Dear Fellow Old Edgefield District Researchers. The following Bible record was sent to me because it contained one of my key search words, Rotton. It was transcribe by Steve Stone and proves the Maiden name of Nancy Rotton, wife of John.W. Rotton, son of William Rotton and Lydia Loveless of Old Edgefield Dist, SC. John W. moved to AL. I am a desc. of John Rotton, uncle of John W., and brother to John W.'s father William. My line remained in Old Edgefield Dist, and I was born in an area of Aiken Co. that was once in Old Edgefield Dist, about 25 miles from where I find these folks. However, I do work with several William Rotton desc. and we are specifically trying to prove the father of William, John and Tarleton Rotton, and develop the next earlier generation. I was very excited when I received the information from Steve Stone. Before this, I had been sent speculations that John's wife was a Freeman or a Smith, by various researchers. But this STRONGLY supports the name TAYLOR. I received permission from Steve Stone to post these records to the various lists. I hope this helps many of you William Rotton md. Lydia Loveless folks. Steve tried to contact Carol Hardy Bryan but got back in touch and was unable to get in touch. Therefore I am posting this for him. I commend Steve on the wonderful way he described and analyzed the data. Billie Jones Camden, SC tjones@camden.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcribed in May, 2005 by: Steve A. Stone P.O. Box 1175 Pascagoula, MS 39568-1175 228-769-4906 StoneSA@supship.navy.mil Steve Stone is a Ward Taylor descendant. His decendancy: Ward Taylor: Moses Taylor: Ward Taylor II: Marion DeKalb Taylor: Fleming Moses Taylor: Lois Eustacia Taylor Stone: Steve Vance Stone: Steve A. Stone. Ward Taylor was the father of Josiah Taylor of Edgefield SC. A STUDY AND SPECULATION ON THE JOSIAH TAYLOR FAMILY BIBLE [Transcribed by Steve A. Stone] This article is a speculative analysis of the Bible I will refer to as the Josiah Taylor Family Bible. Below is a description and transcription of the Bible and its family pages, along with some assumptions and questions raised by the text. This is not definitive, and the author makes no assertion that the assumptions and conclusions are accurate. The Bible was documented by a series of 20 photographs taken by Steven E. Stone, of Alexander City AL. The photographs are available upon request to researchers of this family line. Josiah Taylor was a son of Ward Taylor of Edgefield Co. South Carolina. He was born in 1768 in Edgefield Co. and died there on October 19, 1821. He was married to Susannah Glanton, who was born in 1773, presumably in South Carolina, and died on February 22, 1860 in Heard Co. Georgia. ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY: Photographs of the Bible pages were digitized by Steven E. Stone and E-mailed to the transcriber as JPEG files. Examination of each photo image was performed, using Microsoft Photo Editor to vary the image size and contrast. The transcription is a literal recording of the images, with undecipherable text noted. Handwriting analysis was performed based on examination of significant characteristics of penmanship and apparent pressure application. The examination is an amateur effort and should not be considered conclusive. FACTS ABOUT THE BIBLE: The Bible is currently in the hands of the widow of a Josiah Taylor descendant. She is not named here to safeguard her privacy. She is a resident of Alabama, and her late husband was a bona-fide member of the family. She granted access to the Bible for the purpose of transcribing and photographing it, but wishes to limit invasions of her privacy and access to this fragile book. The frontspiece of the Bible indicate that it was published by Mathew Cary & Son of Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA in 1817. The Bible contains a concordance of the New Testament by John Brown. The covers of the Bible are mostly detached and the pages are somewhat curled and frayed on their edges, and yellowed with age. Some pages have evidence of exposure to water, but damage is not extreme. The pages are fragile, but most of the writing is clearly evident. Some pages appear to have been written on by a child who was learning to write. There are 5 family pages with text. The pages are divided vertically by a hand-drawn line, and edged with a printed beaded pattern design. TRANSCRIPTION: PAGE 1 - Column Headings: MARRIAGES (Left Side of the Page) Silas Taylor was marred the 26 day of may 1818 Moses Spivey and Martha Taylor was maried the 7 day of march 1820 Jonny Rotton Was maried December 23rd 1821 Silas Taylor Was maried November the 8th 1811 This the first marriage (Hand Drawn Line) Josiah F. Rotton was born october the 10th in the year of our Lord 1825 Louisa Jane born the year of Lord 1830 Day Dec 6 (This entry is very faint and evidences water damage.) (Right Side of the Page) Silas Taylor Was maried fifteenth day of August 1824 Silas Taylor was maried august the 21 1827. This is the forth marriage Silas Loveless Rotton was bornd in the year of our Lord february the 24th 1827 (Very faint entry) Nancy Ann was bornd February 8 in the year of our Lord 1830 (Very faint entry. This is Nancy Ann Almon) Susan allmon was born the first of november 1824 Elisabeth allmon was born the 12 of february 1825 Zacariah allmon was born the 21 march 1826 PAGE 2: Column Headings: BIRTHS (Left Side of Page) Silas Taylor was bornd october 22 in the year of our lord 1793 Freeman Taylor was bornd April the 15 in the year of our lord 1795 Jonathan Taylor was bornd January the 3 in the year of our lord 1797 Wily Taylor was bornd october the 22 in the year of our lord 1798 (Right Side of Page) Martha Taylor was bornd March the 27 in the year of our lord 1802 Nancy Taylor was bornd September the 7 in the year or our lord 1805 Delaney Taylor was bornd September the 4 in the year of our lord 1807 Lucindy Taylor was bornd April the 27 in the year of our rd 1809 PAGE 3: Left Column Heading: BIRTHS (Left Side of Page) Elisabeth Taylor was bornd January the 1 in the year of our lord 1811 Claracy Taylor was bornd June the 28 in the year of our lord 1813 Penelope Taylor was bornd october the 18 the year 1812 Jarol Taylor was bornd february the 3 the year 1818 Mary Brown Taylor was bornd June the 8 the year 1795 Wily Taylor was bornd July . . . 