Littleton Waller Tazewell
Encyclopedia
Littleton Waller Tazewell (December 17, 1774 May 6, 1860) was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator
from and the 26th Governor
of Virginia
.
Tazewell, son of Henry Tazewell
, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia
, where his grandfather Benjamin Waller
was a lawyer who taught him Latin. Tazewell was privately tutored by John Wickham
and later graduated from the College of William and Mary
at Williamsburg in 1791. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1796 and commenced practice in James City County, Virginia
. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from 1798 to 1800. He was elected to the Sixth United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Marshall
and served from November 26, 1800, to March 4, 1801.
He moved to Norfolk, Virginia
in 1802. He held public office again in 1804 in the Virginia General Assembly
until 1806. He again served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1816 to 1817. He was one of the commissioners of claims under the treaty with Spain
ceding Florida
in 1821.
Tazewell was elected in 1824 to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Taylor
. He was reelected in 1829, and served from December 7, 1824, to July 16, 1832, when he resigned. While in the Senate, he was President pro tempore of the Senate
during the Twenty-second United States Congress and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He was Governor of Virginia
from 1834 until 1836. He then retired from public life. His principal published work is Review of the Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain Respecting the Commerce of the Two Countries (1829) New International Encyclopedia
Politically, Tazewell was a Jacksonian Republican. he was elected to the U.S. House
in 1800 to complete the term in the Sixth Congress when John Marshall
resigned. He was senator from 1824 to 1832.
Tazewell died in Norfolk, Virginia, May 6, 1860. He was interred on his estate on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and reinterred in 1866 in Elmwood Cemetery, Norfolk.
Tazewell, Virginia
, Tazewell County, Virginia
and Tazewell County, Illinois
are named in honor of him and his father, as are the cities of Tazewell
and New Tazewell, Tennessee
. A plaque in his honor is found at the corner of Tazewell and Granby streets in Norfolk, near the Tazewell Hotel and Suites, where his two-story house was located.
Tazewell was the maternal grandfather of Littleton Waller Tazewell Bradford
(1848–1918), a prominent Virginia politician and a founder of Pi Kappa Alpha
Fraternity.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from and the 26th Governor
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Tazewell, son of Henry Tazewell
Henry Tazewell
Henry Tazewell was an American politician who was instrumental in the early government of the U.S. state of Virginia. He was born in Brunswick County, Virginia. He served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1795.He was the father of Littleton Tazewell...
, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, where his grandfather Benjamin Waller
Benjamin Waller
Benjamin Waller was descended from a Virginia family established in the state since the 17th century. He was born in King William County, Virginia, the son of Col. John and Dorothy Waller, and was trained as a lawyer utilizing the legal library of Sir John Randolph...
was a lawyer who taught him Latin. Tazewell was privately tutored by John Wickham
John Wickham (1763)
John Wickham was an American Loyalist and attorney. He was one of the very few Loyalists to achieve any sort of national prominence in the United States after the American Revolution, and is best remembered for his role in the treason trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr in...
and later graduated from the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
at Williamsburg in 1791. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1796 and commenced practice in James City County, Virginia
James City County, Virginia
James City County is a county located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Its population was 67,009 , and it is often associated with Williamsburg, an independent city, and Jamestown which is within the...
. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
from 1798 to 1800. He was elected to the Sixth United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
and served from November 26, 1800, to March 4, 1801.
He moved to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
in 1802. He held public office again in 1804 in the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
until 1806. He again served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1816 to 1817. He was one of the commissioners of claims under the treaty with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
ceding Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 1821.
Tazewell was elected in 1824 to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Taylor
John Taylor of Caroline
John Taylor usually called John Taylor of Caroline was a politician and writer. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates and in the United States Senate . He wrote several books on politics and agriculture...
. He was reelected in 1829, and served from December 7, 1824, to July 16, 1832, when he resigned. While in the Senate, he was President pro tempore of the Senate
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
The President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
during the Twenty-second United States Congress and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He was Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
from 1834 until 1836. He then retired from public life. His principal published work is Review of the Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain Respecting the Commerce of the Two Countries (1829) New International Encyclopedia
New International Encyclopedia
The New International Encyclopedia was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the International Cyclopaedia and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926.-History:...
Politically, Tazewell was a Jacksonian Republican. he was elected to the U.S. House
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...
in 1800 to complete the term in the Sixth Congress when John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
resigned. He was senator from 1824 to 1832.
Tazewell died in Norfolk, Virginia, May 6, 1860. He was interred on his estate on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and reinterred in 1866 in Elmwood Cemetery, Norfolk.
Tazewell, Virginia
Tazewell, Virginia
Tazewell is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, USA. The population was 4,206 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area, which has a population of 107,578. It is the county seat of Tazewell County....
, Tazewell County, Virginia
Tazewell County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,598 people, 18,277 households and 13,232 families residing in the county. The population density was 86 people per square mile . There were 20,390 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...
and Tazewell County, Illinois
Tazewell County, Illinois
Tazewell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 135,394, which is an increase of 5.4% from 128,485 in 2000. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. The majority of the population live in the suburbs and bedroom communities...
are named in honor of him and his father, as are the cities of Tazewell
Tazewell, Tennessee
Tazewell is a town in Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,165 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Claiborne County. The town is named for Henry Tazewell , a U.S. senator from Virginia.-Geography:...
and New Tazewell, Tennessee
New Tazewell, Tennessee
New Tazewell is a town in Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,037 at the 2010 census.-Geography:New Tazewell is located at...
. A plaque in his honor is found at the corner of Tazewell and Granby streets in Norfolk, near the Tazewell Hotel and Suites, where his two-story house was located.
Tazewell was the maternal grandfather of Littleton Waller Tazewell Bradford
Littleton Waller Tazewell Bradford
Littleton Waller Tazewell Bradford was a prominent Virginia politician and a founder of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.Bradford, a cousin of fellow Pi Kappa Alpha founder Frederick Southgate Taylor, was born in Norfolk, Virginia on July 16, 1848, the son of Edmund Bradford and Anne Elizabeth Bradford...
(1848–1918), a prominent Virginia politician and a founder of Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
Fraternity.
External links
- Congressional biography
- Discourse on the Life and Character of the Hon. Littleton Waller Tazewell Hugh Blair Grigsby, Published by J. D. Ghiselin, Norfolk, 1860
- A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Littleton W. Tazewell, 1834-1836 at The Library of Virginia