James Breckinridge

James Breckinridge (March 7, 1763May 13, 1833) was a Virginia lawyer and politician and a member of the Breckinridge family. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. He also fought in the American Revolutionary War and served as a brigadier-general during the War of 1812. Family and early life Breckinridge was born near Fincastle in Botetourt County in the Colony of Virginia. He was the son of Robert Breckinridge whose father had immigrated from Ireland. His mother was the former Leticia Preston. His brother was John Breckinridge and he was the great-great-great-uncle of John Bayne Breckinridge. He married Ann Cary Selden (daughter of Wilson Cary Selden & Elizabeth Jennings) born 1770 died 1843. He studied under private tutors and during the Revolutionary War, he served in Colonel Preston's rifle regiment under General Nathanael Greene. He attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) and graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1785. He studied law and was admitted to the bar and practiced in Fincastle in 1787. He built Breckinridge Mill in 1822, to replace an earlier mill he built in 1804. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, with a boundary increase in 2002.