James Taylor, of King & Queen County

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James Taylor, of King & Queen

Also Known As: "James Taylor “the elder”"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: England
Death: April 30, 1698 (51-60)
St. Stephen's Parish, King & Queen County, Virginia Colony, British Colonial America
Immediate Family:

Husband of 1st wife of James Taylor and Mary Thomas
Father of Jane Taylor (died young); James Taylor, ll, of 'Rapidan'; Sarah Powell; Ann Caruthers; Mary Taylor (died young) and 5 others

Occupation: Farmer
Managed by: Linda Sue
Last Updated:

About James Taylor, of King & Queen County

James Taylor emigrated from England to Virginia between 1660-1667. About 1688 he entered a tract of land as a homestead, consisting of nearly 1000 acres situated on the Mattaponi river in that part of Drysdale Parrish, New Kent County, later know as the Southerly part of Caroline County, Virginia. He lived there until he died and was buried on his farm in Caroline County, Virginia, (2) eight miles south of the present town of Bowling Green.

He married twice and according to tradition, the first marriage was in England to Frances Walker, with an issue of four children. The second marriage was to Mary Gregory in Virginia with an issue of seven children.


James married his first wife - unproven as Frances Walker - in the mid-1660's, and their children were:

  1. Jane, b. 27 Dec 1668, d. 1669 (some unsourced profiles show a twin James or Martha who also died in infancy)
  2. James II, b. 14 Mar 1674, m. Martha Thompson, d. 23 Jun 1729
  3. Sarah, b. 30 Jun 1676, m. Robert Powell, d. 1730

After her death, he married Mary Bishop Gregory on 12 August 1682 in Virginia. His first wife died 22 Sep 1680, and two years later on 10 Aug 1682, James married Mary Gregory of Rappahannock and they had: [8] [9]

  1. Ann, b. 12 Jan 1684/5, m1. John Lea, m2. Edward Eastham, Jr., d. abt. 1730 (some unsourced profiles show a twin named John who died young [10] but that John was born later)
  2. Mary, b. 15 Nov 1686, died young
  3. Mary (2), b. 29 Jun 1688, m1. Edward Watkins, m2. Henry Pendleton, d. 10 Jun 1770
  4. Edmund, b. 05 Jul 1690, m. Sarah Brooking, d. 1750
  5. John, b. 29 Sep 1692, died young
  6. Elizabeth, b. 10 Jun 1694, died young
  7. John (2), b. 18 Nov 1696, m. Catherine Pendleton, d. 22 Mar 1780

"He was a large landowner and he was a prominent citizen in the colony. He was a lawyer and a public official and served as a member of the House of Burgesses. He was Sheriff of New Kent County in 1690 and vestryman of Saint George's Parish. He moved to Orange County, Virginia, and belonged to Saint Stephen's Parish in New Kent County and also in King and Queen County. He owned 13,925 acres along the Mattaponi River where he built his home and named it " Hare Forest ", named for the Earls of Pennington Castle in England where Taylor ancestors are buried. By division of county lines his home was in Orange County, Virginia where his children was born. This home is now located in Caroline County, Virginia."

From The Taylor Association:Descendants of James Taylor I (d. 1698)

  •  James Taylor is usually called the first ( I ) or the elder to differentiate him from his direct descendants who were also named James. He appeared in Virginia around the latter mid 1600's. There is mention of a James Taylor as a headwright of Leonard Chamberlain in his land patent in New Kent County, VA, in 1671. This may have been James Taylor I. It fits the time period for James I, but there is no way to be certain. He is first on record in New Kent County, VA, in December 1675. This date appears in a land patent granted to James Taylor dated Oct 30, 1686, for 950 acres which describes the land he lives on as being of several parcels, one of which was 200 acres purchased of Thomas Reinold, Dec 3, 1675. (Two Land Patents of James Taylor I)
  • There are very few records of James Taylor I, but some of his land patents have survived and are accessible at the Library of Virginia and are online at their website. Some of his life may be traced through these records, though there were many more that were destroyed by fire and war. These missing records would have told of the disposal of the patents owned by James I, and if they had survived would have given us more of his story. James I had a son from his first wife--James II. He was of age by 1695, so the land patents granted after this date may have been to either James until 1698 when James I died.
  • James I was married twice. We know this from bible records also online at the Library of VA website. His first wife was the mother of James Taylor II. Her name is not given in these records or any other records (but is often listed with no sources as Frances? Walker?). The second wife of James I was Mary Gregory. The descendants of James Taylor I are from James Taylor II, his sister Sarah and from the surviving children he had with Mary Gregory--Anne, Mary, Edmund and John. James Taylor II married Martha Thompson. Sarah Taylor married Robert Powell. Ann Taylor married Edward Eastham, Jr. Mary Taylor married Henry Pendleton and Edward Watkins. Edmund Taylor married Sara. And John Taylor married Catherine Pendleton (the sister of Henry).

