Frederick Lovett Taft (December 1, 1870 – April 7, 1913) was an American lawyer and judge in Ohio. A member of the Taft family and a distant relative of President William Howard Taft, he was one of the leading political and legal men of the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio from 1896 until his death in April 1913.
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Early life
Frederick L. Taft was born on December 1, 1870 in Bracewill, Ohio. His parenets were Laura Alba (née Humphrey) and Newton A. Taft, a farmer. His paternal great-great-grandfather Lovett Taft and his paternal great-great-great-grandfather Robert Taft fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was also related to President William Howard Taft. His maternal great-great-grandfather Moses Ashley also fought in the same war. His great-uncle was Matthew Birchard, an Ohio Supreme Court judge from 1842 to 1849.
Taft attended the public schools in Newton Falls, Ohio, graduating from high school in 1886. He then attended Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1889. He briefly taught public school, then in 1889 began attending Cincinnati Law School. He received his JD degree in 1891, was admitted to the Ohio State Bar on December 1, 1891,