John Peyton Taylor Family Record - Part 2

Part 2:

        A death certificate for John P. Taylor’s widow was recorded in the 1852-1861 Ohio County, KY Vital Statistics.  It records that Mary Taylor died on 18 April 1861 at the age of 89, the cause of her death was listed as cancer of the face.  She was reported to be a native of Virginia and her parents were given as Thomas & Nancy Davis.  A great-grandson, James William Van Cleave (1845-1925), wrote that Mary Davis Taylor had brothers named Warren, William, John & Reace Davis.  Warren Davis, born 1775-1784, is listed in the 1810 census of Fairfax County, VA (p192) and was enumerated two households from John P. Taylor in the 1820 Shelby County, KY census.  At least two of the grandchildren of John P. & Mary Taylor had the middle name of “Warren”.  Several members of the Davis family moved to Montgomery County, IN, including William Davis, a brother of Mary Taylor.  William was born in Virginia c1784 and died on 22 Sep 1861 in Montgomery County, IN, where he resided along Sugar Creek.  In the 1787 census of Fairfax County, VA no Thomas Davis is listed.  It is possible that Mary’s father was one of the Thomas Davis’ listed in the adjoining county of Prince William in the 1787 Census of Virginia.  Among the Davis families of Prince William is found a Warren Davis, who was at least 10 years older than Mary Taylor’s brother, Warren.  He was born c1764 and by 1786 was residing in Nelson County, KY.  He was one of 11 children born to Isaac Davis & Elizabeth Kincheloe.  Isaac Davis died in Prince William County in 1771, he owned land that adjoined a Thomas Davis, who possibly could be his brother and the father of Mary Taylor (if true this would make the two Warren’s 1^st cousins).  Isaac’s plantation lay on both sides of the Occuquan River, near Davis Ford, about 5 miles southwest of Manassas.  Isaac also owned land in Fairfax County.  Four of his sons served in the Revolution and two of them John & Presley died during the war – one of John P. Taylor’s grandchildren was named Presley Davis Taylor.  Isaac was the son of William Davis & Ellen Bland, who received several land patents in Prince William County between 1707-1722.  Isaac’s grandfather, David Davis about 1701 emigrated from Wales and settled in the Welsh Tract Settlement near New Castle, Delaware.  See the book, Kincheloe, McPherson and Related Families, by Lewin D. McPherson (1951, pp110-121) for data on the family of Isaac Davis & Elizabeth Kincheloe.

        The location of the graves of John P. & Mary Taylor have not been identified.  The area of Ohio County where he lived was in the vicinity of the  communities of Bells Run and Taylorfield.  His son, John P., Jr., resided at what came to be known as “Taylor Old Fields” and later as Taylorfield.  The earliest reference to it found is a Taylorfield community column appearing in the 19 Sep 1877 issue of the Hartford Herald newspaper.  It was located near the site of the Antioch Christian Church Cemetery on the Ralph – Bells Run Road, about 1 mile west of Adaburg.  The “Taylor Fork” of the Panther Creek runs between the Antioch Cemetery  and Highway 1414.  The Taylorfield school located near the church continued up until the consolidation of Ohio County schools during the 1930’s.  A short distance south of Antioch is the old Patton home and cemetery were Dr. John William Patton (1835-1908) is buried, he was the first postmaster of the Adaburg post office (established 1886).  On the farm across the road from the Patton place was the home of John P. Taylor, Jr., several of his great-grandchildren reported that the chimney of his old home could be seen there in recent years.  About 2½ miles to the west is the Bells Run Baptist Church, where many of the Taylor family were members.  Thomas L. Taylor, son of John P., Sr. lived on land adjoining the church and in 1877 donated a lot for the new church building (Ohio Co. deed book Z, p110).  The old part of the Bell’s Run Cemetery began as the Taylor family cemetery.  The oldest grave there being of Thomas L. Taylor’s first wife, Cassandra Van Cleave, who died in 1824.  Thomas L. joined the Bell’s Run church in 1831 and was ordained one of its deacons in 1833, a position later held by two of his sons, George W. & Benjamin W.  Thomas’s son, John Samuel Taylor, was ordained a minister by the church in 1855 and served as its pastor in 1858 & 1879-1881.  Joseph Perkins Ellis, husband of Jane S. Taylor, daughter of John P., Sr., was pastor of the Bell’s Run Church during 1842-1857 & 1866-1878.  The church in January 1854 licensed Mack Taylor, a former slave of John Peyton Taylor, to preach, and was to have ordained him but his untimely death prevented it.  A death certificate records that Mack died at the age of 50 on 7 Feb 1854 of pneumonia, he was a farmer, married, born in Fairfax Co., VA, & his owner was Mary Taylor.

