In their pioneer home in Kentucky, William and Elizabeth Patrick Taylor became the parents of their eighth child, Joseph, on 4 June 1825. Although some records indicate he was born in Bowling Green, the Taylors actually lived approximately 12 miles north of that town and just west of Richardsville near the Barren River.
Joining in the westward migration that was characteristic of those times, the William Taylor family, including their eleven children, moved to Monroe County, Missouri, in 1831 along with other relatives. The family obtained an 80-acre land grant on 3 Nov. 1831 in Jefferson Township along the Ivy Branch of the South Fork of Salt River. William said that Missouri was the most beautiful and fertile land he had ever seen when his family moved there.
Apparently the early missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints met the Taylor family in 1832. Joseph's father, a man who was very conversant with the Bible, believed himself to be the first person baptized into the Church in the state of Missouri. The Taylors lived in an area called the Salt River Branch. (The above facts appear to disprove an earlier account of William Taylor's miraculous conversion as written by Leila Marler Hoggan in Fred. G. Taylor's Book of Remembrance.)
Ever loyal to the Gospel from the time of their baptism, the Taylors moved successively to Ray County, Missouri, then to Long Creek in Clay County eight miles south of Far West, then lived briefly in Far West.
The Taylor children early learned to revere the authorities of the Church. Their mother Elizabeth often sent the children to take food to the Prophet Joseph Smith while he and some associates were incarcerated in the Liberty Jail.
When Governor Boggs issued the infamous "Order of Extermination", the Taylors loaded what belongings they could take with them and moved to Illinois. William Taylor, weakened by persecution and exposure, became ill during the journey and passed away soon after arriving in Illinois, on 9 September 1839.
(more to come)
William Warren Taylor
Birth: Mar. 21, 1787Edgecombe County
North Carolina, USA
Death: Sep. 9, 1839
Warsaw
Hancock County
Illinois, USA
Son of Joseph Taylor Jr. & Sarah Best
Husband of Elizabeth Patrick
By: Lella Marler Hogan
January 1933
William W. Taylor was born in Virginia on 21 Mar 1787. He was the son of Joseph Taylor, whose ancestors had come to America from England as early as 1635, and Sarah Best (Taylor). William had two brothers, Allen and Joseph, and eight sisters ie Elizabeth, Frances, Sarah Best, Lottie, Amy, Temple, Mary Ann, and Delilah.
While William was still a small boy, he came with his parents to Warren County, KY. There, he became a well-informed man and was pronounced in his political views as a Democrat. He married Elizabeth Patrick, daughter of John Patrick and Sarah Kendrick, at Bowling Green, Warren, KY. She bore him fourteen children, seven daughters and seven sons their names as follows: John, Allen, Julia Ann, Mary Ann, Louisa, Elizabeth Ann, Sarah Kendrick Best, Joseph, Pleasant Green, William Warren, Levi, Nancy Jane, Amanda Malvina and James Caldwell.
Their homestead was at Bowling Green until the year 1830. Then they sold their property and pushed out into the West along with other pioneers. They settled in Monroe County, MO, which was a land of wild animals and Indians. This beautiful country was covered with rolling prairies and timberland. William purchased six hundred and forty acres of this valuable land and began the task of converting it into beautiful farmland.
The Church of Jesus Christ was organized in the Spring of 1830. The Saints were constantly persecuted from that time on because of their religious beliefs, being driven from their homes in Missouri and denied the common rights of U.S. citizens. So, in the Spring of 1834, President Joseph Smith formed a military company of one hundred men, known as Zion's Camp and started west to demand that his people in Missouri be given their rights. About two hundred recruits joined the camp en route.
At this time, William Taylor and his family were located on a slight elevation of land between two forks of the Fishing River. When Zion's Camp reached this place, they were forced to stop to mend some of their wagons and to search for some of their horses which had wandered away. Enemies of the church had made threats against the Camp, but before they could be carried out, a furious storm arose. So much rain fell that the river became an impassible torrent. The members of Zion's Camp were forced to take refuge in an old church and in the homes of the Saints nearby. The storm routed the mob who fled in panic. Joseph Smith and his followers remained in the vicinity until the following Sunday, when services were held and the doctrines of the Church expounded. William listened to one sermon and was immediately converted. Before the Camp moved on, he and his wife and his children eight years or older were baptized in the Fishing River. They had been converted too. There were twenty-eight members of the family and friends also who were baptized at that time.
William W Taylor was the first person to accept the Gospel and the first man in the State of Missouri to be baptized into the Church. Shortly after this, he was ordained an Elder in the Church and became an earnest preacher of the Gospel.
