Herman Emil Taubeneck (January 2, 1855 - March 19, 1900) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

and as National Chairman of the People's Party.

Early life

Herman Emil Taubeneck was born January 2, 1855, in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

to German-American immigrants Otto and Emma Taubeneck (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Nonneubluck) The family lived in Terre Haute until moving to a farmer near

Marshall, Illinois Marshall is a city in and the county seat of Clark County, Illinois, United States, located approximately west of Terre Haute, Indiana. The population was 3,947 at the 2020 census. History Marshall was officially organized by William B. Archer ...

in 1860. His formal education consisted of schooling typical of the era, one course at Commercial College in Terra Haute, and reading law working under Jacob W. Wilkin at the firm of Wilkin & Wilkin in Marshall. In the late 1880s, he engaged in the timber business and as a contractor for ties, staves, and piling.

Illinois House of Representatives

In the 1890 general election, Taubeneck was elected to the

as one of three representatives from the 45th district alongside Democrat Lawrence Kelly and Republican Ethelbert Callahan. Two other members of Farmers' Alliance were elected that cycle; James Cockrell of Marion County and

Hosea H. Moore Hosea Hartwell Moore (November 18, 1842 ― January 7, 1913) was an American doctor, farmer, and politician who served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1891 to 1893. Biography Hosea Hartwell Moore was born November 18, 184 ...

of Wayne County. In the 1892 general election, Taubeneck was not a successful candidate for reelection, with the 45th district returning Democratic incumbent Lawrence Kelly, Democratic newcomer James P. Warren, and Republican incumbent Ethelbert Callahan to the House. In the 1891 United States Senate election, the Farmers' Alliance legislators held the balance of power over whom the Illinois General Assembly appointed to the United States Senate. The "Big Three" chose to support

Alson Streeter Alson Jenness Streeter (January 18, 1823 – November 24, 1901) was an American farmer, miner and politician who was the Union Labor Party nominee in the United States presidential election of 1888. He was also an early member of the National Gr ...

. While Taubeneck stuck with Streeter, Cockrell and Moore defected from the Farmers' Alliance position and voted with the Democratic caucus for John M. Palmer. These defections irreparably damaged the reputation of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. Early in his term, Taubeneck was accused of actually being W. H. Rogers, a criminal who defrauded his way out of an Ohio prison in 1886. A five member committee was established by the Illinois House to investigate the matter. Ultimately, the accusation was put to bed due to the height disparity between Taubeneck and Rogers.

National Populist Party

Taubeneck's steadfast backing of Streeter and refusal to defect to Palmer during the Senate election won him national accolades and inspired his fellow Populists to elect him chair of the national party. He served as chairman from 1891 to 1896. While chairman, Taubeneck was an advocate for the Populist embrace of the Free Silver movement and of fusionism. After the 1896 convention,

Marion Butler Marion Butler (May 20, 1863June 3, 1938) was an American politician, farmer, and lawyer. He represented North Carolina in the United States Senate for one term, serving between 1895 and 1901. At the time, he was a leader of the North Carolina P ...

became the party's chair. In the

1896 United States presidential election The 1896 United States presidential election was the 28th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican candidate, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the ...

, Taubeneck served as a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

for the Bryan- Watson ticket.

Death

In 1898, he moved to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He died March 19, 1900, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Taubeneck, Herman 1855 births 1900 deaths Members of the Illinois House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians Illinois Populists Farmers from Illinois People from Clark County, Illinois People from Terre Haute, Indiana