1811 (Appears to be pencil entry; the day is not distinguishable) Jonithan Taylor . . . May 1827 (Appears to be pencil entry; the rest is not distinguishable.) Right Column Heading: DEATHS (Right Side of Page) Elisabeth allmon was born 23 april 1831 (Very faint entry) Hezekiah allmon was born the 31 of december 1828 Marthy glanton was born the 7 of June 1831 Oren Swilvan was born July 1 in year of Lord 1828 Elisa Beth Spivey was born the 4th April 1226 (actually was1826) Virginia Louisa Spivey was born September the 5 1827 (Very faint. Appears to be a pencil entry) PAGE 4: Column Headings: DEATHS (Left Side of Page) Wily Taylor died September the 3 1814 Lucindy Taylor Died September the 3 1821 Josiah Taylor died the 19 october 1821 Silas Taylor Died October 17th AD 1837 (Right Side of Page) (All Pencil entries except for the last, which was in ink) J. W. Rotten was Born in the year of our Lord 1794 Nancy Taylor birth - 1805 [wife of John W. Rotton] J. F. Rotten Birth oct october the 10 1825 S. L. Rotten birth feb the 24th 1827 L. J. Rotten dec. 6 1829 Nancy Rotten feb 8 1830 Augustus Rotten oct 31 1831 Jabez Rotten Jan 27 1834 Martha was Birth August the 22 AD 1835 Isaiah Rotten was Born March the 22nd 1837 PAGE 5: (This page is unusual in that it has no header or border and contains 1 entry in ink, which was copied above in pencil, apparently by a child) Jonathan Almon was born January the 20, 1795 ANALYSIS OF HANDWRITING: Several conclusions can be drawn from the handwriting, though none give many hints as to any of the writers. Page 1 First Column: The upper left hand quadrant was written by two different individuals, based on the unique characteristics of certain letters. The "S" in the first entry for "Silas" is formed differently from the "S" in the second entry for "Spivey" and the "S" in the fourth entry for "Silas." The "S" in the second and fourth entries are formed the same way, indicating that they were written by the same hand. The "W" in "Was" is identical in the third and fourth entries, indicating they were written by the same hand. The fifth entry in the column was written by yet another hand. The "R" in "Rotton" is very different from that of the third entry, and also, the third entry spells the name with one "t", whereas the fifth entry shows two. The last entry of the column is dissimilar from any of the others. The hand is not as neat. But there are distinctive double-lines in the capitals for the words "Louisa" and "Born." Second Column: The first entry evidences the same "S" and "W" style as that shown in the second, third and fourth entries of the First Column. The capital "T" in "Taylor" is made exactly the same as the one shown in the fourth entry of the First Column. This entry appears to be from the same person. The second entry does not match the writing style of any of the other entries on the page. The third entry shows similarities to the fifth entry of the First Column, in that the capital "R" in "Rotton" appears similar, as does the "W" in "Was," which has a peculiar tail. The "y" in "year" is very similar, and both entries have a distinctive curl in the final stroke of the letter "d" in "Lord." The conclusion is that these two entries were made by the same hand. The fourth entry is not clear enough to determine distinctive characteristics of hand. The last three entries of the page were certainly made by the same hand. The tone and clarity of the ink, size of the script, and near-exact replication of the style of the hand indicates the entries were made at the same time. Page 2 All entries on the page were written by the same person. The handwriting is distinctly different from any of those appearing on Page 1. The script is bold, large and clear. The spelling of "bornd," the inconsistence of capitalization of the months of the year, and the consistency with the small-case "lord" are distinctive. Page 3 First Column: This entire column was a continuation of Page 2 entries, and was evidently done by the same hand at the same time. Second Column: The column is written by several different people, with entries at different times. The entries were made after-the fact, as evidenced by the lack of chronological sequence to the dates. The first, second and third entries were made by the same person. The appearance of the letter formation in the word "born" is consistent and the formation of the numerals in the year entries is also consistent. The handwriting is overall consistent with that of the author of the last three entries on Page 1, Second Column. The second and third entries may have been made on the same day, based on the degree of similarity in the script. But, the first entry is in a different ink and appears to have been entered at an earlier time. The entry for Oren Swilvan is difficult to analyze. The handwriting appears very similar to the entries on Page 2 and the First Column of Page 3, but the distinctive loop on the letter "d" in the word "Lord" indicate it