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Note: e could have been Margaret Louisa Eaton (born in Kentucky, per Penny Walters Towater). Unfortunately, tracing Taylor genealogy is difficult because it was a common name in Whitley, Knox, and Pulaski counties, and there were other families with similar names and only slightly different birth dates.
Some information about our Nelson R., Louisa, and family were recorded in the Whitley County census of residents in 1860 and 1880, and in the Knox County census in 1870. A little additional information is found in Whitney County tax lists and land records. Birth, marriage, and death records for the family have not been found. Evidence linking the descendents of Henry Clay Taylor to the Nelson R. Taylor family is given in Henry's notes.
Two out of three of the census records indicate that Nelson R. Taylor was born in Kentucky in 1816-1818 and his parents were born in Virginia. Louisa was born in 1817-1818 in Tennessee (or Kentucky) of parents born in Tennessee. In the last census, 1880, they were farmers living within the boundaries of the Williamsburg post office. (After the Civil War, their son Henry returned to Rockholds, located 7 miles north of Williamsburg.) Prior addresses were Whitley District 577 in 1860 and Knox Swan district in 1870. Their children, all born in Kentucky (probably in Whitley County), included: Henry (b: abt 1844), Thomas (b: abt 1847), Isaac (b: abt 1850), George (b: abt 1851), Polly (b: abt 1854), John W. (b: abt 1857), and Andy (b: abt 1860). Penny Walters Towater believes there may have been two additiional children that do not show up in the family censuses: Phoebe (b: abt 1842) and Sophia (born 23 Nov 1854 to Nelson and Margaret Louisa Eaton).
Tax records for Whitley County do not clearly identify which Nelson Taylor they reference. In the 1840 list there is one strong possibility. This Nelson was over age 21, was not living along a water course, had no farm animals or children, and had property valued at $0. In the 1850 list, there is a likely entry of a Nelson over age 21, not located on a water course, with 1 horse, 10 cattle, 3 children under age 16, and a property value of $75.
Except for Henry, the fate of this family is poorly known. According to the 1880 census, Nelson and Louisa (then in their early 60s) lived in District 113 of the Williamsburg Post Office. George (unmarried, age 26) and Andy (unmarried, age 20) worked the farm. A grandson James (age 5) was also listed, but it is not clear who his parents were. Living on another farm were Polly (age 26, divorced) with daughters Mossey and Flora (ages 2 and 6 months). Based on age and proximity, it is likely she was Nelson and Louisa’s daughter. Nelson declared $200 in personal property but the question regarding value of real estate was left blank. That suggests he did not own the farm, but was a sharecropper. The census taker noted that no one in Nelson’s household was able to write. The last reference to Isaac was in 1860 and to Thomas in 1865. John W. Taylor lived with Henry and Florence in 1880 and married Mary B. Meece of Pulaski County on August 14, 1881. The family may have migrated to Texas or Missouri, like many Kentuckians.
Attempts to trace the ancestry of Nelson R. Taylor have been unsuccessful to date. We may deduce that Nelson was born somewhere in Kentucky in 1816-18 and was probably living in Whitley or Knox counties by 1840. It is likely that his parents were born in Virginia during the 1790s, but we have no clue as to names or exact locations. Adding to the confusion, this area was a frontier administered first by Virginia, then by Knox County, and finally (after 1818) by Whitley County. On top of that, civil records are incomplete and often inaccurate, people were on the move, and there are many possible Taylors to choose from. The earliest tax lists contain a number of possible fathers--if we assume he was established in the area of Whitney County in 1810-20, the decade that our Nelson was born. The most prominent land owners were Stephen, David, William, Cornelius, and Isaac. People of lesser importance were Henry (1812), Thomas (1818), and Jesse (1818-19). Note that the names Henry, Thomas, and Isaac were later given by Nelson to his children. Based on the 1820 census, Britan, Isaac, and Joseph Taylor had families with young boys by then.
A story handed down to Aline Taylor Schneider is that a distant Taylor relative once owned river bottom property immediately above Cumberland Falls and had about 8 slaves. Prior to the Civil War he released the slaves, sold the property, and moved. This story can be partially verified. Tax records for Knox County in 1830 list:
Doctor Jesse Taylor, age 30-40 (b: 1790-1800) and a female (wife?), age 20-30 (b: 1800-1810)
who had a total of 9 slaves (1 male <age 10, 3 males age 10-24, 3 females <age 10, 1 female
age 10-24, and 1 female 24-36). No white children were listed. Slave ownership was uncommon in this area and this is the only Taylor reported to have had slaves. A Jesse Taylor is also mentioned on Knox County tax lists for 1818 (“1 white male over 21”) and 1819 (“100 acres Knox Yellow Creek entered, surveyed and patented in names [unreadable]”). Jesse is not mentioned in the 1840 census of Knox County.
It has not been confirmed that Jesse ever owned land close to Cumberland Falls. However, a number of other Taylors on the Whitley County Tax List Summary had a water course location of “CF” (an abbreviation for Cumberland Falls?): Ben (1850, 300 acres), Cornelius (1850, 640 acres), Daniel (1850, 640 acres), Elizabeth (1850, 130 acres), and Redmond (1850, 50 acres). According to the “History and Families of Whitley County” the falls and 200 acres of land were patented in 1800 by Matthew Walton and Andrew Shepherd. From 1850 to 1875, the land and property rights were owned by Lewis and Mary Renfro, who became the first permanent land-owning settlers at the falls.
It can be ruled out that Doctor Jesse was the father of our Nelson R. Taylor because there is no indication that Jesse had any children. No children were listed in the 1830 census (Nelson would have been age 12-14 then) and Jesse’s Will, probated in December 1839, mentions only his wife Lucretia and William Barton’s infant daughter as legatees. We can infer that Doctor Jesse died in 1839 when only 40-50 years old. He was not the same Jesse Taylor who later settled in Harlan County, became a large land owner, and founded a large clan.
Researched and written by James (Taylor) Schneider, November 2007
Note: The oldest known members of this Taylor line are Nelson R. and Louisa Taylor. Her maiden nam
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