William Howard Taft 
William Howard was born on September 15th, 1857 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio. William Howard's father was Alphonso TAFT and his mother was Louisa Maria TORREY. His paternal grandparents were Peter Rawson TAFT and Sylvia HOWARD; his maternal grandparents were Samuel Davenport TORREY and Susan Holman WATERS. He had three brothers and two sisters, named Samuel Davenport (Infant), Henry Waters, Horace Dutton, Frances Louise and Fanny Louise. He was the second oldest of the six children. He died at the age of 72 on March 8th, 1930 in Washington, District Of, Columbia. He was buried in March 1930 in Arlington Nation, Arlington, Va.General Notes
Name Prefix:<NPFX> President
Ancestral File Number:<AFN> 8QSM-6W
William Howard Taft
Distinguished jurist, effective administrator, but poor politician, William Howard Taft spent four uncomfortable years in the White House. Large, jovial, conscientious, he was caught in the intense battles between Progressives and conservatives, and got scant credit for the achievements of his administration.
Born in 1857, the son of a distinguished judge, he was graduated from Yale, and returned to Cincinnati to study and practice law. He rose in politics through Republican judiciary appointments, through his own competence and availability, and because, as he once wrote facetiously, he always had his "plate the right side up when offices were falling."
But Taft much preferred law to politics. He was appointed a Federal circuit judge at 34. He aspired to be a member of the Supreme Court, but his wife, Helen Herron Taft, held other ambitions for him.
His route to the White House was via administrative posts. President McKinley sent him to the Philippines in 1900 as chief civil administrator. Sympathetic toward the Filipinos, he improved the economy, built roads and schools, and gave the people at least some participation in government.
President Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and by 1907 had decided that Taft should be his successor. The Republican Convention nominated him the next year.
Taft disliked the campaign--"one of the most uncomfortable four months of my life." But he pledged his loyalty to the Roosevelt program, popular in the West, while his brother Charles reassured eastern Republicans. William Jennings Bryan, running on the Democratic ticket for a third time, complained that he was having to oppose two candidates, a western progressive Taft and an eastern conservative Taft.
Progressives were pleased with Taft's election. "Roosevelt has cut enough hay," they said; "Taft is the man to put it into the barn." Conservatives were delighted to be rid of Roosevelt--the "mad messiah."
Taft recognized that his techniques would differ from those of his predecessor. Unlike Roosevelt, Taft did not believe in the stretching of Presidential powers. He once commented that Roosevelt "ought more often to have admitted the legal way of reaching the same ends."
Taft alienated many liberal Republicans who later formed the Progressive Party, by defending the Payne-Aldrich Act which unexpectedly continued high tariff rates. A trade agreement with Canada, which Taft pushed through Congress, would have pleased eastern advocates of a low tariff, but the Canadians rejected it. He further antagonized Progressives by upholding his Secretary of the Interior, accused of failing to carry out Roosevelt's conservation policies.
In the angry Progressive onslaught against him, little attention was paid to the fact that his administration initiated 80 antitrust suits and that Congress submitted to the states amendments for a Federal income tax and the direct election of Senators. A postal savings system was established, and the Interstate Commerce Commission was directed to set railroad rates.
In 1912, when the Republicans renominated Taft, Roosevelt bolted the party to lead the Progressives, thus guaranteeing the election of Woodrow Wilson.
Taft, free of the Presidency, served as Professor of Law at Yale until President Harding made him Chief Justice of the United States, a position he held until just before his death in 1930. To Taft, the appointment was his greatest honor; he wrote: "I don't remember that I ever was President."
Twenty-Seventh President
1909-1913
Born: September 15, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: March 8, 1930 in Washington D.C.
Married to Helen Herron Taft
The above was taken from The White House page on U.S. Presidents.