could be a different hand. Also, all entries for Josiah Taylor's children have a lower case "l" in the word "lord." The next most similar handwriting is on Page 1 in the first column. The entry for Josiah Rotton shows the same loop in each "d" and the word "Lord" is capitalized. It cannot be conclusively determined that they were by the same hand, but these two entries are the only ones that appear with the two distinctive characteristics noted. However, the first entry on Page 4 noting the death of Wily Taylor appears to have been made by the same person who wrote the Swilvan entry. The Wily Taylor entry also exhibits the exact same formation of the letter "T" in "Taylor" as for all the entries on Page 2 and the First Column of Page 3. The conclusion is that all the entries noted herein were made by the same hand. The fifth entry on the page, "Elisa Beth Spivey," appears to be a unique entry. The "loop-back" characteristic of the "W" in the word "was" is very distinctive, as is the cross-loop of the letter "A" in "April." These characteristics are not seen in any other entry. However, upon closer examination, the "S" in "Spivey is made exactly as the "S" in "Susan" in the fifth entry on Page 1, the word "born" is written exactly as the same word in the last three entries of Page 1 and the first three of this column, leading to a conclusion that the same person wrote all these entries. The final entry of the page bears remarkable similarity to the entries on Page 4, Second Column listing all the "Rotten" children. It is likely that this entry was done by the same person. Also, the entries are all faded, and could either be pencil or a very light ink. Page 4 First Column: The first entry of the page is discussed in the Page 3, Second Column discussion regarding the entry for Oren Swilvan. The second and third entries were made by the same person; possibly at the same time. The ink appears to be the same hue and have the same degree of fade. The "T' in "Taylor" and the "D" in "Died" are made exactly the same way, with distinctive characteristics to each. The first entry bears the same characteristics in the "S" in "September" as the second, third and fourth entries of Page 1, First Column, and the first entry of Page 1, Second Column. The conclusion is that the same person who made the Page 1 entries also made these. The fourth entry of this page, marking the death of Silas Taylor, appears unique. The characteristics of the capitals "L," "T," "A," and "D" are not seen in any other entry. Also unique is the formation of the numeral "8." Second Column: The Second Column contains entries from three different hands. All entries in this column were made by the same person. The "B" in "Born" of the first entry matches the script style of the "B" in "Birth" of the second, third, fourth and ninth. The ink appears to be the same, as does the pen pressure. No entries on any other page appear to have been made by the person who wrote these. The capitals are distinct, with similarities shared by several entries with the formation of the letters "J" and "R." The last name is spelled "Rotten," which is repeated consistently through the entries. The last entry on the page was written in a different ink, and with a different pen, but the characteristic "step" in the formation of the capital "R" in "Rotten" as well as the formation of the "B" in "Born" and the formation of the word "the" indicate the same hand No other page has entries by this hand. Page 5 There are actually 2 entries for this page. One is a pencil copy of the ink entry; probably done by a child. The entry on the page documents Jonathan Holston Almon's birth. The handwriting is unique to the Bible pages, indicating it was the only entry made by the writer. The script is very even and controlled. The spelling of "Almon" is correct, according to the accepted version of his name, unlike the double-l spelling (Allmon) of the other family entries. Capitalization and the comma inserted in the date give an impression that the writer was well educated. CONJECTURES AND QUESTIONS: The Bible appears to have changed hands several times. Or, it was held in communion among several of Josiah's children. The entries are not consistent with respect to dates, indicating that some entries were made years after the fact. On Page 1, the first Almon entry is for Nancy Ann, though the citation doesn't include her last name. She was born in 1830, but the Allmon entries that follow are in chronological order, starting with Susan, who was born in 1824. The fact that only 1 of Josiah Taylor's several wives was mentioned by name - Mary Brown, on Page 3, First Column, may indicate that the entries for Josiah's family were made by one of Mary's children. Conjecture is that the Penelope Taylor and Jarol (Jerald?) Taylor entered in above Mary Brown Taylor, were children of Silas. If fact, it may lend credence to the notion that the Bible was owned by Silas. The entry of Mary Brown Taylor at the bottom of the family list for Josiah Taylor could indicate that the Bible was originally kept by her, and that she passed it to either daughter Delaney or Elizabeth, who made subsequent entries and passed it down through their families. This author believes the Bible was given to Delaney and Jonathan Holston Almon, based on it 's known recent history. The Bible raises several questions beside who originally owned it: 1) Who were the 3 unnamed wives of Silas Taylor? 2) Were Penelope and Jerol Taylor children of Silas, or of another member of the family? 3) Who was Marthy Glanton, and how was she related? 4) Who was Oren Swilvan, and how was he related? 5) Who was Virginia Louisa Spivey?