High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! James Turner Morehead (May 24, 1797 – December 28, 1854) was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state. A member of Henry Clay`s National Republican Party, Morehead entered politics just as his party was beginning to challenge the Democratic Party`s dominance in the state.