        To the preceding record of the children of John Peyton Taylor & Mary Davis the following can be added:

        Ann Davis Taylor married Joseph Robinson Midkiff in Ohio Co., KY on 12 Nov 1823, she died in Ohio County, where she lived in the vicinity of Magan, her gravesite is not known.  To them were born - Thomas T., William D., Benjamin F. & Mary B.  Her sister, Elizabeth, married his brother, James G. Midkiff.  They were 1^st cousins to Kit Carson.  Their mother, Mrs. Benjamin (Elizabeth Robinson) Midkiff, was a sister to Kit’s mother, Rebecca. 

        Thomas L. Taylor was a veteran of the War of 1812.  He participated in the siege of Baltimore in the year of 1814.  His 1^st marriage was recorded in Shelby Co., KY and his 2^nd in Ohio Co., KY.  By his 1^st wife he had - John Samuel & Hiram V. and by his 2^nd - Squire Littlegrove, Cassandra, Jesse McCrocklin, Benjamin Wilson, Richard Dudley, Lucinda, Mary P., George Warren, Lydia Jane, James Thomas & Henry Peyton.  He died in Ohio County, and his gravestone is in the old section of the Bells Run Baptist Church Cemetery.  Jesse James, the notorious outlaw, was a 1^st cousin twice removed to his wife, Sallie L. McCrocklin.

            Matilda B. Taylor married Benjamin Van Cleave in Shelby Co., KY on 11 Aug 1818.  Between 1824-1826 moved to Montgomery Co., IN, and between 1850-1854 moved to Dallas Co., Iowa.  She died in the latter place on 4 April 1880 and was buried there in the Panther Creek Cemetery.  She had 13 children – Bazzil, John Peyton, Mary Elizabeth, Joseph Warren, Benjamin Taylor, Aaron Crawford, Ada Anne, Thomas Taylor, Samuel Grimes, Solomon Munson, Cornelius Johnson, Margaret Jane & Stephen Allen.

            Mary B. Taylor married John B. /”Jack” Van Cleave on 20 Sep 1821 in Shelby Co., KY.  He was a son of Aaron Van Cleave & Elizabeth (Van Cleave), and was a brother to Matilda B. Taylor’s husband, Benjamin Van Cleave, and to Margaret Van Cleave, wife of Benjamin B. Taylor.  Between 1824-1826 moved to Montgomery Co., IN.  She married 2^nd Cornelius Johnson in Montgomery County on 4 July 1839.  By the time of the 1840 census had moved to Vigo Co., IN.  She died in that county on 29 June 1876 and was buried there in the Hull Cemetery.  By her 1^st marriage she had – Henry S., Matilda Ann, Sarah Jane, Elizabeth & John Samuel, and by her 2^nd – George W. Johnson.

            Elizabeth D. Taylor married James G. Midkiff in Ohio Co., KY on 17 March 1825.  She died in Ohio County, where she is buried in the Capp (Midkiff) Cemetery between Adaburg & Beech Valley.  To her were born – Mary Elizabeth, Matilda Ann, John Peyton, George Robert/Robertson, Araminta Barbara, Joseph B. & Thomas L.

            Benjamin Benton Taylor’s middle name was contained on a sheet in the records of the late Archie B. Chapman.  He married Margaret Van Cleave in Shelby Co., KY on 8 Sep 1825.  By 1826 had moved to Montgomery Co., IN.  The 1850 Montgomery County, IN Census Mortality Schedule records that he died a sudden–accidental death in May 1850, he was age 48, married, born VA, and was a farmer.  His children included William C., Mary A. (m. her 1^st cousin Benjamin Taylor Van Cleave), Matilda J., George P., Lucinda E., Nancy B., Sally E., Bessy P., Basil N. & James A.

            Sally P. Taylor married Jabesh Lewellen in Ohio Co., KY on 22 Oct 1826.  They moved to Missouri, where they were listed in the 1830 census of Ralls County (p366).  They were residents of Monroe County after the its formation out of Ralls in 1831.  The 1840 Monroe County census (p150) lists them as being residents of Indian Creek Township.  She appears in the 1870 census of Monroe County.  Among her children was a son, Thomas, who was born c1832 & was living in Monroe Co., MO in 1860.

            Lucinda Taylor married James A. Johnson on 10 Sep 1829 in Ohio Co., KY.  She was buried in the Bells Run Baptist Church Cemetery in Ohio County.  Her death was on 24 July 1897.  To her were born – Sally Ann, Grant A., Barnett, Thomas L., Hannah H., William Allen, Mary & Aretus C.  Two of her great-grandsons were Zack Terrell & Ray Chapman.  Zack was a noted circus operator, at one time he owned the Cole Brothers Circus, the world’s second largest circus.  Raymond Johnson Chapman has the distinction of being the only player ever killed during a Mayor League Baseball game, he was killed by a pitch in 1920; a segment on him appeared in the celebrated documentary on baseball by Ken Burns.

