Jesse David Bright

Jesse David Bright was born December 18, 1812, in Norwich, Chenago County, New York. In 1820, the family moved to Madison, Indiana. Bright attended public schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1831. He practiced law in Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana. In 1834, he was elected judge of the probate court of Jefferson County and served until 1839. Bright became a member of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1836 and was appointed U. S. Marshal for the district of Indiana, serving from January 9, 1840 to December 6, 1840. Bright served as Lieutenant Governor of Indiana under Governor James Whitcomb from 1843 to 1845 and was elected as a Democrat to the U. S. Senate in 1845. He was subsequently re-elected in 1850 and 1856, and served as President pro tempore of the Senate in 1854, 1856, and 1860. He served until February 5, 1862, when he was expelled for having written a letter to Jefferson Davis addressing him as “President of the Confederate States.” In 1863, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the U. S. Senate trying to regain the seat caused by his expulsion. Bright moved to a farm he owned in Carrollton, Kentucky in 1863 and then to Covington, Kentucky. He was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1866. He served as president of the Raymond City Coal Company in 1871 and, while still being associated with the coal company, moved to Baltimore in 1874. He died May 20, 1875, in Baltimore, Maryland and was buried there in Greenmount Cemetery.

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