Joseph Taggart was a lawyer and a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, representing the 2nd Congressional District of Kansas from November 7, 1911, to March 3, 1917.

He was born near Waukon

Waukon, Iowa

Waukon is a city in Makee Township,Allamakee County, Iowa, United States, and the county seat of Allamakee County. The population was 4,131 at the 2000 census. It is home to the annual .-History:...

 in Allamakee County, Iowa

Allamakee County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 14,330 in the county, with a population density of . There were 7,617 housing units, of which 5,845 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, the son of John and Bridget (McDavitt) Taggart. His mother died when he was an infant. He moved with his father to Saline County, Kansas

Saline County, Kansas

Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 55,606...

 in 1885, and attended Salina Normal University

Salina Normal University

Salina Normal University, sometimes called Salina Normal College, was an independent coeducational normal school established in 1884 in Salina, Kansas...

 in Salina

Salina, Kansas

Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...

, graduating in 1890. He taught school in nearby Bavaria

Bavaria, Kansas

Bavaria is an unincorporated community in southern Ohio Township, Saline County, Kansas, United States. It lies along K-140 and a Union Pacific Railroad line southwest of the city of Salina, the county seat of Saline County. Spring Creek flows through the community...

 in 1892 and 1893, studying law during his evenings and vacations. He was admitted to the bar in 1893, and practiced law in Salina for several years before moving to Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...

 in 1900.

Four years later he was the Democratic nominee for Wyandotte County

Wyandotte County, Kansas

Wyandotte County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The county's population was 157,505 for the 2010 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City with which it shares a unified government...

, losing in a close election. He won the office two years later, and was re-elected in 1908 and 1910.

He was elected in 1911 to the U.S. House of Representatives, filling a vacancy caused by the death of Alexander C. Mitchell

Alexander C. Mitchell

Alexander Clark Mitchell was a U.S. Representative from Kansas.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mitchell moved to Kansas in 1867 with his parents, who settled in Douglas County, near Lawrence, Kansas. He attended the public schools, and was graduated from the law department of the University of Kansas...

, and was reelected twice.

He served in the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, then resumed his law practice in Kansas City. He was appointed judge of the controversial Kansas Court of Industrial Relations in 1924, serving during its last year of existence.

He died in Wadsworth, Kansas and is buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Atchison, Kansas

Atchison, Kansas

Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...

.

Trivia

A pin oak

Pin oak

Quercus palustris, the Pin oak or Swamp Spanish oak, is an oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae.-Distribution:...

 planted in 1917 on the East Grounds of the U.S. Capitol

United States Capitol

The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...

 to honor Taggart was assessed as "in poor condition and in decline" by the Architect of the Capitol

Architect of the Capitol

The Architect of the Capitol is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex, and also the head of that agency. The Architect of the Capitol is in the legislative branch and is responsible to the United States...

. It was located at the planned entrance to a new subterranean Capitol Visitor Center scheduled to open in 2006. It was chopped down in 2002, with plans to plant a replacement memorial elsewhere on the Capitol grounds.

External links and sources

• Entry from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• Biography, from History of Wyandotte County Kansas
  Wyandotte County, Kansas
  Wyandotte County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The county's population was 157,505 for the 2010 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City with which it shares a unified government...
  
   and its people (published in 1911
  1911 in literature
  The year 1911 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Moore publishes the first of his three-volume Hail and Farewell .*Gallimard publishing house founded in Paris by Gaston Gallimard...
  
  ), transcription hosted by the Kansas State Library
• Memorial tree on Capitol grounds:
  • Capitol Visitor Center Tree Facts, mentioning the assessment of the Taggart memorial tree
  • Subterranean visitor center taking shape, an AP
    Associated Press
    The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
    
     news article from the CNN
    CNN
    Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
    
    website mentioning the Taggart memorial tree