John D. Minton Jr., Kentucky’s chief justice and a descendant of early white settlers in Trigg and Christian counties, will speak Thursday at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library for U.S. Constitution Day.
(Library image)
The invitation for Minton, 67, of Bowling Green, to speak about the history of the U.S. Constitution was extended by Becky Quinten, the library’s genealogist. His talk is slated for 10 a.m., and the public is invited.
Minton, who lived briefly in Cadiz as a child, was elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2006 and became chief justice in 2008.
He is descended from Willis and Amelia Minton, natives of North Carolina, who settled in Trigg County around 1811, according to a news release from the library. Minton is also related to one of the early proprietors of Hopkinsville’s first gas station, Sudden Service, which was recently restored as a historic site.
Minton earned his bachelor’s degree in English and history at Western Kentucky University in 1974 and his law degree at the University of Kentucky in 1977. Before being elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court, he was an appellate judge for the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He is a former circuit judge for Warren County and practiced law in Bowling Green for 15 years.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
