John Cox Underwood (September 12, 1840 – October 29, 1913) was an American civil engineer, Confederate veteran, journalist and the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (serving in that capacity from 1875 to 1879).
Overview
John Cox Underwood (September 12, 1840 – October 29, 1913) was an American civil engineer, Confederate veteran, journalist and the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (serving in that capacity from 1875 to 1879).
Early and family life
Underwood was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. on September 12, 1840, the son of U.S. Representative Joseph Rogers Underwood (1791-1876) and his second wife, Elizabeth Threlkeld Cox (1818-1884). His grandfather John Cox (1775-1849) was the mayor of Georgetown (and a slaveholder) from 1823 until 1845, before it was annexed into Washington, D.C. He attended local private schools, then Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York City, from which he received a civil engineering degree in 1862.
He married Drucilla Duncan Underwood (1844-1905) and they had two daughters, Helen Underwood Hine (1873-1958), and her sister Drucilla Underwood Grant.
