# James Stephens Speed

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For the U.S. Attorney General under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson from 1864 to 1866, see [James Speed](/source/James_Speed).

**James Stephens Speed** (February 14, 1811 – August 7, 1860) was the ninth [Mayor](/source/List_of_mayors_of_Louisville,_Kentucky) of [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville,_Kentucky).[1]

## Life

His father, John Speed, moved to [Jefferson County](/source/Jefferson_County,_Kentucky) in about 1795 and established a farm on Salt River Rd. (which became Dixie Highway), about 9 miles south of Louisville. James Speed moved to Louisville in his late teens and within a few years became a partner in a building and railroad contracting firm, Pickett and Speed.

He was elected to the [Kentucky House of Representatives](/source/Kentucky_House_of_Representatives) in 1843, and appointed a [United States marshal](/source/United_States_marshal) by president [Zachary Taylor](/source/Zachary_Taylor) in 1849. He was served as mayor of Louisville from April 26, 1852, to April 1855. The rules governing the office were confusing, and Speed was actually re-elected by popular vote each year of his term yet never awarded an election certificate. Speed argued that his original election meant his term lasted until 1856, but a resolution in 1855 called for a new election that year. The election was won by the [Know-Nothing](/source/Know-Nothing) candidate, [John Barbee](/source/John_Barbee). Speed did not run in the election and believed that he would remain mayor anyway, but Barbee was recognized as mayor by the city council, overriding Speed's veto. Speed appealed but ultimately lost at the [Kentucky Supreme Court](/source/Kentucky_Supreme_Court).[citation needed]

The Know-Nothings were inspired by editorials of the *[Louisville Daily Courier](/source/Louisville_Daily_Courier)*, which opposed Speed for his [Catholicism](/source/Catholicism) (he was a Catholic convert for his marriage), a major local controversy of the time (Speed was the first Catholic mayor).[2] In 1856 Speed moved to Chicago, where he spent the remainder of his life. As mayor, he was chiefly concerned with public works projects, such as the water works and street improvement. =[citation needed]

Speed died on August 7, 1860, in [Chicago](/source/Chicago).[3]

## Notes

1. [Bio data](http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/sparling-spellman.html)

1. Ford, Bridget (2016). [*Bonds of Union: Religion, Race, and Politics in a Civil War Borderland*](https://books.google.com/books?id=hmI3CwAAQBAJ). UNC Press Books. p. 26. ISBN 9781469626239.

1. ["The Death of James S. Speed"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102807345/the-death-of-james-s-speed-10-aug/). *The Louisville Daily Courier*. 1860-08-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-05-29. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

## References

- Yater, George H. (1987). *Two Hundred Years at the Fall of the Ohio: A History of Louisville and Jefferson County*. 2nd ed. [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville,_Kentucky): [Filson Club, Incorporated](/source/The_Filson_Historical_Society). ISBN 0-9601072-3-1.
- "Speed, James Stephens". *The Encyclopedia of Louisville*. 1 ed. 2001.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Stephens Speed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stephens_Speed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stephens_Speed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.