Micah Taul

Micah Taul (May 14, 1785 – May 27, 1850) was an early pioneer and politician in Kentucky, serving one term as a U.S. Representative. In 1826 he moved to Winchester, Tennessee, where he practiced law for twenty years. Then he moved with his family to Mardisville, Alabama, where he operated a cotton plantation for several years before his death.

Micah Taul
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 9th district
In office March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817
Preceded by	Thomas Montgomery
Succeeded by	Tunstal Quarles
Personal details
Born	May 14, 1785 Bladensburg, Maryland
Died	May 27, 1850 (aged 65) Mardisville, Alabama
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Relations	Grandfather of Taul Bradford
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Wayne County Volunteers
Battles/wars	War of 1812

He was the grandfather of Taul Bradford, who represented Alabama in Congress and served the Confederacy in the American Civil War.

Life

Born in Bladensburg, Maryland, Taul moved as a child to Kentucky with his parents in 1787, soon after the United States had gained independence. He attended private school as no public schools were yet established.

He studied law, probably "reading" with an established firm and serving as a legal apprentice. He was admitted to the bar in 1801 and commenced practice in Monticello, Kentucky, the county seat of Wayne County. That year he also served as clerk of Wayne County Courts. He married and had a family.

During the War of 1812, he raised and outfitted troops, serving as a colonel of Wayne County Volunteers.

In 1814 Taul was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fourteenth Congress, serving one term (March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1816.

Taul resumed his law practice. He moved in 1826 with his family to Winchester, Tennessee, on the southern border of the state, and continued the practice of law.

In 1846 he moved to Mardisville, Alabama, an area that had been ceded in the 1830s by the Creek people to the United States and sold to planters. They used enslaved African Americans to develop plantations and cultivate cotton, the prime commodity crop of the area. These were the years of King Cotton in the Deep South. He operated a plantation until his death there on May 27, 1850. He was interred on his plantation at Mardisville. He was the grandfather of Taul Bradford.

References

• United States Congress. "Micah Taul (id: T000054)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.