TALIAFERRO, James Govan, politician, jurist. Born, Amherst, Va., September 28, 1798; son of Zacharias Taliaferro and Sally Warwick. Family removed to Claiborne County, Miss., 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 Louisiana 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, January 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, October 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).]
Taliaferro, James Govan
Date of Birth: 1798-00-00
Death date: 1876-00-00
Sex: M
Biographical Reference(s): Centenary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. p. 64
Chambers. History of Louisiana. 1925. v. 3 p. 197
James G Taliaferro
Birth: Sep. 28, 1798
Death: Oct. 13, 1876
Burial:Alexander Cemetery Manifest, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, USA