Research Notes

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Taylor-679

1. There is mention of a James Taylor as a headright of Leonard Chamberlain in a 1671 land patent in New Kent County, Virginia. This may have been James Taylor I. It fits the time period for James I, but there is no way to be certain. [5]

2. No reliable source has been found linking this James Taylor to the James Taylor who appears in church records of Carlisle England.

3. No reliable source has been found linking this James Taylor to the Dr. James Taylor who immigrated to Bermuda in 1635 aboard the ship "Truelove" and who appeared in The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1931, LDS film 476924; and Rappahannock County, Virginia records. [6]

4. The genealogy of the Taylor family published in Mary Taylor Brewer's From Log Cabins to the White House and in Stella Pickett Hardy's Colonial Families of the Southern States of America link this James Taylor to the Taylors of Carlisle, England and Pennington Castle. Neither book cites reliable sources for this information, and Brewer's early Taylor genealogy has been discounted by professional genealogists Nathaniel Lane Taylor and Kenneth Harper Finton.

5. The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence also claims, without citing any reliable source, that James Taylor's family came from Pennington Castle, near Carlisle, England; and that he was a descendant of Baron Taillefer who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and became the Earl of Pennington; but no reliable source is cited for this information. DSDI also reports (incorrectly) that "James Taylor arrived in Virginia in 1635 at the age of 20 and established the estate of Hare Forest on Chesapeake Bay between the James and North Rivers."

6. No reliable source has been found for this James Taylor having served in the Virginia House of Burgesses or as Surveyor General of Virginia.

7. There is no basis for the story that James Taylor I's home in New Kent and King and Queen counties was named "Hare Forest." The only recorded references to a Hare Forest are in Orange County, Virginia [7] which was not settled until 1734, long after James Taylor I's death. James's son James Jr./II helped survey Orange County and built a home there in 1722, but that home was named "Bloomsbury." The Taylor-Pendleton-Chenault Cemetery near Bowling Green, Virginia is sometimes referred to as "Hare Forest," but it lies some 30 miles north of where James Taylor I resided in New Kent County and the James and Mary Taylor buried there are not James Taylor I and Mary Gregory. [8] [9] [10]

8. There is a family tradition about an early James Taylor owning a seal ring that bore the Taylor coat of arms; [11] however there is no source that links that ring to this James Taylor I of New Kent and King and Queen Counties. [6]

9. This is not the incorrectly merged Dr. James Taylor (1608-1698) of Surry County, North Carolina who married Elizabeth Underwood. [12]

10. A previously linked father, John Taylor, is proven not this James Taylor's father since John Taylor's will leaves his estate to his "only heir", his daughter, Elizabeth. [13]


Notes - by Ann K. Bloomquist, 2004

  1. The Taylor Family Bible was published in the VA Magazine of History and Biography in 1926. This is the only known source for family birth, marriage, and death dates which seem to be generally accepted as correct. link
  2. James Taylor was probably a native of England, but once he arrived in Virginia, he moved very little. He spent about 24 years as a resident of New Kent County and the last 7 years in King & Queen County only because it was formed from New Kent. He never lived in Caroline County as it was not yet formed. Even the part of King & Queen where he lived probably did not fall in Caroline when it was formed in 1728. So, researchers and descendants should call this man "James Taylor of King & Queen Co VA."

Notes

"Virginia Heraldica", 1978 Page 108 Crest: A naked arm couped at the shoulder embowed, holding an arrow ppr. Motto: Consecquitur quodcunque petit.

