 Breathitt was educated at home and in the public schools of his native state . His family moved to Logan County , Kentucky in 1800 , and he continued his education there . In early adulthood , he was appointed as a deputy surveyor in Illinois Territory . He then returned to Kentucky to teach in a country school . He invested his income in land purchases , and shortly amassed enough wealth to sustain him for a few years . Financially stable , he resolved to read law under Judge Caleb Wallace . He was admitted to the bar of Russellville , Kentucky in 1810 and opened his practice there . 
