Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky, by H. Levin, editor, 1897. Published
by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago.  Reprinted by Southern Historical
Press.  p. 228.  Jefferson County.

BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW, deceased.  Among Kentucky's citizens of national
fame perhaps no one was more widely known or commanded higher respect from
all classes than this gentleman.  He was a lawyer of profound learning and
one of the most eminent members of the legal profession; he occupied a
position in the cabinet of President Grant, was solicitor general of the
United States, and a man of stern integrity and honesty of purpose, who
despised all unworthy or questionable methods to secure success in any
undertaking or for any purpose, whether political or otherwise.  Not even
the tongue of calumny uttered a word to the contrary, nor did the
malevolence of detraction dare to assail his private reputation.  His name
adorns the pages of history as one of the most brilliant representatives of
that profession to which life, property, right and liberty must look for
protection.
     Benjamin H. Bristow was born in Elkton, Kentucky, June 20, 1832, a son
of Francis Marion and Emily Helm Bristow.  His father was one of the best
known lawyers and politicians in southern Kentucky, was a member of the
constitutional convention in 1849, and represented the third district of
Kentucky in congress.  His mother was a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Helm,
the latter a sister of Ninian Edwards, the first governor of Illinois.
     Having obtained his preliminary education in Elkton, Mr. Bristow was
graduated in 1851 at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.  He was
admitted to the bar in 1853 and practiced with his father until 1858,
when he removed to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and formed a partnership with
Judge R. T. Petree.  He soon achieved prominence at the Kentucky bar.  In
no other profession are such alertness of intellect, such ready command
of resources, such untiring industry and such readiness for intellectual
surprises required; and with a profound knowledge of the science of law,
which an accurate memory placed always at his command, combined with close
reasoning and superior powers of oratory, Mr. Bristow stood foremost among
the lawyers of his native state.
     But when treason was trailing the flag of the nation in the dust and
aiming its thrusts at the heart of the republic, he joined the throngs
which came from every avenue of life and took his place in the patriotic
army.  Casting his fortunes with the Union, in connection with Colonel
Shackelford, he recruited the Twenty-fifth Kentucky Infantry Regiment, of
which he was made lieutenant-colonel.  He soon became noted for his
coolness and bravery on the field of battle, and served with distinction
in the engagements about Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and in the battle
of Shiloh.  At the latter action he was wounded, but after his recovery
he was active in recruiting the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, of
which he was made colonel.  He participated in the pursuit and capture of
Morgan's raiders in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, and while in the field, in
1863, he was elected to the state senate.  Other pressing claims, however,
prevented him from giving the fullest attention to his legislative duties,
and accordingly he resigned.
     Upon November 2, 1865, Mr. Bristow was appointed to the office of
assistant United States attorney for the district of Kentucky, and removed
to Louisville.  Upon May 4, 1866, he was appointed to the office of United
States attorney for that district.  Upon January 1, 1870, Mr. Bristow
resigned from the office of Unites States attorney and formed a partnership
for the practice of law with John M. Harlan, now (1897) one of the justices
of the supreme court of the United.  Upon October 4, 1870, when the office
of solicitor general was created by congress, Mr. Bristow was appointed
by President Grant as the first incumbent.  Upon November 12, 1872, he
resigned the office of solicitor general and accepted an appointment as
general counsel of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, but retained that
position only a short period, preferring the private practice of law in
Louisville.  Upon June 3, 1874, he was appointed by President Grant to
the office of secretary of the treasury of the United States, and during
the first year of his term he unearthed and exposed the frauds of the
whiskey ring,--a service of incalculable benefit to the country.  His
official acts as a member of the cabinet have become a matter of history,
and suffice it to say that he ably discharged the onerous duties connected
with the position following the disastrous consequences of the civil war.
In 1876 his name was prominently mentioned in connection with the candidacy
of the Republican party for the presidency.
     Upon his retirement from the cabinet Mr. Bristow resumed the practice
of law in Louisville and was a leading member of the Kentucky bar until
1878, when he removed to New York city, where he soon gathered about him
a large and lucrative clientele.  He became attorney for some of the most
prominent corporations of New York, and was recognized as one of the ablest
jurists of that city.  He was a lawyer of exceptional learning, tact and
ability, and a man of singularly splendid and mental endowments and
substantial character.  He left the impress of his brilliant mental power,
his wonderful ability and his noble manhood on the affairs of state and the
nation, and is one of the leading figures in the history of the country
during the war and the reconstruction period.
     Mr. Bristow married Abbie Slaughter Briscoe, in Elizabethtown,
Kentucky, November 21, 1854, and had two children.  His last illness was
of only three days' duration and death came on June 22, 1896.
     At a meeting of the bar of Louisville, convened for the purpose of
taking action on his death, the following resolutions were passed:
     "RESOLVED, That we, the members of the bench and bar of Louisville,
deeply feeling the loss of our friend and brother, General Bristow, desire
to formally testify our appreciation of his worth.
     "As a citizen he was intensely loyal and patriotic; as a member of
this community he was respected and beloved for his courtesy, kindness
and rigid honesty; as an army officer he was brave and ever ready to
perform his duties; as a civil officer in times when it became necessary
to antagonize his friends and fellow Kentuckians he rendered services
as district attorney for this federal district faithfully, with zeal and
ability, tempered by kindness and feeling; as a member of this bar he
ranked among the foremost of his profession; and his removal from this
city was a marked loss to the local bar and the community.  His behavior
toward the bench and his brethren at the bar was a notable and happy union
of dignity and courtesy."

Bristow Briscoe Harlan Petree Helm Edwards
=
Todd-KY Christian-KY NY PA

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/jefferson/bristow.bh.txt