Origin of the Kentucky Colonel

Kentucky Colonel (In-Law)

In February 2020 The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels (HOKC) filed a lawsuit against Col. David J. Wright and the Ecology Crossroads Cooperative Foundation for using the trademark "Kentucky Colonels®" (which was unregistered at the time), by the end of the year, in November, the HOKC asked the Judge for a Court Mediated Settlement based on Wright filing an Answer and a Motion for a Declaratory Judgement seeking cancellation of the Kentucky Colonels' Marks in the US District Court with evidence challenging the HOKC's presumptive history, demonstrating a mythical pseudohistory and revealing the entire actual history in fact of the Kentucky Colonel starting in 1775 as the source of Kentucky itself with the Great Pioneer Col. Daniel Boone. The lawsuit was dismissed voluntarily by the HOKC notwithstanding the evidence introduced to the court.

Source of Common-Law Colonelcy

Before the American Revolutionary War began Apr 19, 1775 – Sep 3, 1783, the 13 colonies were under the control of its native colonels based on Patriots (Colonists) expelling the heads of colonial governments in 1774 and 1775 that were aligned with the Royal Crown. By January of 1775 colonels in all 13 colonies began to occupy the posts of a new government in formation. One of the greatest things these men had in common was that they were born in the colonies, whereas the highest government officials were Lords, Dukes and Barons from England and everyone knew who they were, when Colonel Thomas Paine published "Common Sense."

The role of the Colonel as the highest moral authority in Colonial America was clear, they were there to delegate authority, maintain order and establish a civil governments, because that is what they did and in essence succeeded eliminating their own office once the job was accomplished. The Colonels of the American Revolution included most of its Founding Fathers.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Appalachian mountains, Col. Richard Henderson proprietor of the newly chartered Transylvania Company (under NC Patriot Law) commissioned Daniel Boone a Colonel to build the Wilderness Road to what would become Boonesborough where the Kentucky Magna Charta was written and signed by the first colonels of Kentucky, its founders. This is the origin and source of the Kentucky Colonel we know in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, even the First Governor of Kentucky was selected by its colonels in 1791.

Col. Daniel Boone Portrait by Chester Harding

Colonel Daniel Boone
Author of Kentucke

Kentucky Colonel Classic Style

2nd Generation Plantation Colonel Southern Style
In Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee there were thousands of warrant deeds claimed for land as payment for winning the war against England, Colonels claimed up to 6,667 acres each until 1790. It was about 20-50 years later the colonel was replaced by the planation owner creating a foundation for the style used of the 1978 bourbon bottle originally appearing in 1890 in Opie Read's book A Kentucky Colonel shown here.