George Foster Talbot (January 16, 1819—August 17, 1907) was a

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

attorney who served as

Solicitor of the United States Treasury The Solicitor of the Treasury position was created in the United States Department of the Treasury by an act of May 29, 1830 , which changed the name of the Agent of the Treasury. Function The Solicitor of the Treasury served as legal advisor to t ...

Biography

Talbot was born in

East Machias, Maine East Machias is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States on the East Machias River. At the 2020 census, the town population was 1,326. It is the home of Washington Academy, a private school founded in 1792. Geography According to th ...

on January 16, 1819. He graduated from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

in 1837, taught school while studying law, and in 1840 became an attorney in East Machias and

Skowhegan Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously held state fair in the Unite ...

. In 1840 Talbot received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from Bowdoin. While practicing in East Machias Talbot served in local offices, including

Superintendent of Schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

and County Attorney for Washington County. In 1849 and 1850 Talbot was the Free Soil Party's nominee for

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

, losing three way races to John Hubbard. A Republican after that party was founded, Talbot attended numerous conventions at the local, county, state and national levels, including the 1860 convention that nominated

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. He relocated to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

when he was appointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for

in 1861. Talbot served in this position until 1870. From 1876 to 1877 Talbot served as Solicitor of the Treasury. Talbot was an

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, and his most prominent work was 1883's ''Jesus His Opinions and Character: The New Testament Studies of a Layman''. Talbot was also a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and some of his work was published. Talbot died in Portland on August 17, 1907.Maine Death Records, 1617-1922, entry for George F. Talbot, dated August 17, 1907, accessed December 7, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, George Foster 1819 births 1907 deaths Lawyers from Portland, Maine People from East Machias, Maine Bowdoin College alumni Maine lawyers United States Department of the Treasury officials Maine Republicans Maine Free Soilers