John Taliaferro
John Taliaferro(1768 – August 12, 1852) was a 19th century politician, lawyer and librarian fromVirginia,serving several non-consecutive terms in theU.S. House of Representativesin the early 19th century.
Early life and education
[edit]Born on "Hays" nearFredericksburg, Virginia,Taliaferro attended the common schools as a child. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in Fredericksburg.
Career
[edit]Taliaferro was elected aDemocratic-Republicanto theUnited States House of Representativesin 1800, serving from 1801 to 1803. In 1811 he was elected again and served until 1813. His seat was at first declared for his opponent,John Hungerford,but after a lengthy investigation and official rulings as to the legitimacy of the election, Taliaferro was eventually awarded the seat. The initial House committee ruled in Hungerford's favor, but upon review the House itself decided that many ineligible voters had voted, which resulted in Hungerford's removal from office, as the resulting vote tally from the election gave Taliferro a majority of 121 votes.[1][2]
In 1823 Taliaferro was elected to the House a third time, originally to fill a vacancy as aCrawford Republican,Adams RepublicanandAnti-Jacksonian.He served from 1824 to 1831.
Taliferro's name is listed as the author of an anti-Jackson handbill distributed during thecampaign of 1828.The handbill is called "Supplemental account of some of the bloody deeds of General Jackson" and describes itself as a supplement to theCoffin Handbills.In it, Jackson is accused of "atrocious and unnatural acts," including eating mercilessly-slaughtered Indians for breakfast.[3]
Taliferro served in theVirginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830.He was elected as one of four delegates from a state Senate district of his home county in the Northern Neck, King George County, including Westmoreland, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Stafford and Prince William Counties.[4]
Elected a fourth time in 1834, he ran as anAnti-JacksonianandWhig,serving from 1835 to 1843. He was chairman of theCommittee on Revolutionary Pensionsfrom 1839 to 1843.
Taliaferro worked as a librarian at theUnited States Department of the Treasuryfrom 1850 to 1852. He died at his farm "Hagley" near Fredericksburg on August 12, 1852. He was interred on the property.
References
[edit]- ^"Hind's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives, Chapter 25"(PDF).1907. pp. 14–16.
- ^"The Origin of Disputed Elections: Case Studies of Early American Contested Congressional Elections".Albany Law Review. 2017.
- ^Taliaferro, John."Supplemental account of some of the bloody deeds of General Jackson, being a supplement to the" Coffin handbill. "[Cuts of 6 coffins]... John Taliaferro. Member of Congress from Northern Neck, Va. [1828]".The Library of Congress.Retrieved2016-02-15.
- ^Pulliam 1901, p. 71, 82
Bibliography
[edit]- Pulliam, David Loyd (1901).The Constitutional Conventions of Virginia from the foundation of the Commonwealth to the present time.John T. West, Richmond.ISBN978-1-2879-2059-5.
- United States Congress."John Taliaferro (id: T000027)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- United States Congress."John Taliaferro (id: T000027)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- 1768 births
- 1852 deaths
- Virginia lawyers
- Virginia Whigs
- Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia
- Taliaferro family of Virginia
- Virginia National Republicans
- Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
- National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- 19th-century American legislators
- 19th-century Virginia politicians
- Virginia United States Representative stubs