            Ada Priscilla Taylor married Samuel Jackson in Ohio Co., KY on 24 Feb 1828.  She resided in Daviess County, KY.  The location of her grave is not known.  She may have been buried in the Jackson Cemetery in Daviess County.  Her children were – George Cessna, Mary S., Letitia, Lydia Ann, Sarah, John S., Thomas L., & Margaret.

            Jane S. Taylor married Rev. Joseph Perkins Ellis in Ohio Co., KY on 15 Sep 1835.  He was a noted Baptist minister in Ohio & Daviess Cos., KY and founded several local churches including Whitesville and Zion.  A biography and a picture of him & his wife, Jane, was published in the book, A History of the Daviess – McLean Baptist Association in Kentucky, by Rev. Wendell H. Rone (1943, pp263-6).  She died in Whitesville, Daviess Co., KY on 12 Nov 1889 and was buried in the Ellis Cemetery in Ohio County, near Whitesville.  The Owensboro Daily Messenger of 14 Nov 1889 reported “The wife of Rev. J. P. Ellis, of Whitesville, died Tuesday, the 12^th inst., of pneumonia and was buried Wednesday.”  Their children were – William Peyton, Luther C., Sarah M., Rebecca Ann, Margaret E., Nannie J. & Ada Priscilla.

            John Peyton, Jr. married his 1^st cousin Susan Davis about 1833.  He died in Ohio County on 9 Feb 1895 and was buried in the Bells Run Baptist Church Cemetery, his grave is unmarked.  He married a 2^nd time on 1 Aug 1873 when he wed Mrs. Susannah (Neighbors) Langley in Ohio County.  His children, all by his 1^st wife, were – George Washington, Benjamin B., Nancy A., Presley Davis, Lucinda P., Christopher Columbus, Delilah, Sidney S. & Cordelia.  A 3^rd great-grandson is Rex Chapman, a Kentucky basketball star, who from 1988-2000 played in the NBA.

           

            John Peyton Taylor & Mary Davis also raised another child, William F. Taylor.  He was born in 1821-1822.  The marriage bonds of his children report that he was born in Shelby County, KY.  His relationship to John Peyton Taylor has not been learned.  From early childhood he was reared in the home of John Peyton Taylor.  A child of his age appears in the home of John P. Taylor in the 1830 census.  Shortly after William F. Taylor came of age he was deeded 82½  acres of land for $1.00 by John P. Taylor on 28 Nov 1844 (Ohio Co. deed book I, p389).  In an Ohio County, KY Circuit Court suit (#1077) involving the sale of the John Peyton Taylor slaves, William F., gave testimony, on 31 May 1850.  He said:  “That he is now about 28 or 29 years of age, that he was raised by John P. Taylor and always resided in his family until about two years before his death and during that time he lived within about a mile of his house…”  In the interviews of hundreds of descendants of John Peyton Taylor & William F. Taylor (including his last surviving granddaughter) no additional clues on his relationship to the Taylor family could be learned.  William F. died at Adaburg in Ohio County on 15 March 1891.  He married Elizabeth Jane Pate in Ohio County on 27 Aug 1846.  To them were born – John Peyton, Squire Littlegrove/ “Grove”, William Henry, James M., Samuel Franklin, Sallie Mary, Margaret Priscilla, Jesse Calep, Lee & Joseph Thomas.  Margaret Priscilla Taylor married John Howard Long and they are this writer’s great-grandparents. 

Published:  Kentucky Family Records, Vol.25, West-Central Kentucky Family Research Association (Utica, KY: McDowell Publications, 2001), 33-40.

Addenda by Jerry Long:  Appearing in numerous family tree files published on the Internet there are two fallacies that I would like to draw attention to. One is attributing William F. Taylor (c-1821-1891) with the middle name of Ferdinand. When I first began researching in 1979 I shared with a Taylor cousin a tentative outline (theory) that listed our ancestor possibly as “William Ferdinand Taylor”.  I had thought this possible because I found a Ferdinand Taylor (1877-1950) among the descendants of John Peyton Taylor. After becoming a more experienced researcher I realized that there was far from sufficient evidence to deduct this. It is a too far a leap to make a guess based on only this one instance.  After years of researching the children, grandchildren, great and great-great-grandchildren of John Peyton Taylor (died 1847) nowhere is else is the name of Ferdinand found. Basing a theory only on names beginning with ‘F’ there is more probability for a guess that his middle name is Franklin. I have longed regretted making this error of not differentiating fact from guessing. Many researchers are now listing William F. Taylor (c1821-1891) as the son of John Peyton Taylor & his wife, Mary Davis or of his son, Thomas Littlegrove Taylor (1795-1878) & his wife, Cassandra Van Cleave. These conclusions are totally contradicted by the family bible record published here and by the hundreds of pages that enumerate the children of John Peyton Taylor or of his son, Thomas Littlegrove Taylor, that are to be found in the Ohio County estate files, circuit court suits and deed books.

Source: Jerry Long, Owensboro, KY