Two days, after meeting Joseph Smith, William manifested his confidence in the Prophet by fitting up his own son and his son-in-law with provisions, munitions and equipment allowing them to become members of Zion's Camp.
From the time William joined the Church he threw himself into the Lord's work whole-heartedly and followed the Saints through all their persecutions.
He was forced to give up one home after another. His property was stolen and destroyed and insults and injury were heaped upon him and his family, but they never doubted the wisdom of their loyalty to the Faith they had accepted. Trials only held them closer to the Saints with whom they had cast their lot. They owned homes successively in Monroe, Jackson and Caldwell Counties - altogether more than a thousand acres of choice land, but it was all lost to them. William once loaned a man $500.00 in cash but when he went to get the money, the man threatened his life. Another man stole a herd of finely-bred pigs from him, which he never recovered.
William finally settled on Long Creek in Clay County, MO, eight miles south of Farr West. He bought a home and remained there until the Spring of 1839. It was a great joy to him that his family could witness the laying of the cornerstone of the temple at Farr West. Late in the Fall of 1836, to escape mob violence, he moved his family into Farr West. There were so many displaced Saints there that they were unable to find shelter and camped on the ground in the streets. That night, ten inches of snow fell on their blankets. From that time onward, the persecutions became more terrible until, finally, the city was surrendered to the mob. William and his family moved back to Long Creek only to find that the mob had been there and destroyed much of their livestock which had been left behind. Their chickens and pigs had been eaten as well as several heads of cattle and their crops had mostly been burned.
In February 1839, they were again forced to move. Among other things, they had to leave one thousand bushels of corn in the crib, for which they received in return an old neck yoke worth about $2.50.
Finally, Governor Boggs ordered that all the Saints be expelled from the State of Missouri. William accepted his lot patiently and heroically. He and his family traveled hundreds of miles through all kinds of weather. People along the way were unkind to them and added to their discomfort instead of lending sympathy. At last, through exhaustion and exposure, William became ill of Typhoid Fever and on 9 Sep 1839, he passed away. He died as a martyr and was buried on the main road between Lima and Warsaw.
A short time before he died, he called his family around him and counseled them to rally around the Priesthood and to stay with the main body of the Church. Each of his children promised him that they would not marry outside the church.
So ended the life of a great and good man. Through all the years he was resourceful, industrious and progressive. Though he had a strong will he was a humble and God-fearing man. He had great faith and a keen intellect and was absolutely fearless in living according to his convictions. Without hesitation he placed the accumulated wealth of a lifetime on the altar. When he decided to leave everything in order to follow the Saints his relatives clung to him and begged him to remain near them, but there was no turning back for him.
From the day that he answered that first challenge of truth his life was a devotion to the cause that to him was dearer than life itself.
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Elizabeth "Betsey" Patrick Taylor
Birth: Dec. 9, 1793
Mecklenburg County
Virginia, USA
Death: Oct. 25, 1880
Harrisville
Weber County
Utah, USA
Mother of
1. John Taylor
2. Allen Taylor
3. Julia Ann Taylor
4. Mary Ann Taylor
5. Louisa Taylor
6. Elizabeth Ann Taylor
7. Sarah Kendrick Best Taylor
8. Joseph Taylor
9. Pleasant Green Taylor
10 William Warren Taylor
11 Levi Taylor
12 Nancy Jane Taylor
13 Amanda Melvina Taylor
14 James Caldwell Taylor
ELIZABETH PATRICK TAYLOR
By: Lella Marler Hogan
January l933
Elizabeth Patrick Taylor was born in Virginia on 9 December 1793, daughter of John Patrick & Elizabeth Kindrick. The family was of Irish descent & is thought to be of the line of the old American family of Patrick. Elizabeth was a large, robust woman with a sandy complexion & was very strong & fearless. She had two sisters, Nancy & Polly, & eight brothers.The family moved from Virginia to Kentucky & it was at Bowling Green, Warren County, KY that she was married to William W. Taylor.
She bore him 14 children, seven sons & seven daughters. Their names were as follows: John, Allen, Julia Ann, Mary Ann, Louise, Elizabeth Ann, Sarah Kindrick Best, Joseph, Pleasant Green, William Warren, Levi, Nancy Jane, Amanda Malvina & James Caldwell. In 1830, the family moved to Monroe County, Missouri, which was an unbroken land of wild animals & savage Indians, but she fearlessly accepted the hardships of the frontier and helped to subdue it.
