John James TAYLOR, Congress, NY (1808-1892)

TAYLOR, John James, a Representative from New York; born in Leominster, Worcester County, Mass., April 27, 1808; attended the common schools, New Ipswich Academy, and Groton Academy; was graduated from Harvard University in 1829; engaged in teaching for a short time; moved to Troy, N.Y., in 1830; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1834 and commenced practice in Greene, Chenango County, N.Y.; moved to Owego, N.Y., in 1834 and continued the practice of law; appointed district attorney of Tioga County in 1838, and served until 1843, when he resigned; member of the village board of trustees in 1839, 1843, and 1848; first chief engineer of the fire department in 1844; member of the State constitutional convention in 1846; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1850 to the Thirty-second Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress (March 4, 1853-March 3, 1855); resumed the practice of his profession; tendered the appointment of commissioner to settle the northwestern boundary of the United States by President Franklin Pierce, but declined the position; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1858; president of the village of Owego in 1859; engaged in banking; elected vice president and later president of the Southern Central Railway Co., later the Auburn division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Co.; died in Owego, Tioga County, N.Y., July 1, 1892; interment in Evergreen Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present