| Office: | District Attorney of Merced County, California |
| Term End: | 1892 |
| Term Start1: | 1884 |
| Term End1: | 1888 |
| Birth Date: | 22 December 1850 |
| Birth Place: | Lexington, Kentucky, US |
| Death Place: | Merced, California, US |
| Alma Mater: | Washington and Lee University |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Occupation: | Lawyer, politician |
| Parents: | John C. Breckinridge Mary Cyrene Burch Breckinridge |
| Spouse: | Harriett Dudley |
| Relatives: | Breckinridge family |
John Witherspoon "Owen" Breckinridge (December 22, 1850 – May 9, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the California State Assembly.
Breckinridge was born on December 22, 1850, in Lexington, Kentucky, in the prominent Breckinridge family.[1] He was the fourth child of John Cabell Breckinridge (1821–1875), who served as Vice-President of the United States under James Buchanan, and Mary Cyrene (née Burch) Breckinridge (1826–1907). Among his siblings were Joseph Cabell Breckinridge, Clifton Rodes Breckinridge,[2] Frances Viley (née Breckenridge) Steele, and Mary Desha (née Breckinridge) Maltby. He was named after his great-great-grandfather, John Witherspoon, who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Known as "Owen" in appreciation of the heavy vote his father received in Owen County,[3] he attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.[4]
Around 1877, Breckinridge moved to California eventually settling in Merced in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley.[5] Breckinridge was a member of California State Assembly from 1884 to 1885.[6] He also served as District Attorney of Merced County, California, until his death in 1892. In his obituary, it was said:[6]
"Mr. Breckinridge was one of the most talented men in California gifted with all that goes to make up a brilliant lawyer and gentleman. Although still a young man, he had climbed high in his profession and was known in many cities and towns of California as a lawyer of unquestioned ability and of unquestioned integrity in business matters."[7]
In 1877, Breckinridge was married to Florence Louise Tevis, a daughter of Lloyd Tevis, the President of Wells Fargo Bank. Together, they were the parents of:
Owen and Louise divorced and she remarried to Frederick William Sharon (a son of U.S. Senator William Sharon)[15] in 1883 with whom she had four more children. Owen remarried to Harriett Dudley.[16]
Breckinridge died on May 9, 1892, in Merced, California.[1]
Through his son John, he was posthumously a grandfather of John Cabell "Bunny" Breckinridge Jr. (1903–1996), an actor and drag queen best known for his role as "The Ruler" in Ed Wood's film Plan 9 from Outer Space.[17]
Through his daughter Florence, he was the grandfather of Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916–1955), the British peer and soldier.[13]
John Witherspoon Breckinridge