Ezra Booth Taylor (July 9, 1823 – January 29, 1912) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
from 1880 to 1893. He won election to the congressional seat that had been vacated by
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until Assassination of James A. Garfield, his death in September that year after being shot two months ea ...
after he was elected
president
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.
Biography
Taylor was born in
Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio
Nelson Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 3,101 people in the township.
Geography
Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following other townships ...
and attended the common and select schools and academies. He studied law and was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
and commenced practice in Portage County in 1845. Taylor was elected prosecuting attorney in 1854 and moved to
Warren, Ohio
Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
, in 1861.
Civil War
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he enrolled as a private in Company A,
One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio Infantry, on April 27, 1864. He was mustered into service on May 5, 1864, and was honorably discharged on August 20, 1864.
Congress
Taylor was elected judge of the court of common pleas for the ninth judicial district of Ohio and served from March 1877 to September 1880, when he resigned. Taylor was elected as a
Republican to the
Forty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James A. Garfield. He was re-elected to the
Forty-seventh and the five succeeding Congresses and served from December 13, 1880, to March 3, 1893.
He was an outspoken opponent of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, arguing that Chinese immigrants were being singled out by laborers on the West Coast. He served as chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary (
Fifty-first Congress) but declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1892.
Personal life
After leaving office, he resumed the practice of his profession. He died in
Warren, Ohio
Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
, on January 29, 1912, and was interred in the Warren mausoleum at Oakwood Cemetery.
In 1849, Taylor was married in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
to Harriet M. Frazier, who died in 1876. They had a daughter and a son. The former,
Harriet Taylor Upton was a famous suffragist and author.
References
Retrieved on 2008-10-12
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Ezra Booth
1823 births
1912 deaths
Politicians from Warren, Ohio
Union army soldiers
People of Ohio in the American Civil War
Ohio lawyers
19th-century American lawyers
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio
19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives