Nicholas co., and soon obtained a handsome practice; was the Whig candidate for the Ky. house of representatives and elected, 1843, although the county was largely Democratic; during the session of the legislature, was induced to assume the editorial control of the Frankfort Commonwealth, then one of the leading Whig organs in the state, and held that position until 1848, when he was appointed secretary of state, by Governor, John J. Crittenden; was re-appointed to the same office, by Governor John L. Helm, July, 1850, when Governor Crittenden resigned, to accept the office of attorney general in President Fillmore's cabinet; removed to Covington, 1852, and resumed the practice of law.

In 1854, during the great financial crisis which involved the failure of so many banks and bankers, he was appointed special commissioner of the Kenton and Campbell circuit courts, to close up the affairs of the Kentucky Trust Co. Bank and the Newport Safety Fund Bank. This delicate duty was discharged with such tact, judgment, and fidelity that the creditors were paid in full of all their demands, while at the time of their suspension the claims did not command a third of their value. Mr. Finnell was a member of the convention in 1860 that nominated Bell and Everett for president and vice president, and engaged actively in the canvass. In 1861, he was elected from Kenton County as a "Union" candidate to the legislature, and there took an advanced position in favor of the Union; his earnest efforts were then directed towards sustaining that cause in Kentucky. He was appointed adjutant general of the state, October 12, 1861, by Governor Magoffin, and successfully discharged, at the most trying time, the onerous and perplexing duties of the office. On the accession of Gen. Bramlette to the chair of state, in September, 1863, General Finnell declined a continuance in office, and remained in private life until 1867, when he was appointed register in bankruptcy for the 6th district of Kentucky at Covington. In 1870, he removed to Louisville, where, in 1872, he became and still is (February, 1873,) managing editor of the Louisville Daily Commercial. Gen. Finnell is an elegant and genial writer and speaker, a fine lawyer, remarkable for his tact, energy, and suavity, and the very soul of every coterie. Over the nom de plume of "Jeems Giles of Owen," he has established a "Mark Twain" department in the Commercial which is marked for its originality and power, and is growing in popularity.


Source: History of Kentucky, Volume II, by Lewis Collins, Published by Collins & Company,
Covington, Kentucky, 1874