Speed
JAMES, an American lawyer; born in Jefferson co., Ky., March 11, 1812; was graduated at St. Joseph's College in that State; commenced the practice of law in Louisville, and in 1847 was elected to the lower house of the Legislature, and in 1861 to the Senate.
The outbreak of the Civil War found Judge Speed an uncompromising Union man, and he took charge of the recruiting stations in Kentucky. He was a brother of JOSHUA F. SPEED, the friend of Abraham Lincoln, and it was probably through this acquaintance with his brother that Lincoln came to select Speed for a place in his cabinet, though he had previously gained distinction as a lawyer and professor in the Law School of Transylvania University at Lexington. Speed was appointed Attorney-General in November, 1864, and was retained in the office by President Johnson after the assassination of Mr.
Lincoln till July, 1866, when he resigned. He died June 25, 1887.