Anne; I have found the story on many occasions and for a while thought that was the basis of our story that we were related to family of Pres Zach. My Taylors lived very close to Zach's family in VA Earl H Taylor [email protected] (909) 593 2652 yahoo IM eht2060 AOL IM eht2060 http://www.keyway.net/~eht2060/ -----Original Message----- From: Ann Blomquist [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, February 14, 2005 1:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [TAYLOR] Re: Zachary Taylor's second wife? There is NO evidence that Zachary Taylor (1707-1768, grandfather of President Zachary Taylor) ever married anyone name Esther Blackburn. This is an internet myth which has no documentation. Since the family did not include any second wife on the family plaque, it is doubtful that Zachary married after Elizabeth's death. Though the narrative below isn't complete because I don't have access to some records, this is a documented narrative of this Zachary Taylor. Ann Blomquist Orlando, FL Descendants of Zachary Taylor 1. ZACHARY3 TAYLOR (JAMES2, JAMES1) was born Apr 17, 1707 in King & Queen Co VA, and died 1768 in Orange Co VA. He married (1) DAUGHTER LEA c 1730 in VA, daughter of JOHN LEA and ANN. She was born c 1708, and died Bet. 1730 - 1734 in VA. He married (2) ELIZABETH LEE c 1734 in prob Caroline Co VA, daughter of HANCOCK LEE and SARAH ALLERTON. She was born 1709 in Westmoreland Co VA, and died 1753 in Orange Co VA. Notes for ZACHARY TAYLOR: Zachary Taylor was born in 1707 in New Kent Co VA. However, by 1721 his father took the family back to King & Queen Co where the family had lived earlier. In 1721, Spotsylvania County was formed from part of King & Queen. On 3 Oct 1727, Zachary's father James gave him 1000 acres "at the Little Mountains and on ye south side Rapidan River in St. George's Parish, Spotsylvania County" for 5 shillings. (Crozier, 100) Zachary was about 20 years old and he was already identified as "of St. George's Parish, Spotsylvania County. (Crozier, 100) On Sep 28 1728, Zachary and his brothers George and Erasmus, all "of King & Queen County" each patented 1000 acres in Spotsylvania County. Zachary's tract was located "at the foot of the Great Mountains" beginning at George Penn's land, adjoining Thomas Hamm and Henry Madison. (Nugent, Vol 3, 354) Beginning in 1728, Zachary was a witness to numerous deeds in Spotsylvania County. (Crozier) In 1728, Caroline County was formed from part of Spotsylvania County. On Feb 10 1728/9, Zachary "of Drysdale Parish, Caroline County, Gentleman," sold 100 acres of the 1000 acre tract that his father had given him in 1727 to William Phillips for 1600 lbs tobacco. The piece was located on the south side of the southwest mountains on Pamunkey branches in St. George's Parish, Spotsylvania County. (Crozier, 111) In March 1729, Zachary sold 123 acres of his father's patent to George Anderson for £19. (Crozier, 111) Both of these deeds indicate that Zachary was a resident of Caroline County and did not live on the tract near the future town of Orange. In June 1729, Zachary's father James died. Though no will is extant, it seems that each Taylor son inherited a large tract of land. Zachary did obtain Meadowfarm where he seems to have lived during his entire adult life. Beginning in late 1731, Zachary Taylor was involved in a very curious legal arrangement. He and John Key were made guardians of James Lea and William Lea, minor sons of John Lea deceased. (Casey, 137, 280; Crozier) If Zachary were a young unmarried man, only age 24, it would be highly unusual for him to be appointed a guardian of a minor. A reasonable explanation for this assignment of Zachary as a guardian would be his marriage to a Lea daughter. John Key was married to a Lea daughter, and if Zachary were married to a Lea daughter, then this would not be an unusual guardianship. So, I believe that Zachary was married to a daughter in this family. John Lea died in King & Queen County in 1729, leaving his widow Ann (no proof of surname) and underage children. Widow Ann quickly married