"James Taylor, ancestor of the Caroline county family of that name, is said to have come from the vicinity of Carlisle, England. He was in Virginia before 1650 and took out patents of land on the Mattaponi River. By his first wife, Frances, he had Jane, born 27 Dec., 1668; James, born 1674; Sarah, born 1676. His first wife died in 1680, and in 1682 he married Mary, sister of John Gregory, by whom he had the following children: John and Anne, twins, born 1685, John died young; Mary, born 1688; Edmund, born 1690; John, born 1693, died young; Elizabeth, born 1694, died young; John, born 1696. James Taylor died about 1698 at an advanced age. An old ring handed down in the family is said to have once been his property, and it bears engraved upon it the above crest which is that of the Taylors of Pennington Castle. The descendants of James Taylor have been exceedingly prominent in the history of the State, one of them - Zachary, becoming President."



Older notes

James Taylor (son of John Taylor and Elizabeth) was born 12 February 1633/34 in England, and died 30 April 1698 in Bowling Green, King & Queen County, VA.

Also seen as christened on 2/7/1635 Dent, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom



The James Taylor known in history as James Taylor 1st was son of immigrant John Taylor and nephew of Dr. James Taylor. He was born in England 1635 and was transported to America under the Headright System by John Rosier of Northumberland Co., Va., 7 February 1650. He was well educated, an able lawyer, surveyor, vestryman of the church, and a member of the ‘40's,' a group of trustworthy men chosen to defend the Colony against Indians. Each man was levied a tax in arms and provisions. The record of this assignment is in the Parish Register of Northumberland Co., Virginia, 1676, listed by Melnor Ljungstead in early court records and notes.

"James Taylor I was a large landowner and he was a prominent citizen in the colony. He was a lawyer and public official and served as a member of the House of Burgesses. He was sheriff of New Kent County in 1690 and vestryman of Saint George's Parish. He was married, first, about 1666 in Virginia to Frances Walker who died September 23, 1680. He moved to Orange Co., Virginia, and belonged to Saint Stephen's Parish in New Kent County and also in King and Queen County.

James Taylor I was married, second, to Mary Gregory August 12, 1682. She was born about 1665 and died about 1747. She was a sister of John Gregory, Jr., and they were from Essex Co., Virginia. Her father was John Gregory and her mother was Elizabeth Bishop of Sittenbourne Parish, Rappahannock Co., Virginia.

10/21/1687 - 744 acres Rappahanock County Virginia Land Patents Book 7 page 625: South side of the Rappahanock River, 480 acres granted to Mr. Henry Abery, who sold to Mr. Robert Bishopp, who bequeathed to John Gregory, who gave to his sister Mary, now wife of said James Taylor; said land in danger of being lost was petitioned for by said Taylor the 1st day of the last Genrll. Court -04/15/1687 & granted by the Gov'r; beg. by the Indian Path alias Mr. Abrey's path, to fork of Gregory's Creek, on Richard Gregory's lyne, in sight of John Gatewood's plantation, to the Rowleing Roade. 246 acres for the transport of 5 persons: James Taylor, Hanna Martin, Robert Jones, Ursula Collis, Hanna Collier.

More about the Headright System:

A headright is a legal grant of land to settlers. Headrights are most notable for their role in the expansion of the thirteen British colonies in North America; the Virginia Company of London gave headrights to settlers, and the Plymouth Company followed suit. The headright system was used in several colonies, including Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Most headrights were for 1 to 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of land, and were given to anyone willing to cross the Atlantic Ocean and help populate the colonies. Headrights were granted to anyone who would pay for the transportation costs of a laborer or indentured servant. These land grants consisted of 50 acres (200,000 m2) for someone newly moving to the area and 100 acres (0.40 km2) for people previously living in the area. By giving the land to the landowning masters the indentured servants had little or no chance to procure their own land. This kept many colonials poor and led to strife between the poor servants and wealthy landowners.

