Taft family

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The Taft family are a powerful political dynasty from Ohio, United States that spans almost two centuries. The most famous member of the family is William Howard Taft, the only person to serve as both President of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States.

Origins of the Taft family

The family were originally from Scandinavia using the name Toft, which is Old Norse for dweller at the curtilage, site or homestead. They moved to Britain sometime before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and settled in Toft, Cheshire, England. From here a branch of the family moved south and was living in London by the late 1500's. Some time before 1675 Robert Taft immigrated to Massachusetts, United States. In 1679 he settled in Mendon where he became prominent in local affairs.

Taft family tree

  • Nicholas Taft (b. ABT 1580)
    • Richard Robert Taft (b. ABT 1610)
      • Robert Taft (b. ABT 1640 - 8 Feb 1725)
        • Robert Taft Jr. (b. 1674 - 29 Sep 1748)
          • Robert Taft III (b. 24 Dec 1697 - 6 Mar 1777)
            • Robert Taft IV (b. 1724 - 22 Sep 1787)
              • Lovett Taft (b. 31 Jan 1756 - 23 Apr 1837)
                • Aurin Post Taft (b. 17 Jul 1788 - 21 Oct 1861)
                  • Frederick Lovett Taft (b. 28 Aug 1811 - 28 Apr 1869)
                    • Newton Archibald Taft (b. 1843 - 11 Jan 1890)
          • Israel Taft (b. 26 Apr 1699 - 19 Sep 1753)
        • Benjamin Taft (b. 1 Mar 1684 - 1766)

This article contains content from HierarchyPedia article Taft family, used here under the GNU Free Documentation License.