Hon. Bezaleel Taft Jr. was born in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also being the largest in area. The largest city and tra ...

on September 8, 1780 and died in Uxbridge, at age 65 on July 16, 1846. He was a State Senator and Massachusetts politician.

Early life

Bazaleel Taft Jr. was the son of

Bezaleel Taft Sr. Bezaleel Taft Sr. (November 3, 1750 – June 21, 1839) was an American Revolutionary War soldier, Captain and American legislator from Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Early life Bezaleel Taft Sr. was born to Lydia Chapin Taft and Josiah Taft at Uxb ...

and Sarah Richardson Taft. His father had served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was educated at Harvard, and was married twice. He was married to Margaret Stoddard Spring and then to Hannah Spring.

Career

Bezaleel Taft Jr. was a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

. He returned to Uxbridge to practice law next door to his father Bezaleel Taft Sr. He followed his father's footsteps, and his grandfather Josiah by serving as a legislator. Hon. Bezaleel Taft Jr. had a long and distinguished career of public service as a state legislator, having served in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

and in the state Senate in the 1800s.

Historic home, "Elmshade"

In 1807, Bezaleel Taft Sr. built the "

Elmshade The Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office are a historic house and law office building at 195 South Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On November 7, 1983, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The House and Law of ...

" home at 195 South Main Street as a gift for Bezaleel Taft Jr after his son graduated from Harvard Law School. The son was practicing law, so a brick law office was also built. Bezaleel Taft Jr. was elected multiple times as a State Senator and a representative to the

, and served on the State Executive Council. He was President of the Blackstone National Bank for nearly 20 years and was a bank founder. Five generations of Taft's lived in "Elmshade". A number of them had powerful political and legal careers, including George S. Taft. George was Bezaleel Jr's son, a lawyer, District Attorney, and private secretary to U.S. Senator George Hoar. George's influence may have led to the Lincoln Square,

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Court House being erected. A family reunion at "Elmshade", in 1874, was likely attended by a young future US President,

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

.* The historic home is listed under the List of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge.

Family roots and public service

Bezaleel Taft Jr. and his father were descendants of

Robert Taft Sr The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, the first American Taft, who homesteaded in this town in 1680. Bezaleel Taft Jr. was the great great grandson of Robert Taft Sr. His grandmother,

Lydia Chapin Taft Lydia Taft (née Chapin; February 2, 1712November 9, 1778) was the first woman known to legally vote in colonial America. This occurred at a town meeting in the New England town of Uxbridge in Massachusetts Colony, on October 30, 1756. Early ...

, was

America's First Woman Voter Lydia Taft (née Chapin; February 2, 1712November 9, 1778) was the first woman known to legally vote in colonial America. This occurred at a town meeting in the New England town of Uxbridge in Massachusetts Colony, on October 30, 1756. Early lif ...

. His grandfather, Captain

Josiah Taft Josiah Taft (April 2, 1709 – September 30, 1756) was a wealthy landowner in Uxbridge, Massachusetts best known as the husband of Lydia Taft, the first woman to vote in America. Early life Josiah was born on April 2, 1709, at Mendon, Province ...

, had fought in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. His father was a soldier and a Captain in the Worcester 9th Company, in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. The famous

Taft family The Taft family of the United States has historic origins in Massachusetts; its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions such as U.S. Representative (two), Governor of Ohio, ...

in the USA, began here with Robert Taft Sr. and among its descendants includes President Taft. Many members of the Taft family have been prominent in State and national politics, having served as judges, legislators, and in Federal Executive and Judicial positions. Bezaleel Taft's grandfather and father also served in the

, his grandfather under Colonial rule, and his father, under the new United States.

Honors and memberships

Elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1820.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref>

Death and afterwards

Bezaleel Taft Jr. died 16 Jul 1846 at Uxbridge, at age 65, just seven years after his father died. His cause of death is listed as "Consumption" in the Uxbridge vital records. His many children carried on the honorable family name. Five generations of this branch of the Taft family served in the Massachusetts legislature, executive branch and government service including his son George Spring Taft, who served as a secretary to

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

George Frisbie Hoar George Frisbie Hoar (August 29, 1826 – September 30, 1904) was an American attorney and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1877 to 1904. He belonged to an extended family that became politically prominen ...

from Massachusetts. A young

may have heard his father, Alphonso Taft, deliver a passionate oratory on this history of the Taft family and its roots in Uxbridge, at Bazaleel Taft Jr's "Elmshade" during one of the famous Taft family reunions. "

Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office The Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office are a historic house and law office building at 195 South Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On November 7, 1983, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The House and Law of ...

" is today listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Bezaleel Jr Taft family 1780 births 1846 deaths Harvard Law School alumni People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts Massachusetts state senators Members of the American Antiquarian Society 19th-century American politicians