The headright system began in Jamestown, Virginia in 1618 as an attempt to solve labor shortages due to the advent of the tobacco economy, which required large plots of land with many workers. The disproportion that existed between the amount of land available and the population created a situation with a low supply of labor, resulting in the growth of indentured servitude and slavery. The headright system was also a way to attract new colonists. Colonists who had already been living in Virginia were each given two headrights of 50 acres (200,000 m²); immigrant colonists who paid for their passage were given one headright, and individuals would subsequently receive one headright each time they paid for the passage of another individual. This last mechanism increased the division between the wealthy land-owners and the working poor. Headrights were given to heads-of-households and because 50 acres were accumulated for each member of the household, families had an incentive to make the passage to the colonies together.

Process of obtaining headrights

After paying for the passage of an individual to make it to the colonies, one had to obtain a patent for the land. First, the governor or local county court had to provide a certificate that certified the validity of the importation of a person. The man seeking land would then select the land he desired and have an official survey made. The two basic surveying instruments used to mark plots of land were a chain known as Gunter's chain and a compass. The patent’s claimant would then take the description of this land to the colony’s secretary who created the patent that would then be approved by the governor. Once a headright was obtained it was treated like a commodity and could be bought, sold, or traded. It also could be saved indefinitely and used at a later date.

Eligibility

Individuals who could afford to do so would accumulate headrights by providing funds for poor individuals to travel to Virginia. (During the 17th century, the cost of transport from England to the colonies was about six pounds per person.) This system led to the development of indentured servitude where poor individuals would become workers for a specified number of years and provide labor in order to repay the landowners who had sponsored their transportation to the colonies. The claimaints to headrights could receive grants for men, women and children since anyone could become an indentured servant. Early documentation from the Virginia Company seems to suggest that a landowner could receive a headright even if the indentured servant whose trip they sponsored did not make it to Virginia alive. While the majority of headrights distributed were issued under the names of British immigrants, as time went on, indentured servants who provided the heads-of-households with land came from throughout Europe and could be used as headrights, as could slaves from Africa.

Slavery and the headright system

Plantation owners benefited from the headright system when they paid for the transportation of imported slaves. This, along with the increase in the amount of money required to bring indentured servants to the colonies, contributed to the shift towards slavery in the colonies. Until 1699, a slave was worth a headright of fifty acres. According to records, in the 1670s over 400 slaves were used as headrights in Virginia. This number increased in the 1680s and 1690s. Many families grew in power in colonies by receiving large tracts of land when they imported slaves. For example, George Menefie purchased sixty slaves, and thus received 3,000 acres of land in 1638. In 1699, it was decided that headrights would only be distributed for English citizens and that paying for the transportation of a slave could no longer guarantee land.

Issues with land patent records

According to records, there was a large discrepancy between the number of headrights issued and the number of new residents in the colonies. This gap may be explained by high mortality rates of people during their journey to the colonies. Landowners would receive headrights for the dead and thus, the gap would widen between population growth and amount of headrights issued. Another explanation suggests that the secretary's office that issued the headrights grew more lax. There were few regulations in place to keep the headright system in check. Because of this, several headrights were claimed multiple times and people took advantage of the lack of governance. For instance, when a person was brought to the colonies, both the ship captain and the individual paying the transportation costs may have attempted to receive land patents or headrights for the same person. Another problem was that secretaries sometimes issued headrights for fictitious people. During the 1660s and 1670s, the number of headrights was about four times more than the increase in population. If this large discrepancy must be attributed to more than fictitious issuing, a final explanation suggests that people had accumulated and saved headrights. Headrights could be bought for about 50 pounds of tobacco each. The owners of the grants then claimed the land years later once the land had risen in value. Although keeping a count of the number of headrights issued may not lead to accurate estimations of population growth in the colonies, the number of patents issued acts as an indicator of the demand for land.

Consequences of the headright system

In addition to leading to the distribution of too much land at the lax secretary's discretion, the headright system increased tensions between Native Americans and colonists. Indentured servants were granted land inland, which was near the natives. This migration produced conflict between the natives and the indentured servants. Later, Bacon's Rebellion was sparked by tensions between the natives, settlers, and indentured servants.