The family was introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spring of 1834. After their baptisms, they became devoted workers in the cause. Through all of the persecutions that the Church endured, Elizabeth stood steadfast. She gave up one home after the other, sacrificing the comforts and blessings of her hearth & fireside in order to be with the Saints. She found joy in making her home a pleasant place to live.
Through her thrift & ingenuity, she was able to surround her family with many home comforts & to prepare nourishing and appetizing meals for them. Her skilled fingers spun the yarn from which she made suits of clothing for her husband & sons. At one time, they were forced to leave their home hurriedly, under stress of mob violence, and, cutting the cloth from her loom, she carried it with her never seeing the loom again.
At another time, in their travels, they met an old couple who were grieved because their best horse had died leaving them stranded. Without hesitation she asked her husband to unhitch her favorite mare and give it to the old couple so that they could continue on their way.
During the Winter of 1836, while the Saints were camped in the streets of Farr West, more than once Elizabeth prepared food & carried it to the Prophet's friends who were held captive in prison. Some of the men from the mob came and tried to persuade her daughters to run away with them, telling the girls that they would be destroyed if they stayed with the Saints. Elizabeth took a long stick from the fire and in no uncertain manner quickly drove the men from her camp. They did not return.
Elizabeth and William had always lived in harmony until his sudden death in 1839. This was the hardest trial she had to endure in those early days. Her faithful and devoted husband had worked and sacrificed with her through many long years. He died in September 1839 while they were journeying from Missouri to Illinois, having been expelled from their home in Missouri. They had been driven out and robbed so many times that they were in destitute circumstances.
Some of the older children helped her with the support of the family. But, even though times were perilous, she had no fear. She was ready to take up the burden where he had laid it down. A short time after her husband's death, a Mr. Gillum came and offered Elizabeth forty acres of good land if she would stay in Missouri at the time the Saints were driven out. This offer was no temptation to her. She scorned the offer and journeyed with the Saints to Nauvoo, Hancock County, Ill.
The family was in destitute circumstances. President Joseph Smith gave them a city lot and they built a log house on it. All of the children, who were at home, worked together for the support of the family. With her strong character she held the family together notwithstanding the great hardships they endured and they all remained with the Church and came to Utah with the Saints except for Sarah who remained in Iowa.
Elizabeth Taylor was in Nauvoo when the Prophet went to Carthage to his doom. After the tragedy, she and a son and a daughter went to Carthage Jail and saw the Prophet's blood staining the floor. She was present at the meeting when the "mantle of Joseph" fell upon Brigham Young and, like the others, she thought that Joseph had been resurrected and had returned to lead his people.
On 26 Jan 1846 she and three of her children were permitted to go into the Nauvoo Temple and receive their endowments. It was a great trial for the Saints to have to give up their sacred temple, their homes so dear to them and their beautiful city of Nauvoo, but, when the governor ordered them to leave, Elizabeth was one of the first to begin the long trek across the western plains. She drove her own ox-team, going as far as Council Bluffs that year, and in May 1849 she went on into the Salt Lake Valley.
She made her first home in Kaysville. Her boys were good farmers and made a nice home for her. She took part in all the pioneer tasks so essential in those days ie. spinning, weaving, knitting, sewing, cooking, cleaning and many other labors great and small. During the last years of her life she lived with her son, Pleasant Green Taylor, in Harrisville.
On 25 Oct 1880, she passed on to her well-earned rest at the age of 87 years and 10 months. To the end of her life she was true to the memory of her loving husband and to the faith that had proved to be a staff for her hand and a light to her path.
Family links:
Spouse:
William Warren Taylor (1787 - 1839)*
Children:
John Taylor (1812 - 1896)*
Allen Taylor (1814 - 1891)*
Julia Ann Taylor Allred (1816 - 1898)*
Mary Ann Taylor McCord (1817 - 1842)*
Louisa Taylor Stout (1819 - 1853)*
Elizabeth Ann Taylor Criddle (1821 - 1906)*
Sarah Kendrick Best Taylor Dobson (1823 - 1909)*
Joseph Taylor (1825 - 1900)*
Pleasant Green Taylor (1827 - 1917)*
William Warren Taylor (1828 - 1892)*
Elizabeth Durdell Smith Taylor (1829 - 1887)*
Levi Taylor (1830 - 1909)*
Nancy Jane Taylor Smith (1833 - 1900)*
James Caldwell Taylor (1837 - 1907)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Ogden City Cemetery
Ogden
Weber County
Utah, USA
Created by: Marigay
Record added: Apr 19, 2003
Find A Grave Memorial# 7368178
Memorial# 7368178