Jefferson Davis was
son-in-law, briefly, of Zachary Taylor
before Taylor became president
Sarah Knox "Knoxie" Taylor Davis
They married in 1835 and she died three months later of malaria.
On January 23, 1861, before Jefferson was appointed C.S.A. President, Mississippi Governor
John J. Pettus
made Davis a
Major General of the
Army of Mississippi.
[15]
Therefore it could be implied; he was a "C.S.A. General", before he was inaugurated on February 18, 1861.
My answer is hinged on the Trivia God's interpretation of the phrases; "maritally related", "past President" and
"C.S.A. General"
Davis was an
ex-son-in-law of a past President, "past" = before civil war ?
Another interesting fact, but does not qualify as "
past President""
CSA General Benjamin Harden Helm, killed at Chickamauga
Helm was married to Emilie Todd, the
half-sister of
Mary Todd Lincoln.
Lincoln's brother-in-law but Lincoln was
not a "
past (?)" president
Edit - I will accept Jefferson Davis as a correct answer.
I am interpreting "maritally related" to mean there has to be an "in-law" involved, and Davis was Taylor's son-in-law.
I am interpreting "past" president to mean before the Civil War, so Taylor was a past president.
"C.S.A." could stand for "Confederate States Army" or "Confederate States of America." It isn't clear which was the intent of the questioner, so I have to accept either interpretation. Davis was named President before the Confederate States Army was officially created, so he was not a general in the Confederate States Army - but the Confederate States of America was officially created before Davis was named President, so since he was a general in the Mississippi militia and Mississippi was a Confederate state, he was a general in the Confederate States of America.
Hoosier