Lexington in Fayette County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Thomas 'Tommy' Britton

Thomas 'Tommie' Britton Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 27, 2021

1. Thomas 'Tommie' Britton Marker

Inscription. Laura and Henry Britton were free blacks who purchased a home in 1856 in the Gratz Park area near Transylvania University in Lexington. Henry earned his living as a barber, and Laura as a seamstress. They were parents of twelve known children. One of their sons, Tommy, was listed in the 1888 city directory as a 'hostler,' a handler of horses at the race track. But Tommy Britton is better known as a jockey riding for such stables as the Talbot brothers, the Scroggan brothers, and Ed Corrigan. Britton won the 1891 Kentucky Oaks; placed second in the 1892 Kentucky Derby, and won the 1891 and 1892 Tennessee Derbies. In 1895, he won five races in one day at Latonia. Britton was born in April 1870 and committed suicide 19 May 1901. He left a note indicating his despondency over the accidental death of his eight-year-old son, Tommie. The son's marker is in Section B between John B. Oldham and Missouri Bell. Britton has no grave marker, but this concrete marker, similar to one for Isaac Murphy, may have been erected in his honor.
Biographical information courtesy of
Yvonne Giles and Anne Butler, PhD
Sign produced with support from a University of Kentucky
Commonwealth Collaboratives Grant
'Young Equestrian Scholars Initiative'

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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Sports. A significant historical date for this entry is May 19, 1901.

Location. 38° 3.091′ N, 84° 28.658′ W. Marker is in Lexington, Kentucky, in Fayette County. It can be reached from East 7th Street. Marker is located in African Cemetery No. 2. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 419 East 7th Street, Lexington KY 40508, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: African Americans in the Horse Industry Buried Here (a few steps from this marker); Joseph Scott (a few steps from this marker); Isaac Burns Murphy (within shouting distance of this marker); Oliver Lewis

Thomas 'Tommy' Britton Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 23, 2022

2. Thomas 'Tommy' Britton Marker

(within shouting distance of this marker); James 'Soup' Perkins (within shouting distance of this marker); Trainers (within shouting distance of this marker); Cassius Clay Tankersly (c. 1866-1886) (within shouting distance of this marker); Abraham Perry (1842-1908) (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lexington.

Also see . . . Britton, Thomas M., Sr. "Tom". From the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database. (Submitted on March 31, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 29, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 31, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,483 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 31, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2. submitted on July 29, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.