Background

She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the first daughter of Samuel Davenport Torrey (1789-1877) and his second wife, the former Susan Holman Waters (1803-1866).

Education

She graduated from Mount Holyoke College (then Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in 1845.

Career

Her three sisters were Delia Chapin Torrey (who married geologist Edward Orton, Senior), Anna Davenport Torrey, and Susan H. Torrey. Louise Taft died at Millbury, Massachusetts aged 80 years, and was interred at Spring Grove Cemetery, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Just under 11 months later, her eldest surviving son was elected President.

Achievements

• The second was President William Howard Taft. Next was Henry Waters Taft, who became a lawyer in New York City. Fourth was Horace Dutton Taft, founder of the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and the last was Frances Louis "Fanny" Taft, who married surgeon William A. Edwards.