Texas Legislators: Past & Present

James Franklin Taylor

Full Name: James Franklin Taylor
Birth date: February 25, 1812
Death date: March 6, 1889

Terms of Service

Senate, 3rd ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ Legislature
11/18/1850 - 11/3/1851
Senate, 3rd ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ Legislature
11/5/1849 - 10/5/1850
House, 2nd ⁽⁶⁾ Legislature
12/13/1847 - 11/5/1849

(1) Description of Democratic-Whig conflict in Harrison County, subsequent resignations of Representative J.M. Clough (September 1850) and Senator James F. Taylor, re-election of Taylor and election of L.T. Wigfall in November 1850, pp. 160-162. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880 1983.
(2) Entire Senate went up for reelection due to Senatorial redistricting. Act approved Jan. 16, 1850, 3rd Legislature, ch. 44. Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950 1950.
(3) District No. 6, represented Smith, Harrison, and Upshur Counties. Act approved Mar. 1848, 2nd Legislature, ch. 162, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950 1950.
(4) James F. Taylor, resigned 10/5/1850, was reelected and was resworn 11/18/1850. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(5) Report of election in Harrison County on "Monday, the 28th ultimo (10/28/1850)" - "an election was held for Senator for the district of Harrison, Upshur and Smith, in the place of J.F. Taylor, resigned . . . Hon. J.F. Taylor is reelected Senator from Harrison, Upshur and Smith counties - the last named county having, unexpectedly, given him nearly a unanimous vote." Texas State Gazette (Austin, Texas), 11/16/1850, p. 3, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
(6) Roster of members of the 2nd Legislature, The Texas Democrat (Austin, Texas), 12/15/1847, p. 2, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
(7) Roster of members elect of the 3rd Legislature, Matthewson, R.C., Texas State Gazette (Austin, Texas), 9/29/1849, p. 6, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
(8) 3rd Legislature, Regular Session - Roll of Senators, oath of office, 11/5/1849, p. 3. Senate Journal .
(9) 3rd Legislature, 2nd Called Session - Oath of office, 11/18/1850, p. 1. Senate Journal .

Biographical Notes and Resources

Other Resources

"Harrison's state senator, James F. Taylor . . .," p. 161; one of the "old-line Opposition leaders" at an "organizational meeting of the newly forming Constitutional Union Party in Marshall on April 14 [1860, after his service in the Legislature]," p. 173; organizer of a committee of public safety for Harrison County, once an "Opposition leader," p. 202; describes "in mid-September, 1878, a handbill circulated . . . signed by James F. Taylor, a former Whig and Constitutional Union Party leader," p. 338. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880 1983.
James F. Taylor (1812-1889), portrait, burial in Marshall Cemetery, Marshall, Harrison County, with spouse Mary B. Holman. Find a Grave .
TAYLOR, JAMES FRANKLIN (1812-1889). Born 2/25/1812 in Adams County, Mississippi; died 3/6/1889 in Marshall, Harrison County, Texas. Handbook of Texas Online .
Included on list of "Texas Whigs Named in Newspapers and Identified From the Census of 1850," in "The Whig Party of Texas in the Elections of 1848 and 1852," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 73, Number 1, pp. 30-33, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
Historical marker, James F. Taylor Lodge No. 169, A.F. & A.M., Hallsville, Harrison County; "named for James F. Taylor (1812-1889), a leading citizen, state legislator, and Mason." Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission) .
Biographical sketch included in obituary of son, Dr. James Howard Taylor, August 1915, p. 256. Dr. Taylor was "reared to manhood on his father's plantation six miles west of the city [Marshall] . . . Colonel James F. Taylor was a pioneer planter and large slave owner of East Texas, in the early days of the State's history. He served in both branches of the State Legislature in the day of great men in Texas statesmanship . . ." Texas State Journal of Medicine 1905.
Mentioned in 3rd Legislature, p. 196. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861 1990.