Charles Tait

Charles Tait
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
In office March 10, 1824 – February 1, 1826
Appointed by	James Monroe
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	William Crawford
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
In office March 10, 1824 – February 1, 1826
Appointed by	James Monroe
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	William Crawford
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alabama
In office May 13, 1820 – March 10, 1824
Appointed by	James Monroe
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	seat abolished
United States Senator from Georgia
In office November 27, 1809 – March 4, 1819
Preceded by	John Milledge
Succeeded by	John Elliott
Personal details
Born	(1768-02-01)February 1, 1768 Hanover, Virginia
Died	October 7, 1835(1835-10-07) (aged 67) Monroe County, Alabama
Political party	Democratic-Republican

Charles Tait (February 1, 1768 – October 7, 1835) was an American politician. A Democratic Republican, he served as a United States Senator from Georgia and later as a United States federal judge.

Early life

Born near Hanover, Virginia, Charles Tait moved to Georgia in 1783 with his parents, who settled near Petersburg, where he completed preparatory studies. Tait attended Wilkes Academy, Washington, Georgia in 1786 and 1787 and Cokesbury College in Abingdon, Maryland in 1788.

Academic and Legal Career

Tait was a professor of French in Cokesburg College from 1789 to 1794, while he also read law and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1795. He was a rector and professor at Richmond Academy, Augusta, Georgia from 1795 to 1798, when he commenced the practice of law in Elbert County. He was presiding judge of the western circuit court of Georgia from 1803 to 1809.

Political career

He was elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Milledge, and was reelected in 1813, serving from November 27, 1809 to March 3, 1819. During the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Congress he was chairman on the Committee on Naval Affairs. After serving in the Senate, he moved to Wilcox County, Alabama in 1819.

On May 10, 1820, Tait was nominated by President James Monroe to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Alabama, created by 3 Stat. 564. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 13, 1820, and received his commission the same day. On March 10, 1824, the District was subdivided, and Tait was reassigned by operation of law to the newly created Northern District and Southern District of Alabama. Tait continued in service as the sole federal judge assigned to both districts until his resignation on February 1, 1826.

Tait then lived as a planter at what is now called the Dellet House in Claiborne, Alabama. He declined a mission to Great Britain in 1828. In 1833-34, Tait hosted Timothy Abbott Conrad, a paleontologist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, at his home in order to encourage the young man's explorations of Alabama fossils. Conrad described dozens of species of fossil mollusks from Claiborne Bluff alone, making it a popular destination among paleontologists.

Charles Tait died near Claiborne on October 7, 1835 and was interred in Dry Forks Cemetery on his country estate in Wilcox County, Alabama.

Sources

• Charles Tait at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Charles Tait at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

United States Senators from Georgia Class 2 Few Jackson Walton Tattnall Baldwin Jones Crawford Bulloch Bibb Troup Forsyth Walker Ware Cobb Prince Troup King Lumpkin Berrien Charlton Toombs H. Miller Norwood B. Hill Barrow A. Colquitt Walsh Bacon West Hardwick Harris Cohen Russell Gambrell Nunn Cleland Chambliss Perdue Class 3 Gunn Jackson Milledge Tait Elliott Berrien Forsyth Cuthbert W. Colquitt Johnson Dawson Iverson J. Hill Gordon Brown Gordon Clay Terrell Smith Watson Felton George Talmadge Mattingly Fowler Coverdell Z. Miller Isakson

Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947) J. Williams Troup J. Williams Jackson Harrison Benton Preston Crittenden Benton Cass Benton Davis Shields Weller Davis Johnson Wilson Logan Spencer Randolph Logan Sewell Hawley Walthall Hawley Proctor Warren du Pont Johnston Chamberlain Wadsworth Reed Sheppard Reynolds Thomas Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947) Tait Sanford Pleasants Lloyd Hayne Dallas Southard Rives R. Williams Mangum Bayard Fairfield Yulee Gwin Mallory J. Hale Grimes Cragin Sargent McPherson Cameron McPherson Cameron E. Hale Perkins Tillman Swanson Page F. Hale Trammell Walsh Armed Services Committee (1947–Present) Gurney Tydings Russell Saltonstall Russell Stennis Tower Goldwater Nunn Thurmond Warner Levin Warner Levin Warner Levin McCain