References

^ a b c Baird, Robert (2001). "Understanding Headrights". Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet II. Retrieved February 12, 2012. ^ Eichholz, Alice (2004). Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources. Provo, UT: Ancestry. ISBN 978-1-59331-166-7. ^ Hilliard, Sam B. (October 1992). "Headright Grants and Surveying in Northeastern Georgia". American Geographical Society 72 (4): 416–429. JSTOR 214594. ^ a b Grymes, Charles A.. "Acquiring Virginia Land By Headright'". virginiaplaces.org. Retrieved February 12, 2012. ^ a b c Morgan, Edmund S. (July 1972). "Headrights and Head Counts: A Review Article". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 80 (3): 361–371. JSTOR 4247736. ^ Bruce, Philip Alexander [1896]. Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: an Inquiry into the Material Condition of the People, Based upon Original and Contemporaneous Records, Volume 2 (Google EBook). New York: Macmillan and Co. ^ Morgan, Edmund S. (1995). American Slavery, American Freedom: the Ordeal of Colonial Virginia. New York: W W Norton & Co.. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-393-31288-1.



http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18538665 Birth: Feb. 12, 1635, England Death: Sep. 22, 1698 Bowling Green Caroline County Virginia, USA

Grandson of Thomas Taylor,II & Margaret Swinderby Taylor

Son of John Taylor & Elizabeth Horton Taylor.

Husband of Elizabeth Underwood Taylor (married 1654) Children: Elizabeth Taylor

Also Husband of Frances Taylor (married 1666) Children: James Taylor Jane Taylor Martha Taylor Ann Taylor Pocomoke William Taylor James Taylor Sarah Taylor Powell Lyshia Taylor

Also Husband of Mary Gregory Taylor (married August 02, 1682) Children: Ann Taylor Elizabeth Taylor John Taylor Mary Bishop Taylor Pendelton Edmund Taylor James Taylor John Powell Taylor

Family links:

Parents:
 John Taylor (1607 - 1652)
 Elizabeth Nunne Horton (1610 - 1659)

Children:

 James Taylor (1675 - 1729)*
 Ann Taylor Lea (1684 - 1731)*
 Mary Taylor (1685 - 1685)*
 Mary Taylor (1686 - 1686)*
 Mary Bishop Taylor Pendleton (1688 - 1770)*
 John Taylor (1696 - 1780)*

Siblings:

 John Taylor (1627 - 1702)*
 James Taylor (1635 - 1698)
 Thomas Taylor (1637 - 1687)**

*Calculated relationship

  • *Half-sibling

Burial: Hare Forest Cemetery Caroline County Virginia, USA

Created by: Paul Taylor "Moochie" Record added: Mar 21, 2007 Find A Grave Memorial# 18538665



Came to America in 1635 to Caroline Co, VA date of birth 2/12/1615 or 1610 - born in Pennington Castle, Cumberland, England / Earl Hare, Carlisle, England


"Hare Forest," four miles from Orange Court House, VA

.1. TAYLOR, JAMES(#1) b. ? Carlisle, England - d. 4-30-1698 m. [ from a TAYLOR family member :FRANCES Unknown b. ca 1650 - d. 9-22-1680. James emmigrated to VA. USA on the Chesapeake Bay, between the York & North Rivers abt. 1666-67. He spent the rest of his life in Drysdale Parish. He was buried on his own farm, approx. 8 miles south of Bowling Green, Caroline Co. VA.]....Children:

..2.1. Jane TAYLOR b. 12-27-1667 ..2.2. ? TAYLOR...dau. died n infancy 1668 ..2.3. JAMES TAYLOR(#2) b. 03-14-1674 Orange Co. VA. - d. 1670 m. (02-23-1699) MARTHA THOMPSON ..2.4. Sarah TAYLOR b. 06-30-1676

JAMES(#1) m. 2nd wife on 08-12-1682: Mary GREGORY b. ?- d. ? ......Children:

..2.5. Ann TAYLOR, Ann b. 1684 - d. ? & ..2.6. Elizabeth TAYLOR (twins) b. 1864 - d. ? ..2.7. Mary TAYLOR, Mary b. 01-29-1686 - d. 09-14-1686 ..2.8. Mary B. TAYLOR b. 06-29-1688 - d. 1770 Henry PENDLETON1 b. 1683- d. 1721 m. Edward WATKINS ..2.9. Edmund TAYLOR b. 07-05-1690 ..2.10. John TAYLOR b. 10-18-1696 m. Catherine PENDLETON2



