Breathitt County, Kentucky: History
The area now encompassed by Kentucky's Breathitt County was first bounded in 1772, when all of what is now the state of Kentucky was in the frontier county of Fincastle County, Virginia. Fincastle was divided in 1776, with the western portion named Kentucky County, Virginia. In 1780, Virginia set aside all land in Kentucky County for soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War. In 1780, Kentucky County was divided into 3 counties, Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln. Lincoln County was divided in 1799, with part becoming Knox County. In 1807, the Legislature partitioned the upper part of Knox to create Clay County. On February 6, 1839, a portion of Clay (along with portions of Estill and Perry counties) was partitioned off to create Breathitt County. It was named for Governor John Breathitt. The first people to actually settle on the land that became Breathitt County were Joseph Back (1745–1819), his wife Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard (1755–1826), and their four children: Joseph Back Jr. (1773–1802); John Back (1774–1854); Mary Back (1777–1807); and Henry Back (1785–1871).