National Governors Association

Born: January 1, 1750
Died: April 27, 1818
Birth State: Virginia
Party: Jeffersonian Republican
Family: Married Mary Catherine Pope; two children

Periods in Office:	From:	September 5, 1804
	To:	September 1, 1808

State website

Higher Office(s) Served: Representative

Military Service: National Guard

War(s) Served: Revolutionary War

CHRISTOPHER GREENUP was born in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1750. He studied law with Colonel Charles Binns, was admitted to the bar in 1783, and established a legal career in Fayette County, Kentucky (which was then a part of Virginia). During the Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant in the 16th Virginia Regiment, and later was commissioned colonel of a Virginia militia regiment. Greenup entered politics in 1785, serving as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He also was clerk of the district court at Harrodsburg from 1785 to 1792, was a member of the 1785 and 1788 conventions, and served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from November 9, 1792 to March 3, 1797. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1798, was clerk of the Kentucky State Senate from 1799 to 1802, and served on the bench of the Frankfort circuit court in 1802. Greenup won election to the Kentucky governorship in 1804. During his tenure, a state bank in Frankfort was organized, a canal was planned near the falls in Louisville, commercial prospects were developed coinciding with the opening of U.S. navigation on the Mississippi River, and the appointment of honest administrators in key governmental positions was endorsed. After finishing his term, Greenup returned to his legal career, serving as the Franklin County justice of the peace in 1812. He also served as a presidential elector in 1808, and was one of the original trustees of Transylvania University. Governor Christopher Greenup died on April 27, 1818, and was buried in the State Cemetery, in Frankfort, Kentucky.

*Note: exact date of birth is not known.

Sources:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Wikipedia.org