Occupation: Cotton Planter, Lawyer, Judge
TALIAFERRO, James Govan, politician, jurist. Born, Amherst, Va., Sept 28, 1798; son of Zacharias Taliaferro and Sally Warwick. Family removed to Claiborne Co, Ms., 1806, and to Catahoula Parish, La., 1815.
Education: graduated from Transylvania College, Lexington, Ky., and practiced law briefly in that town.
Married, May 1, 1819, Elizabeth M. B. Williamson of Lexington. Returned to LA and established a law practice in Harrisonburg. Supported John Quincy Adams for president in 1824 and 1828. Appointed parish judge, 1834; served until election in 1840; left office, 1847. Member, Catahoula Parish Police Jury, 1859-1860. Owned and operated Harrisonburg Independent, 1856(?)-1861.
Represented Catahoula Parish in the constitutional convention of 1852 and the secession convention, Jan 1861. Strong opponent of secession and refused to sign the ordinance. Two sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Appointed associate justice, Louisiana Supreme Court, July 1866, and served until death. Delegate to the constitutional convention of 1868.
Died, Harrisonburg, Oct 13, 1876; interred Harrisonburg. A.W.B. Source: Wynona Gillmore Mills, "James Govan Taliaferro (1798-1876): Louisiana Unionist and Scalawag" (M.A. thesis, LSU, 1968). Louisiana Historical Association www.lahistory.org.
Occupation: Cotton Planter, Lawyer, Judge
TALIAFERRO, James Govan, politician, jurist. Born, Amherst, Va., Sept 28, 1798; son of Zacharias Taliaferro and Sally Warwick. Family removed to Claiborne Co, Ms., 1806, and to Catahoula Parish, La., 1815.
Education: graduated from Transylvania College, Lexington, Ky., and practiced law briefly in that town.
Married, May 1, 1819, Elizabeth M. B. Williamson of Lexington. Returned to LA and established a law practice in Harrisonburg. Supported John Quincy Adams for president in 1824 and 1828. Appointed parish judge, 1834; served until election in 1840; left office, 1847. Member, Catahoula Parish Police Jury, 1859-1860. Owned and operated Harrisonburg Independent, 1856(?)-1861.
Represented Catahoula Parish in the constitutional convention of 1852 and the secession convention, Jan 1861. Strong opponent of secession and refused to sign the ordinance. Two sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Appointed associate justice, Louisiana Supreme Court, July 1866, and served until death. Delegate to the constitutional convention of 1868.
Died, Harrisonburg, Oct 13, 1876; interred Harrisonburg. A.W.B. Source: Wynona Gillmore Mills, "James Govan Taliaferro (1798-1876): Louisiana Unionist and Scalawag" (M.A. thesis, LSU, 1968). Louisiana Historical Association www.lahistory.org.
Family Members
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James Govan Taliaferro Jr
1820–1848
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Zacharias Taliaferro
1821–1824
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Samuel Butler Taliaferro
1825–1837
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Susannah Bryson Taliaferro Alexander
1825–1888
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John Quincy Adams Taliaferro
1827–1865
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Williamson Taliaferro
1829–1831
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Robert W Taliaferro
1831–1884
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Elizabeth Ann Maria Taliaferro Wooton
1839–1884
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Henry Bullard Taliaferro
1841–1921
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