Thomas B. McGregor
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Courtesy of Marshall County Genealogical Society
The son of William N. McGregor and Mary J. Reeves, Thomas Burnett McGregor was born in the Iola community of west Marshall County on September 14, 1881. A descendant of the celebrated Highland “Macgregor Clan” of Scotland, Thomas McGregor’s ancestors took part in the famous Jacobite rising of 1745 which eventually caused the family to flee to America where they settled in North Carolina. Years later, Thomas Burnett’s grandfather seeking a better life was attracted to western Kentucky in the 1830s. According to McGregor family history which was recorded in the McGregor family Bible, “William N. McGregor, father of Thomas. B, a hardware merchant of Benton, was also born in Marshall County. The grandfather William Casey McGregor and the great-grandfather likewise rejoiced in the name of William. Forebears were Scotch Covenanters and since his the spelling of the name has been changed from MacGregor to McGregor. The mother of Thomas B. McGregor bore the maiden name of Mary J. Reeves. She was born in Graves County, Kentucky, the daughter of Alp Reeves, a brave Confederate soldier who was killed in battle.”
As a young boy, Thomas McGregor attended school at Elva for his first eight years of his life and later enrolled at Marshall County Seminary School in Benton. When he turned seventeen, McGregor was awarded a certificate to teach and taught in several one-room schools throughout the county.
McGregor graduated from the Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee with a degree in law in 1901. He returned to Kentucky and was admitted to the bar in Eddyville where he first began his practice. Not long after, McGregor came home to Marshall County and entered into partnership with W. Mike Oliver with law offices in Paducah and Benton. Om December 19, 1906, McGregor married Nell Palmer of Benton and they had one daughter, Eleanor Palmer McGregor.
Despite living in “the heart of the Gibraltar of Democratic politics,” McGregor was a staunch Republican from a very young age. He was chosen as secretary of the Marshall County Republican Committee and he led his party’s ticket in 1905 when he was a candidate for County Attorney, losing to Democrat Coy Reeder. Two years later, McGregor was the Republican nominee for Sixth District State Representative, and despite losing, he carried Lyon County and reduced the Democratic majority in Marshall County from more than twelve-hundred to just sixty-two votes.
The following year, McGregor was appointed Assistant Attorney General by Attorney General James Breathitt. McGregor was placed in charge of the department of schools, insurance, and agriculture, and during his tenure, he successfully tried over four hundred cases before the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
At the Republican State Convention in Louisville in 1911, McGregor was unanimously chosen as the Republican nominee for Attorney General and opened his campaign in the Republican-leaning town of Hopkinsville on September 9, 1911. In his speech, which sounded more like a stump speech for governor than attorney general, McGregor called for improved schools, roads, and better conditions for farmers. McGregor ran a strong race, but was a casualty of the sweep which saw every Democrat on the ballot coast to victory on the coattails of Governor James B. McCreary smashing win in November 1911.
Following his loss, McGregor continued to practice law in Frankfort where he gained a reputation as an eloquent speaker and he traveled the Chautauqua Circuit throughout the roaring ‘20s giving lectures on a wide variety of subjects. With his homespun yet articulate style, McGregor received national appraise and was often compared to Mark Twain and Robert J. Burdett.
McGregor remained active in the Kentucky Republican politics in the 1920s and served as an assistant in the attorney general’s office. When Kentucky Attorney General Charles I. Dawson resigned his position in order to run for governor in 1923, McGregor was appointed to fill the remainder of his term by Governor Edwin P. Morrow. McGregor is one of only two men from Marshall County to serve in statewide elective office (the other being Gus Coulter who served as State Auditor in 1900-1904).
Throughout his career, McGregor was also appointed to several state boards and commissions by governors of both parties. Republican governor August E. Willson appointed McGregor to the Lincoln Centenary Celebration committee in 1911. When the Kentucky Public Service Commission was formed in the 1930s to regulate and oversee public utilities, McGregor was appointed to serve by Democratic governor and close friend A.B. “Happy” Chandler. In the 1940s, McGregor was named to the Board of Regents for Eastern Kentucky University by Governor Simeon S. Willis. Due to his many years of work for Eastern Kentucky University, McGregor Hall was named in his honor in 1957. McGregor was elected Circuit Judge of the Franklin County circuit in the 1940s where he served until his death. After a long career in public service, Thomas Burnett McGregor passed away on September 17, 1965 in Frankfort.