HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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elected a member of the lower house of the
Virginia state legislature, and was continu-
ously reelected until 1839, when he declined
to serve ; elected as a Whig to the twenty-
seventh congress (March 4, 1841-March 3,
1843) » presidential elector on the Clay
ticket in 1844 and the Taylor ticket in
1848; on July 22, 1850, assumed the office
of secretary of the interior, to which he
had been appointed by President Fillmore,
and in which he continued until the con-
clusion of the administration; was a mem-
ber of the convention of 1856 which nomi-
nated Millard Fillmore for the presidency,
and from 1857 to 1861 was in the Vir-
ginia state senate; he was a strong Union
man in sentiment at the outbreak of the
civil war and earnestly resisted the seces-
sion of his state, while he was one of the
first of the Southern leaders to promote re-
conciliation and political agreement after
the war; although elected a member of con-
gress in 1865, he was unable to take his seat
on account of the "iron-clad" oath ; delegate
to the national Union convention in 1866;
in 1868 was very active in his opposition
and resistance to the objectionable features
ot the reconstruction acts; in 1876 was
elected rector of the University of Virginia,
and, excepting a period of two years, be-
tween 1882 and 1884, he continued to fill
that position until 1886, when he resigned;
he was a member of the board of trustees
of the Southern educational fund founded
by George Peabody; he was also for many
years president of the Virginia Historical
Society; died in Staunton, Virginia, Febru-
ary 13, 1891. Judge Archibald Stuart, his
father, was a son of Major Alexander Stuart,
who was born in Pennsylvania in 1733, and
grandson of Archibald Stuart, a Scotch-
VlA-»
Irish Presbyterian who emigrated to Penn-
sylvania in 1727, and in 1738 removed to
Augusta.
Stuart, Archibald, born in Lynchburg, Virginia, December 2, 1795 * completed pre- paratory studies; studied law, was admit- ted to the bar, and commenced practice in Campbell county ; served as an officer in the war of 1812; member of the state legisla- ture; member of the state convention of 1829-1830; resided in Mount Airy, North Carolina ; elected as a Whig to the twenty- fifth congress (March 4, 1837-March 3, 1839) ; member of the state convention of 1850-1851 ; died in Patrick county, Virginia, September 20, 1855. He was a son of Judge Alexander Stuart, and grandson of Major Alexander Stuart, who was born in Pennsyl- vania in 1733.
Summers, George W. (q. v.).
Swearingen, Thomas Van, born near Shepherdstown, West Virginia, May 5, 1784; attended the common schools; elected to the sixteenth and seventeenth congresses, and served from March 4, 1819, until his death in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, August 19, 1822.
Taliaferro, John, born at "Hays," King George county, Virginia, in 1768, son of John Taliaferro, of **Hays," and Elizabeth Garnett, his wife; attended a private school; studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Fredericksburg, Vir- ginia; elected as a Republican to the sev- enth congress (March 4, 1801-March 3, 1803) ; presidential elector on the Jefferson ticket in 1805 ; successfully contested the election of John Hungerford to the twelfth congress, and served from December 2,
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