John W. Taylor (March 26, 1784 – September 18, 1854) was an early 19th-century U.S. politician from

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. He was the first speaker of the House of Representatives from the state.

Life

Taylor was born in 1784 in that part of the Town of Ballston, then in

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

, which was, upon the creation of

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 popul ...

in 1791, split off to form the Town of Charlton. He received his first education at home. Taylor graduated from

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in 1803 as

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of his class. Then he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and practiced in

Ballston Spa, New York Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, wa ...

. In 1806, he married Jane Hodge (died 1838), of

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, and they had eight children. He was a member from Saratoga County of the

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in 1812 and 1812–13. Taylor served in 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 ...

for 20 years, from 1813 to 1833, and was twice elected as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

: in 1820 and in 1825. In 1819, he supported the proposed

Tallmadge Amendment The Tallmadge Amendment was a proposed amendment to a bill regarding the admission of the Territory of Missouri as a state, under which Missouri would be admitted as a free state. The amendment was submitted in the U.S. House of Representati ...

regarding the

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southeas ...

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as a free state (which passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate), and was a staunch proponent of the subsequent

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

of March 1820. During the floor debate on the Tallmadge Amendment, Taylor boldly criticized southern lawmakers who frequently voiced their dismay that slavery was entrenched and necessary to their existence. After leaving Congress, Taylor resumed his law practice in Ballston Spa, and was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(4th D.) in 1841 and

1842 Events January–March * January ** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. ** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...

. He resigned his seat on August 19, 1842, after suffering a paralytic

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. In 1843, he moved to

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, to live with his eldest daughter and her husband William D. Beattie, and died there 11 years later.''Genealogy of Judge John Taylor and His Descendants '', pages 25ff
/ref> He was buried in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery.

References

External links

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 70ff, 133, 146, 186f and 309; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John W Speakers of the United States House of Representatives 1784 births 1854 deaths Union College (New York) alumni New York (state) National Republicans New York (state) state senators Burials in Saratoga County, New York Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives People from Ballston, New York 19th-century American politicians American colonization movement