Taft family

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 It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Taft-Lippitt-Chafee family political line. (Discuss)
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Taft
Ethnicity Primarily English
Current region Midwest United States
Information
Place of origin England
United States
Notable members Alphonso Taft, William Howard Taft, Robert A. Taft, Robert A. Taft II
Connected families Taft family, Taft-Lippitt-Chafee family
Estate Ohio compound

The Taft family of the United States hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, with historic origins in Massachusetts;[1] its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions, such as Governor of Ohio, Governor of Rhode Island, U.S. Senator (two), U.S. Representative (two), Attorney General, Secretary of War (two), United States Secretary of Agriculture, President, and Chief Justice.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The first known ancestor of the Taft family is Robert Taft, Sr., who was born about 1640 in England and died in 1725 in Mendon, Massachusetts. His wife Sarah was born in England, too; they married in 1668 in Braintree, Massachusetts. Robert Taft, Sr. began a homestead in what is today Uxbridge and was then Mendon, Massachusetts, circa 1680. His son, Robert Taft II, was a member of the founding Board of Selectmen for the new town of Uxbridge in 1727. A branch of the Massachusetts Taft family descended from Daniel Taft, son of Robert Taft, Sr., born at Braintree, 1677-1761, died at Mendon. Daniel, a justice of the peace in Mendon, had a son Josiah Taft, later of Uxbridge,[2] who died in 1756. This branch of the Taft family claims America's first woman voter, Lydia Taft, and five generations of Massachusetts legislators and public servants beginning with Lydia's husband, Josiah Taft. Josiah's widow, Lydia, became "America's first woman voter", when she voted in three Uxbridge town meetings.[3]

The Tafts were very prominently represented as soldiers in the Revolutionary War, mostly in the New England states. Peter Rawson Taft I was born in Uxbridge in 1785 and moved to Townshend, Vermont circa 1800. He became a Vermont state legislator. He died in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. His son, Alphonso Taft, was born in Townshend, Vermont, and attended Yale University, where he founded the Skull and Bones society. He later was Secretary of War and Attorney General of the United States and the father of President William Howard Taft.[1] Elmshade in Massachusetts was the site of Taft family reunions such as in 1874. [4]

Note that Lorado Taft, the sculptor, is included. He is not a political figure; he is only included because his daughter, Emily Taft Douglas, was a U.S. Representative.

[edit] Family tree

Prominent members of the Taft family include:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Robert Taft (1640-1724)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Joseph Taft (1680-1747)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Robert Taft II (1674-1748)
 
 
 
 
 Daniel Taft, Esq. (1677-1761)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • Robert Taft (1640-1724), the immigrant
    • Joseph Taft (1680-1747), son of Robert Taft
      • Peter Taft (1715-1783), son of Joseph Taft
        • Aaron Taft (1743-1808), son of Peter Taft
          • Peter Rawson Taft I (1785-1867), son of Aaron Taft: member of the Vermont legislature
            • Alphonso Taft (1810-1891), son of Peter Rawson Taft I: U.S. secretary of war (1876), U.S. attorney general (1876-1877); married first to Fanny Phelps, and second to his cousin Louisa Maria Torrey (see below)
    • Robert Taft II (1674-1748), son of Robert Taft, Founding Board of Selectmen, Town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts
      • Robert Taft III (1697-1777), son of Robert Taft II
        • Robert Taft IV (1724-1787), son of Robert Taft III
          • Lovett Taft (1756-1837), son of Robert Taft IV
            • Aurin Post Taft (1788-1861), son of Lovett Taft
              • Frederick Lovett Taft I (1811-1869), son of Lovett Taft
                • Newton Archibald Taft (1843-1890), son of Frederick Lovett Taft I
                  • Frederick Lovett Taft II (1870-1913), son of Newton Archibald Taft
                    • Kingsley Arter Taft (1903-1970), son of Frederick Lovett Taft II: U.S. senator, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
      • Israel Taft, son of Robert Taft II
      • John Taft, son of Robert Taft II
        • Jesse Taft, son of John Taft
          • Hannah Taft, daughter of Jesse Taft, married to her 2nd cousin, Eastman Taft (see above)
        • Mary Taft, daughter of John Taft, married to her 1st cousin once removed, Jacob Taft (see above)
    • Daniel Taft, son of Robert Taft, Massachusetts General Court, Colonial Legislature

[edit] References

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)
  1. ^ a b Leonard, Lewis Alexander. "The Life of Alphonso Taft" by Google Books. ""Life of Alphonso Taft"". Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=LCVCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA308&lpg=PA308&dq=%22the+life+of+alphonso+taft%22+by+lewis+alexander+leonard&source=web&ots=oPnSgqCCBA&sig=ItrjVR1tAeXtoOKUMZX4KXjKiy4#PPA230,M1. Retrieved on 2007-11-25. 
  2. ^ Crane, Ellery Bicknell (1907). Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memories of Worcester County, MA with a history of Worcester Society of Antiquity;. Lewis. pp. 223. http://books.google.com/books?id=nfhSZxL8bTEC&pg=RA6-PA223&lpg=RA6-PA223&dq=josiah+taft+son+of+daniel+taft+and+lydia+chapin&source=web&ots=WtIRXEpxEe&sig=4CmjUwRgiQFoumsTf0bNe91pZjg. 
  3. ^ "Uxbridge Breaks Tradition and Makes History: Lydia Chapin Taft, by Carol Masiello". Blackstone Daily. http://blackstonedaily.com/Journeys/cm-lt.htm. Retrieved on 2007-09-23. 
  4. ^ ""Walking Tour"". Blackstone Daily. http://www.blackstonedaily.com/Outdoors&Nature/WTuxbridge.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft_family"
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