Brief Life History of James
When James Taft was born on 11 July 1731, in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, his father, Mathew Taft, was 32 and his mother, Ann Quintein, was 31. He married Martha Gray on 30 August 1760, in Pelham, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters.
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Family Time Line
Sources (25)
- James Taft, "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915"
- James Taft, "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910"
- James Tas?s, "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001"
Spouse and Children
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Parents and Siblings
Siblings (8)
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World Events (6)
1776
Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress. Colonies declare independence.
1776 · The Declaration to the King
"At the end of the Second Continental Congress the 13 colonies came together to petition independence from King George III. With no opposing votes, the Declaration of Independence was drafted and ready for all delegates to sign on the Fourth of July 1776. While many think the Declaration was to tell the King that they were becoming independent, its true purpose was to be a formal explanation of why the Congress voted together to declare their independence from Britain. The Declaration also is home to one of the best-known sentences in the English language, stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."""
1794 · Creating the Eleventh Amendment
The Eleventh Amendment restricts the ability of any people to start a lawsuit against the states in federal court.
Name Meaning
English (mainly Staffordshire and Derbyshire): variant of Toft .
Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial or metonymic occupational name from German Taft ‘taffeta’.
History: Robert Taft (born c. 1640), lived in Braintree, MA, and subsequently Mendon, MA. — Alphonso Taft (1810–91), jurist and politician born in Townshend, VT, was the father of William Howard Taft (1857–1930), 27th president of the US and chief justice of the US Supreme Court.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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