Much of the legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in the nineteenth century involved private bills—divorces, incorporation of companies, relief of indigent persons, etc. For example, an act was approved February 21, 1840, to incorporate the Louisville Pottery Company for the purpose of manufacturing ovenware and china. An act of January 9, 1847, officially changed the name of James P. Conkin to James P. Hagan and legitimized him as the son of Hiram Hagan of Monroe County, thereby making him eligible to inherit.
Legislation for local fire companies in Louisville, Elizabethtown, Shelbyville, and Paducah was also passed in the 1840s. In 1888, however, Gov. Simon Bolivar Buckner vetoed a bill to establish a Fireman’s Relief Fund for the city of Covington, based on state taxes paid by insurance companies. A reel driver and two pipemen for the Covington fire department are shown here in 1877. Photo contributed to An Ohio River Portrait Collection by Jim Perry. KHS Collections.
