Littleton Waller Tazewell was born on 17 December 1774 in Williamsburg, Virginia, to Henry Tazewell and Dorothea Elizabeth Waller. Following the death of his mother in 1777, Tazewell was raised by his maternal grandfather Judge Benjamin Waller. Tazewell graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1791. He studied law under John Wickham (1763-1839) of Richmond, Virginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1796. Tazewell represented James City County in the House of Delegates from 1798 to 1800. That year, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of John Marshall and served until 1801. In 1802, Tazewell relocated to Norfolk, Virginia, to continue his law practice. He represented Norfolk in the House of Delegates from 1804 to 1806 and in 1816. President James Monroe appointed Tazewell a commissioner to settle claims under the treaty in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States. In 1824, Tazewell was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Taylor, and he served eight years before resigning 16 July 1832. While in the Senate, Tazewell served as President pro tempore in the Twenty-second Congress and opposed President Andrew Jackson's Nullification Proclamation. He served as a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830 where he voted in favor of the new Constitution. Tazewell was elected governor of Virginia in 1834 and served until 30 March 1836. He resigned in a disagreement with the Legislature to expunge the resolution of the Senate in 1834 to censure President Jackson. Tazewell returned to Norfolk where he spent most of his time running his plantations in Northampton County, Virginia. He married Ann Stratton Nivison (1785-1859) 15 July 1802, and they had nine children. Tazewell died 6 May 1860 in Norfolk, and was buried at King's Creek plantation in Northampton County. He was reinterred at Elmwood Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia.
From the guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Littleton W. Tazewell, 1834-1836, (The Library of Virginia)