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.1714/1715 in Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts d.12 Dec 1783 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.06 Mar 1687 in Ipswich, Essex, Ma d.10 Mar 1760 in Uxbridge, Worcester, Ma
- b.28 May 1743 in Uxbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts d.26 Mar 1808 in Townshend, Windham, Vermont
- b.27 Jul 1685 in Medfield, Norfolk, Mass., Massachusetts d.16 Mar 1754 in Medfield, Norfolk, Mass., Massachusetts
- b.21 Sep 1707 in Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts d.21 Sep 1783 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.~ 1689 in , Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts d.22 Apr 1717 in , Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts
- b.14 Apr 1785 in Uxbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts d.01 Jan 1867 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Oh
- b.08 Jul 1689 in Mendon, Wrcstr, Ma d.20 May 1765 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.27 Apr 1721 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma d.14 Nov 1794 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.16 Apr 1683 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts d.15 Jun 1759 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.04 Oct 1749 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma d.09 Jun 1827 in Townsend, Windham, Vermont, R17
- b.22 Jul 1722 in Medway, Norfolk Co, Ma d.19 Aug 1790 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.05 Nov 1810 in Townshend, Windham, Vt d.21 May 1891 in San Diego, San Diego, Ca
- b.23 Aug 1715 in Mendon, Mass d.29 Oct 1783 in Jamaica, Vt
- b.15 Sep 1752 in Townshend, Windham, Vt d.14 May 1838 in Townshend, Windham, Vermont
- b.20 Aug 1693 in Rehoboth, Mass d.Bet. 24 Feb 1716/17 - Feb 1717/18 in Mendon, Mass
- b.23 Oct 1718 in Mendon, Mass
- b.31 Jul 1690 in Mendon, Mass
- b.17 Feb 1792 in Townshend, Windham Co, Vt d.1866 in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co, Oh
- b.12 Feb 1755 in Milford, Worchester, Massachusetts d.06 Oct 1829 in Townshend, Windham, Vermont
- b.15 Sep 1857 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio d.08 Mar 1930 in Washington, District Of, Columbia
- b.17 Dec 1700 in Bristol, Massachussetts d.01 Mar 1779 in MENDON, WORCESTER CO., MASSACHUSETTS
- b.1727 in Weymouth,Massachusetts d.29 Nov 1760 in MENDON,WORCESTER,MASSACHUSSETTS
- b.02 Oct 1704 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts d.15 Jan 1794 in MENDON, WORCESTER CO., MASSACHUSETTS
- b.23 Nov 1754 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma d.16 Sep 1817 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.28 Mar 1694 in Mendon, Worcester, MA
- b.24 Feb 1731/1732 in UXBRIDGE,WORCESTER,MASSACHUSSETTS d.18 Sep 1776 in UXBRIDGE,WORCESTER CO.,MASSACHUSETTS
- b.01 Apr 1698 in Mendon, Worcester, MA d.16 Mar 1762 in Uxbridge, Worcester, MA
- b.14 Apr 1789 in Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts d.23 Dec 1877 in Millbury, Worcester, Massachusetts
- b.29 Oct 1697 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts d.29 Jun 1773 in Mendon, Norfolk, Massachusetts
- b.02 Nov 1739 in Milton, Norfolk, Massachusetts d.28 Mar 1813 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.09 Feb 1699 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Ma d.23 Sep 1777 in Mendon, Norfolk, Ma
- b.08 Sep 1765 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma d.01 Aug 1842 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.04 Jul 1710 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma d.21 May 1776 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.13 Sep 1745 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma d.19 May 1823 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.28 Jun 1718 in , Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts d.1775 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.11 Sep 1827 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts d.08 Dec 1907 in Millbury, Worcester, Ma
- b.1715 in Salem, , Essex Co, Mass d.13 Sep 1786 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.11 Jan 1741/1742 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma d.02 Nov 1813 in Millbury, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.1716 in Salem Village, Essex Co, Ma d.29 Apr 1799 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.02 Nov 1769 in Sutton, Worcester, Massachusetts d.24 Dec 1841 in Millbury, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.1708 d.13 Apr 1769 in Sutton, Worcester, Massachusetts
- b.8 Mar 1745/1746 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma d.28 Aug 1828 in Millbury, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.23 Mar 1723/1724 in Sherborn, Middlessex, Massachusetts
- b.04 Apr 1803 in Armory Village, , Massachusetts d.03 Feb 1866 in Millbury, Worcester, Massachusetts
- b.25 Nov 1697 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts d.17 Apr 1785 in Sutton, Worcester, Massachusetts
- b.13 Aug 1732 in Sutton, Worcester, Massachusetts d.25 Feb 1814 in Millbury, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.24 Jul 1697 in Salem, Essex, Mass d.> 1785
- b.22 Feb 1784 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma d.29 Nov 1849 in Millbury, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.17 Dec 1721 in Salem, Essex Co, Ma d.07 Mar 1790 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma
- b.11 Oct 1759 in Sutton, Worcester Co, Ma d.25 Feb 1849 in Millbury, Massachusetts
- b.~ 1737 in <Salem, Essex Co, Ma>
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‌William Howard and Helen (Nellie) were married in a religious ceremony on June 19th, 1886 in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co, Oh. They had two sons and a daughter, named Robert Alphonso, Charles Phelps and Helen Herron.
Family Notes
_UID5349E007C58F0C42AFCAE6D8E1579D1546AF
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Children
Robert Alphonso TAFT
Robert Alphonso was born on September 8th, 1889 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio. He died at the age of 63 on July 31st, 1953 in New York City, New York Co., New York.
Source/Citation
Ancestral File (R)
Ancestral File (R)