James (I)Taylor Lawyer, Burgess, Sheriff, Soldier (1635 - 1698)

Born 12 February 1635, supposedly at Carlisle, Cumberland, England. There is great debate as to the pedigree of James Taylor, I, on whether it is correct. Most researchers believe that the published tradition of coming from Carlisle, England’s Earl of Pennington, is not correct. Under the Headrights System, James Taylor immigrated to the Virginia Colony on 7 February 1650, by John Rossier of Northumberland County, Virginia, being his sponsor.1a Educated in England, James later became a lawyer, surveyor, and vestryman of the Episcopal Church, and a member of the local militia with the rank of captain. Each man in the Colony was levied a tax to be used for arms and provisions to fight the Indians.4 Married first to Frances Walker (d: 22 September 1680, in Rappanhannock County, Virginia), daughter of Thomas Walker; married second on 10/12 August 1682, to Mary Bishopp Gregory, at Caroline County, Virginia. Frances was born circa 1635 at Warwick, England, and died on 22 September 1680, at Kent County, Virginia. Mary was born about 1665, the daughter of John Gregory and Mary Elizabeth Bishopp, at Rappahannock County, Virginia. She died in 1747. (Please see Gregory family history.) He was a large landower and he was a prominent citizen in the colony. He was a lawyer and public official and served as a member of the House of Burgesses. He was sheriff of New Kent County. in 1690 and a vestryman of St George’s Parish. and belonged to St. Stephen’s Parish in New Kent County and also in King and Queen County. In 1671, he owned 1,640 acres of land along the Mattaponi River. Between 1687 and 1695, he purchased more land along the Mattaponi River, so that his total acreage was 13,925. In 1693, he deeded to trustees of South Farnham Parish two acres and fifty perches of land on the south side of Hoskins Creek for a church. He held a patent for 950 acres of land in Kent County, Virginia, where he built his home and named it Hare Forest, named for the Earls of Pennington Castle in England, supposedly where Taylor’s ancestors are buried. The Taylor’s established their plantation in 1686 on Whorecock Creek (now Garnett’s Creek) and were neighbors of Col. William Leigh. This estate was the land Rickahock that was patented in 1653 by one Col. William Taylor.1b 21 Oct 1687 in Rappahanock County a deed from Virginia Land Patents, Book 7, page 625 states: 744 acres...

“South side of the Rappahanock River, 480 acres granted to Mr. Henry Abery, who sold to Mr. Robert Bishopp, who bequeathed to John Gregory, who gave to his sister, Mary, now wife of said James Taylor, said land in danger of being lost was petitioned for by said Taylor the 1st day of the last Genrll. Court 15 April 1687 and granted by the Gov’r, beg by the Indian Path alis Mr. Abrey’s Path, to ford of Gregory’s Creek, on Richard Gregory’s Iyne, in sight of John Gate- wood’s plantation, to the Rowleing roade. 246 acres for the transport of five persons: James Taylor, Hanna Mar- tin, Robert Jones, Ursula Collis, and Hanna Collier.”

Mr. James Taylor and John Neal of New Kent County: 20 October 1689, 209 acres in New Kent County.5 In St Stephen’s Parish, on North side of Mattapony River, beg. below James Taylor’s plantation, along John Neel’s line, to Col. Thomas Walker, on Robert Jones, to Thomas White’s. Importation of five persons: Tho. Grimstone, Hugh Jones, Thomas Allen, Tho. Davis and Anne Brooking. In 1690 as Sub-Sheriff of New Kent, County, Virginia, James Taylor served summons on those connected with Jacobite disturbances. He was Attorney of several cases in Essex County. He was also connected with trying to stop the lawless organization known as ‘Plant Cutters,’ who destroyed and burned tobacco plants and beds at night in an effort to control the price of tobacco. In 1683 Gov. Henry Chicheley called out the militia, arrested and punished the offenders. However, Lord Culpepper who represented England’s interests, didn’t agree with the decision. Consequently many were indicted and “hanged by the neck until they were dead.” James Taylor died 30 April 1698, at Bowling Green, King & Queen County, Virginia, at age 63.

