History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States

by William Horatio Barnes

STEPHEN TABER, whose father, Thomas Taber, was a Member of Congress, was born in Dover, Dutchess County, New York. Having received an academical education, he devoted himself to agriculture in Queens County, on Long Island. In 1860 and 1861 he was elected to the State Legislature. In 1863 he was elected a Representative to the Thirty-Ninth Congress and was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress.

NATHANIEL G. TAYLOR was born in Carter County, Tennessee, December 29, 1819, and graduated at Princeton College in 1840. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843, but subsequently became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1852 he was a Presidential Elector, and in 1854 was elected a Representative in Congress from Tennessee. In 1865 he was re-elected a Representative in the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and was admitted to his seat in July, 1866. R. R. Butler was elected as his successor in the Fortieth Congress.—480.

NELSON TAYLOR was born in South Norwalk, Connecticut, June 8, 1821. He served through the Mexican War as Captain in the First Regiment of New York Volunteers. He subsequently went to California, and was elected a member of the State Senate in 1849. In 1853 he was elected Sheriff of San Joaquin County, California. In 1861 he entered the military service as Colonel of the Seventy-Second Regiment of New York Volunteers, and became a Brigadier General. In 1864 he was elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-Ninth Congress. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is John Morrissey.

M. RUSSELL THAYER was born in Petersburg, Virginia, January 27, 1819, and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1840. He studied law, and having been admitted to the bar in 1842, he located in Philadelphia. In 1862 he was elected a Representative in the Thirty-Eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-Ninth. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is Caleb N. Taylor—83, 225, 438, 522, 538.

FRANCIS THOMAS was born in Frederick County, Maryland, February 3, 1799. He was educated at St. John's College, Annapolis. He studied law, and was admitted to practice at Frederick in 1820. He was elected to the Maryland Legislature in 1822, 1827, and 1829, when he was chosen Speaker. In 1831 he was elected a Representative in Congress, and served for ten consecutive years. In 1841 he declined a renomination for Congress. In the fall of that year he was elected Governor of Maryland, and served until January, 1845. In 1848 he supported Van Buren and Adams on the Buffalo Anti-Slavery platform. In 1850 he was a member of the Maryland Constitutional Convention. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he raised a brigade of 3,000 volunteers for the military service. In March, 1863, he originated and assisted in securing popular approval of a measure which resulted in the emancipation of all the slaves of Maryland. He was re-elected a Representative from Maryland to the Thirty-Sixth, Thirty-Seventh, Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, and Fortieth Congresses.

JOHN L. THOMAS, Jr., was born in Baltimore, May 20, 1835, and was educated at the Alleghany County Academy. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He was appointed Solicitor for the City of Baltimore in 1861, and held the office two years. In 1863 he was elected State Attorney for Maryland, and in 1864 he served as a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention. In 1865 he was elected a Representative to the Thirty-Ninth Congress to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of E. H. Webster. He was succeeded in the Fortieth Congress by Stephenson Archer.

ANTHONY THORNTON was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, November 19, 1814. He graduated at the Miami University, and having studied law, he settled in Illinois. He was a member of the Illinois Constitutional Conventions of 1847 and 1862. In 1850 he was a member of the State Legislature. In 1864 he was elected a Representative from Illinois to the Thirty-Ninth Congress. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is Albert G. Burr.—228.

LAWRENCE S. TRIMBLE was born in Fleming, Kentucky, August 26, 1825. He received an academical education, and entered the profession of law. In 1851 and 1852 he was a member of the Kentucky Legislature. From 1856 to 1860 he was Judge of the Equity and Criminal Court of the First Judicial District of the State. He was subsequently for five years President of the New Orleans and Ohio Railroad Company. In 1865 he was elected a Representative from Kentucky to the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress.—152, 342, 511.

ROWLAND E. TROWBRIDGE was born in Elmira, New York, June 18, 1821, and when a child removed to Michigan with his parents, who were among the first settlers that penetrated the wilderness back of the old French settlements. He graduated at Kenyon College, and engaged in the business of farming. In 1856 and 1858 he was elected a member of the Michigan Senate. In 1860 he was elected a Representative from Michigan to the Thirty-Seventh Congress. He was re-elected to the Thirty-Ninth and Fortieth Congresses.

LYMAN TRUMBULL was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1813. He entered the profession of law, and removed to Illinois. He was a member of the State Legislature in 1840, and was Secretary of State in 1841 and 1842. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois from 1848 to 1853. In 1854 he was elected a Representative for Illinois to the Thirty-Fourth Congress, and was soon after elected a Senator in Congress for the term commencing in 1855. He was re-elected in 1861, and again in 1867.—22, 28, 45, 98, 104, 105, 108, 120, 136, 158, 162, 171, 188, 190, 199, 209, 216, 253, 269, 424, 457, 476, 540.