Thomas Creathers (Crethers, Carruthers). The younger children were old enough to select their guardians: William and Betty chose their step-father Thomas Creathers, but then, on Oct 3 1731, William Lea chose Zachary Taylor and Taylor posted a £50 bond. (Crozier, 70) On the same date, John Key posted bond as guardian of James Lee. On the same date of Oct 5 1731, Thomas Crethers of Spotsylvania County made a deed to William Lea for 100 acres in St. George's Parish with a payment of £12 by Lea and £30 by Robert Baylor. (Crozier, 120) It is the belief of this researcher that Zachary's first wife died without any surviving children. So, Zachary's connection with the Lea family ended. On Sep 3 1732, Zachary, still "of Drysdale Parish, Caroline County," sold 200 acres in St. Mark's Parish, Spotsylvania County for £20. (Crozier, 124) [when and how did he get this land?] About 1734, Zachary Taylor married Elizabeth Lee, the young widow of Swan Jones. She brought a young son, John Jones, who Zachary would have raised. Zachary and Elizabeth had at least 4 children. In 1734, Orange County was formed from Spotsylvania County. At some time, Zachary and his family probably settled in Orange County on the tract that later was called Meadowfarm. On Feb 20 1737/8, Zachary Taylor of St. Mark's Parish, Orange County, sold 800 acres, "part of 1000 acre granted to Taylor on Feb 28 1728" to James Lindsey for £48. Witnesses: H. Bell, John Ransdell, Joshua Lindsey. Zachary's wife Elizabeth relinquished her dower on Feb 23 1738. (Dorman, Deeds, 47) On Aug 21 1738, Taylor sold 27 acres on a branch of Pamunkey River, "part of a tract whereon the said Taylor now lives" to John Rucker for £5.10. (Dorman, Deeds, 1) On March 22 1738/9, Taylor sold 15 acres on the branches of the Pamunkey River at the Little Mountains to John Goff for £2. Witnesses: James Coleman, John Howard, John Cook. (Dorman, Deeds, 10) On Apr 22 1740, "Zachariah Taylor" of Orange County sold 300 acres "formerly granted to Zacharias Taylor, Gent. on Sep 11 1738 to John Haskew for £8. (Dorman, Deeds, 39) Interestingly, Taylor is named three different ways within the same deed: Zachariah, Zacharias, and Zach. On May 10 1742 in Northumberland Co, "Spencer Ball agreed to surrender certain property to Zachary Taylor, gentleman, of Orange Co, present husband of Elizabeth, the mother of John Jones, the orphan of Swan Jones, gentleman, deceased." (Casey, 279) [10 more years of records should go here] In 1753, Elizabeth died at age 44. Zachary would have had sufficient help to raise the children. It would be unusual for Elizabeth to have had only 4 Taylor children during her 19 years of marriage with Zachary. Normally, women of this era had a child about every two years up to age 42. Zachary's mother Martha died in Orange County in 1762. In her will, she made Zachary one of the executors. (Casey, 131) [there should be many records in Orange County for Zachary 1734-1768] Zachary died in 1768 about age 61. Curiously, though he had conducted much business at the court, he did not leave a will. So, a correct list of his children is not known even from court records. An inventory of his estate totaling £910.1.9, including 26 slaves valued at £792.10.0, was presented in court on March 29 1768. (Dorman, 78) Zachary Taylor and his wife Elizabeth are buried at Meadowfarm in Orange County VA. The Taylor Cemetery is located about 1.5 miles south of the town of Orange on Road 612. Gates marked Meadowfarm are on the left. (Klein, 90) A plaque on the wall inside the Meadowfarm Cemetery states, "In Memory of the first Master and Mistress of Meadowfarm who are buried here. Zachary Taylor 1707-1768, son of James Taylor II of Bloomsbury, Knight of the Golden Horseshoe. Elizabeth Lee 1709-1753, daughter of Hancock Lee of Ditchley and granddaughter of Richard Lee. They were the grandparents of President Zachary Taylor, the great aunt and uncle of President James Madison, the great grandparents of Sara Knox Taylor - wife of President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy." (Taylor Quarterly (photograph); Klein, 92, incorrect info) Considering all of the events mentioned on this plaque, it must have been placed at the cemetery over 100 years after their deaths. At the time of Zachary's death, none of his 3 known sons were married. Later all of Zachary's known children migrated west, the sons to Kentucky and his daughter to Tennessee. What happened to the ownership of Zachary's homestead Meadowfarm? It is often stated that Zachary married widow Esther Jones, widow of Arthur Blackburn, and that they had several children, including a Zachariah Taylor and a Jeremiah Taylor. I have found no documentary evidence of this marriage or these children. If Zachary had married her, it seems that she would have been mentioned on the cemetery plaque. It has also been stated that Zachary was made the guardian of William Lea because Lea's mother Ann was Zachary's sister or aunt. There is no evidence that Ann was a Taylor, she does not fit into the Taylor family, and a more reasonable explanation is Zachary's marriage to a Lea daughter. References Henry, Reginald B. Genealogies of the Families of the Presidents, 1935. Nugent, Nell. Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol 3. Crozier, William A. VA County Records, Spotsylvania County 1721-1800. Dorman, John F. Orange County VA Will Book 2 1744-1778. Taylor Quarterly, Fall 1984, p 96-98. (photographs of the house, cemetery gate, and plaque) Klein, Margaret C. Tombstone Inscriptions of Orange Co VA, 1979. p 90, 91, 92. Casey, Albert E. Southern Taylor Families 1607-1830, 1958. Brewer, Mary T. From Log Cabins to the White House. (many errors, p 263-267) Hendrick, Burton. The Lees of VA, 1935. p 29. Northumberland County VA Order Bk Researched and written by Ann Blomquist. 11/2003 This narrative is copyrighted material and may NOT be posted or published except by the author. More About ZACHARY TAYLOR: Fact 1: Bet. 1727 - 1728, Spotsylvania Co VA Fact 2: Bet. 1728 - 1734, Caroline Co VA Fact 3: Bet. 1734 - 1768, Orange Co VA Children of ZACHARY TAYLOR and ELIZABETH LEE are: i. ZACHARY4 TAYLOR, b. Feb 26, 1734/35, Orange Co VA; d. Jun 18, 1815, Jefferson Co KY; m. ALICE CHEW, Jul 20, 1771, Orange Co VA; b. c 1740, VA; d. KY. ii. HANCOCK TAYLOR, b. c 1738, Orange Co VA; d. 1774, Madison Co KY, killed by Indians. iii. ELIZABETH TAYLOR, b. c 1740, Orange Co VA; d. Henderson Co KY; m. (1) THOMAS BELL, c 1758, prob Orange Co VA; d. c Mar 1792, Washington Co TN; m. (2) ALEXANDER MCDONALD, Sep 23, 1794, Lincoln Co KY. iv. COL. RICHARD TAYLOR, b. Apr 03, 1744, Orange Co VA; d. Jan 19, 1829, Louisville, Jefferson Co KY; m. SARAH DABNEY STROTHER, Aug 20, 1779, Orange Co VA; b. Dec 14, 1760, Orange Co VA; d. Dec 13, 1822, KY. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Edgar Taylor" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 14, 2005 3:19 PM Subject: Zachary Taylor's second wife?- Re: [TAYLOR] Family myths, NA lines > I am interested in connections of Taylors with Native Americans. In > several exchanges I have raised the question whether the Ester > Blackburn, who married Zachary Taylor, the grandfather of Gen. and > Pres. Zachary T., was an NA. Like so many Taylors we have the tradition > that our Taylors are connected to Pres. Zachary Taylor, which my great > grandfather unhesitantly told his Rathbone cousins was a fact. He and > his father, Cornelius Taylor, knew the Gen., so there may be some > truth in this, though I have never been able prove it. > > The suspicion of an NA in our Taylor family comes from the observation > that, though a father Isaac Taylor, was named for Cornelius' sister, > Deborah Taylor who married Edmund Rathbone, a mother was never > mentioned. Also, Cornelius T. had some facial and other characteristics > that might indicate an NA ancestry. > > Can any one address this question of Zachary Taylor's second wife with > any good evidence? > EdT of PGH ==== TAYLOR Mailing List ==== To contact the administrator of this mailing list, send mail to [email protected] ============================== Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx