Biography

Mentioned in 18511001CharlesSumner_WHS: "Talbot, of whom you inquire, belongs to Portland. His recent tract shows not only promise but performance. When you consider that he is a young man – very young I believe – it must be regarded as an extraordinary production."

"George Foster Talbot, lawyer, editor, author, solicitor of the United States Treasury, and one of the leading men of Maine, was born in East Machias, January 26, 1819, son of John Coffin Talbot, then and for many years exclusively engaged in manufacturing and shipping lumber.

George F. Talbot was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1837. Among his classmates who won distinction were John A. Andrew, Fordyce Barber, Rev. John O. Fiske, Charles M. Pike, Rufus K. Sewell, Lorenzo D. M. Sweat, and Rev. William Warren.

Following graduation Mr. Talbot became assistant principal of Washington Academy in his native town, at the same time pursuing legal studies in the office of Joshua A. Lowell and completing them in the office of James W. Bradbury of Augusta.

He was admitted to the bar of Kennebec County in 1842 and began practice in Skowhegan. The following year he moved to East Machias the county seat, with the exception of a year in the town of Columbia, he continued practice until he moved to Portland in 1864. He served as superintendent of schools at Machias and as county attorney.

Mr. Talbot first gained prominence in the anti-slavery cause and was the candidate of the Free Soul party for Governor of Maine in 1849 and again in 1850, receiving at each election over 7,000 votes.

With N.Y. Tribune:
It was at this period of his life that he became connected with the New York Tribune, and many of its strong editorials for which Mr. Greely got the credit was written by the young down East attorney.
He was offered a permanent position on the editorial board of the Tribune, but following the advise of Charles A. Dana, then connected with that paper, to whom he had related his business prospects and circumstances, he returned to his law practice, although he continued to write occasional articles for the Tribune and other influential papers.
Widely known in Maine as a brilliant controversial writer and a strong supporter of anti-slavery principles, Mr. Talbot was sent as a delegate to the Republican National Convention held in Chicago in June 1860. He served as a member of the committee on solutions and aided materially in pledging the party against the doctrines of popular sovereignty and carrying slavery into the territories. He favored the nomination of William H. Seward and was bitterly disappointed at the choice of Abraham Lincoln as the standard bearer. But in an interview many years later he said, "I swallowed my disappointment and lived to believe that the convention had done wisely in choosing Mr. Lincoln."

U.S. District Attorney:
In 1861 Mr. Talbot was appointed United States district attorney for Maine and three years later moved to Portland which was his home for the rest of his life. He held the office for nine years discharging its often arduous duties with great ability. He was a member of the commission to revise the Maine Constitution, appointed by Governor Dingley in 1875 and from 1873 to 1878 served as a solicitor of the United States Treasury. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him in 1874 by Bowdoin College.

President of Fraternity Club:
For 30 years Mr. Talbot was a leading member of the Fraternity Club, several times serving as president. He read many papers before the society all of which gave proof of the breadth and extent of his reading and scholarship. His last important literary work was a book entitled, Jesus, His Opinions and Character, which he called a record of his most serious thoughts and convictions.
In 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Talbot passed a year in foreign travel for the full enjoyment of which both were eminently qualified. The death of this genial and highly gifted man occurred at his home on Park Street, August 18, 1907.
 
 
Family links: 
 Parents:
  John Coffin Talbot (1784 - 1861)
  Mary Foster Talbot (1789 - 1858)
 
 Spouse:
  Elizabeth Lincoln Talbot (1825 - 1907)
 
 Children:
  Thomas L Talbot (1854 - 1941)*
  Hannah L. Talbot (1856 - 1939)*
  Catherine P. Talbot (1859 - 1938)*
  Frederic Frothingham Talbot (1864 - 1938)*
 
 Siblings:
  Stephen Peter Talbot (1811 - 1834)*
  William Henry Talbot (1813 - 1903)*
  John Coffin Talbot (1816 - 1900)*
  George Foster Talbot (1819 - 1907)
  Emma Caroline Talbot Keller (1821 - 1904)*
  Thomas Hammond Talbot (1823 - 1907)*
  Susan H. Talbot (1825 - 1910)*
  Mary E. Talbot (1828 - 1915)*"