Peter Rawson Taft (April 14, 1785 – January 1, 1867) was an American lawyer, judge, and legislator.

His son Alphonso Taft served as the U.S. Secretary of War (1876), and U.S. Attorney General (1876–1877).

Alphonso was the father and Peter was the grandfather of President William Howard Taft.

[3][a] His mother was a descendant of Edward Rawson, who was the secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1650 to 1681.

[3][4] Taft became Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and he was one of the Commissioners of the County.

[3] From 1835 to 1841, Taft said on the board of trustees for the Leland and Gray seminary, an organization that he helped establish.