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- Aaron Kitchell Woolley was born in Springfield, New Jersey, and after taking some courses at West Point, practiced law in Port Gibson, Mississippi. He visited Lexington in 1827 where he met the eldest daughter of Robert Wickliffe, Sallie Howard Wickliffe, married her on October 9th of that year, and became law partner to his father-in-law. He was elected to represent Fayette County in the Ky. House of Representatives from 1832-34 then the Senate from 1835-41. He was judge of the circuit court of Fayette County, and also professor in the law college of Transylvania University. According to Ranck, "He was a good lawyer and a fine speaker, possessed of a strong, clear intellect, and gifted with fine conversational powers (History, p. 196)." By 1844 it had become obvious to the Old Duke that the Judge was more willing to get his wife pregnant than he was to help support her growing family. Sallie had at least 14 children, only 8 of whom lived to adulthood. In March of 1849, he told his father-in-law he wanted to become a foreign diplomat and so would no longer take care of his wife and family -- his family knew that he was too drunk and too much in debt from gambling to do anything. "Sister is so miserable, that she had far better be dead, but I think if he would never show her his face again, that it would be the best luck, that has befallen her since her marriage - He has been gambling and lost largely, and has been staggering home drunk, (so his son Robert informs Pa), every night for the last month." (Margaret W. Preston to William Preston, March 4, 1849, Box 46, W-PFP).
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