John Taliaferro (1768 – August 12, 1852) was a 19th century politician, lawyer and librarian from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, serving several non-consecutive terms in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the early

19th Century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

Early life and education

Born on "Hays" near

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, Taliaferro attended the common schools as a child. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in Fredericksburg.

Career

Taliaferro was elected a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 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. In 1823, Taliaferro was elected to the House a third time, originally to fill a vacancy as a

Crawford Republican William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...

, Adams Republican and

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

. He served from 1824 to 1831. Taliferro's name is listed as the author of an anti-Jackson handbill distributed during the campaign of 1828. The handbill is called "Supplemental account of some of the bloody deeds of General Jackson" and describes itself as a supplement to the Coffin Handbills. In it, Jackson is accused of "atrocious and unnatural acts," including eating mercilessly-slaughtered Indians for breakfast. Taliferro served in the Virginia 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. Pulliam 1901, p. 71, 82 Elected a fourth time in 1834, he ran as an

and Whig, serving from 1835 to 1843. He was chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions from 1839 to 1843. Taliaferro worked as a librarian at the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

from 1850 to 1852. He died at his farm "Hagley" near Fredericksburg on August 12, 1852. He was interred on the property.

References

Bibliography

* 1768 births 1852 deaths Virginia lawyers Virginia Whigs Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia John 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 {{Virginia-Representative-stub