Following his graduation from Columbia Law School, he was admitted to the bar and became a partner in the law firm of Sage, Haacke & Taft. He remained with the firm until he left to study abroad in Germany and France.[4]
In 1895, he went to Congress as a Republican succeeding Bellamy Storer, but served only two years from March 4, 1895, until March 3, 1897. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress and his seat was taken by William B. Shattuc. After retiring from Congress, he returned to the newspaper business.[1]
On December 4, 1873,[4] Taft was married to Anna Sinton (1850-1931), who was an heiress to a pig iron fortune, left by her father David Sinton. Together with her husband she began an art collection which she opened to the public from their home. Today their former home is the Taft Museum of Art.
Jane Taft (1874–1962), who married Albert S. Ingalls the son of railroad executive Melville E. Ingalls in 1929.
Through his daughter Jane, he was the grandfather of First World War flying ace David Sinton Ingalls (1899–1985), who married Louise Hale Harkness, daughter of William L. Harkness and granddaughter of Daniel M. Harkness, who was instrumental in the formation of Standard Oil.[17] He was also the grandfather of Anne Taft Ingalls, who married Rupert E. L. Warburton, "a scion of one of England's oldest families," in 1929.[18] His nephew, Charles Phelps Taft II who served as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1955 to 1957 was named after him.
Legacy
Following his death, Annie (Anna) Sinton Taft donated $5 million to the University of Cincinnati in 1930 and established a memorial fund after his name.[19] This fund was transformed in 2005 into the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center at the University of Cincinnati. The city of Taft, Texas was named after him in 1904.[20]
^"Want to Control Baseball Affairs". The New York Times. July 30, 1905.
^ abConlin, Bill (April 5, 1983). "Up from the Cellar: Travesty, Tragedy, Triumph Have Visited Phillies". The Philadelphia Daily News.
^"Silent as to Philadelphia". The Boston Daily Globe. December 1, 1909.
^"Owes $16,500, Offers $5000: Fogel's Figure Doesn't Tempt Murray. Latter Prefers to Take Case to National Commission. C. P. Taft's Paper Explains Philadelphia Deal". The Boston Daily Globe. January 4, 1910.
^"Mrs C.P. Taft Buys Baseball Grounds". The New York Times. December 31, 1909.