The Virginia Heraldica being a “Registry of Virginia Gentry Entitled to Coat Armor” edit by Wm Armstrong Crozier; 2nd addition, Southern Book Co. Baltimore 1953, List James Taylor in Vol 7 on page 108: Arms: ermine, a lion rampant guardant azure, on a chief embattled gules, a fleur-de-lis or between two boars’ heads couped erect argent.”

“Crest: A naked arm cupped at the shoulder embowed, holding an arrow ppr. Motto: Consequitur quodcungque petit (Strikes what he airms at or he gains what he seeks).”

An old ring handed down in family is said to have once been his property, and it bears engraved upon it the above crest which is that of the Taylors Earls of Pennington Castle. (Please see ENDNOTES.)

On 6 June 1933 a memorial tablet to James Taylor 1st was unveiled at King and Queen County courthouse in Virginia. Dr. Rupert Taylor, Senator Henry Taylor Wickham and Admiral Hugh Redman of the U.S. Navy addressed the gathering. Following is some information taken from excerpts of their speeches: New Kent County was formed in 1654. King and Queen was formed from New Kent 1691. Essex was formed in 1692, King William 1701 and Caroline in 1727. The Tablet is inscribed as follows: "James Taylor of England emigrant lawyer, public officer, lived in St. Stephen parish, King and Queen County, Virginia, died April 30, 1698, first wife, Frances Walker, born 1640, died April 22 or Sept 22, 1680, she was the daughter of Thomas Walker and niece of Edward Walker of Virginia. James's second wife, Mary Gregory, daughter of John Gregory the son of Roger Gregory who first married Mildred Washington, aunt of General/President George Washington. Mary was from Essex County, married August 12, 1682, from him were descended , President James Madison, President Zachary Taylor, Colonel James Taylor (Knighe of the Horse Shoe), Judge Edmond Pendleton, John Penn signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Taylor of Carolina, General James Taylor of Kentucky, Admiral David Taylor, Admiral Hugh Rodman, Admiral Robert M. Berry, and other distinguished churchmen, soldiers, sailors and officials, in each generation who assisted in the formation and perpetuation of the colonies and this nation".

ENDNOTES

1 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jenkinsconnections/0005000... NOTE - all data from this source unless noted. The title ‘Earl of Pennington’ has never existed. Let me be more explicit about my earlier post: the whole fantasy creation of the Taylor ‘Earls of Pennington’ is based on someone either wilfully or woefully ignorantly inflating the entry about armigerous Major Pringle Taylor of Pennington, Southampton, in the 1838 Burke’s _Commoners_ (er, no known relation of the Virginia Taylors). For the curious, Major Pringle Taylor’s arms were: “Ermine, a lion rampant guardant azure, on a chief embattled gules a fleur-de-lis or between two boars’ heads couped erect argent.” They were an original grant made to him in 1823, and therefore can have no value whatsoever for any early Virginia immigrant Taylor families. Nat Taylor http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/1999-12/...

1a Dorothy Greenman Lee, Descendants of William Lea of Amelia Co., VA. (Leigh, Lea, Lee). (Pleasant Hill, CA.: self published, 1992) Pp. 165-73, “The Taylor Family.” (FHL-USA/CAN 929.273 L464l.) NOTE- The ship ‘Truelove’ arrived June 1635, aboard where James Taylor, 28, Ann Taylor, 24, William Taylor, 17 and Richard Taylor 16. Also on board was William Pendleton, 27, Thomas Larkin, 15, and William Lee, 18. It is believed that the minor children were returning from being educated in England. In 1653 a Col. William Taylor obtained land in King & Queen County of 1, 050 acres, on which land the later James Taylor (I) settled on. It would appear that the Taylors were in the colony earlier then believed.


References

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James Taylor, of King & Queen County's Timeline

1642
1642
England
1668
December 27, 1668
1675
March 14, 1675
New Kent County, Colony and Dominion of Virginia, Colonial America
1676
June 30, 1676
New Kent County, Virginia Colony, British Colonial America
1684
January 12, 1684
Hare Forest, Orange, Virginia, USA
1686
November 15, 1686
New Kent County, Virginia
1688
June 29, 1688
New Kent County, Province of Virginia, United States