The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-20


After suhdry wandering ME- Taylor
1 landed iii Baltimore, and from there h. on
April o. 1881. set out for tl!!s cityi Z he
western boundary 81 Richmond In TINT
1 day was tho present Ninth Street The
city was small aid uipretelitiotls. ~ 70
| trip WIS q inborlous ono end consumer
| more thar, d week. II travelled to Rlcli-
mond In Il stage coach, !" said Mr.. Taylor
| himself few years before his death.
iin,;d il took me Just one week to make
| mo trlp between Baltimore and Rich-
mond. Wn left Baltimore at 4 o'clock
| ia Inc afternoon Of April 9th. md travel
adj nine miles between that time and
lnight. Wo nado our way as best wa
cou1d by stages and drove into RICH
tnond at "a p. NJ. on tho 18TH There were
no hotels hero then and we stopped at n
tavern on what Is now Seventeenth
Street. kept by Mrs. Beers. Richmond l1
was then a small villngc as compared
with the city Of to-day. It had nut
! 1900 Inhabitants and lacked inc pr r.
gresslveness which now characterizes IL.
ENGAGED IN BUSINESS.
| For about a year nftcr he arrived IN
Richmond Mr.. Taylor was general man
nger for the Talman Rice Company,
manufacturers OF agricultural machine
~. Tiereaftcrh lie engaged In the grocery
and ship chambers business on Main
Street, near the Old Market. Trade was
| good, and hero Mr.. Taylor continued
until tho war. FIc built zip O modest, but
sufficient, fortune, but III the strenuous
days of the enrlyS CO.'S saw 1t all swept
| away When the war began MIR. Taylor
had $4,000 Invested in business, q con.
siderable sum for that time; when peace
was declared his entire assets consisted
Of a single barrel Of hard Confederate
| whskcy and one key or barrel OF clay
pipes. This was tho veriest Irony OF fate.
III all OF his long life the old man never
touched whlskey or tobacco. KS
Though beyond the ago Of conscription,
Mr.. Taylor, then fifty-onc years old, and
by birth a Northcrner, enlisted IN the
Confederate army and served CALAMITY
In tho Home Guard, under Colonel Wynd-
ham Robinson. After the war he started
| out again In business, meeting with more
! or less success. Ills business life after
this was uneventful. and It Is In his POLL
ticul career that tho greatest Interest
| centers. Eli ss
In the days Of long ago Mr.. Taylor was
ono Of tho staunchcst followers OF Henry
Clay, and II Is recorded that he voted
the WING ticket as long as there was
anybody on 1t. Among the celebrated
politicians with whom ho associated In
that day were John Minor Bolts John
| r. Lewis, Williams C. NVickham, Franklin
stearns, and others, Mr. Taylor
! took an active interest In local
politics. and in the course Of his
| life held eighteen different public offices.
TIe was first made justice of tho peace.
which Office he held for a period OF about
| fifteen years. He then took n seat in
| tho City Council and served during the
war, being turned out by the military
government. He also served three terms
lin tho Virginia Legislature, and after
wards was made treasurer Of Henrico
: rx1n Erf
Richmond, and while holding that office
acted as Mayor during the illness Of
| Mayor Mayo. Nv
IIIs Personal SIDE.
| This is in brief tho history OF tho
business and political life Of Mr.. Taylor.
On tho personal side Of his career much
more thatis interesting might be written.
gIn personal appearance Mr.. Taylor
was tall, well-proportioned and clean.
shayen.i,. He was avery distinguished
looking man.. and bore about him the
famous air Of the old school that is now!
scarcely more than n memory. The
secrets OF his wonderful old age. II there
was any secret to It. was his birthright
OF physical perfection. He was born with
a noble constitution, and his powers Of
endurance were remarkable. This was
at no time more evident than during the
last days upon the death-bed AS stated
above, Mr.. Taylor suffered no ailment
except extreme old age. He had no
physician except his son, DR.. William H.
Taylor, the distinguished coroner OF Rich
inond. At times he would sink 50 low
that recovery would seem utterly impos-
siblc. Then:~ with his wonderful consti-
tuition, he would rally and grow better
until there were hopes that 4lie might live
yet several days. His approach to the
end was marked by a series Of those
sinking spells. They came usually in the
morning and the afternoon.
Some years ago Mr. Taylor retired
from business, but he was always ex-
ceedlngly active, both in mind and body.
IIo took the keenest interest In affairs
md loved to go about. When his body
began to wear out and grow debllitatcd,
though there was still no disease In It.
he could not walk much, and he took to-
riding. Finally he had to stay Iii the
house almost entirely and to be carefully
nursed. He still moved around some
but could not walk a great deal, and
was easily tired. He retained every fac
.ulty, though upon his death-bed he lost
power of Speech
Probably his last appearance in public
was when he voted, for his son, "Dick, =
for Mayor In the last. election. II,s said
then It would probably be the last vote
{ he would ever cast, and his prediction
was true. lie know nothing Of the pres
lent election, the children Systematically
keeping from him anything that would
tend to disturb his perfect peace OF mind.
Another time, when the old man came
out Of his house was when President Nc
IlinIsy visited Richmond about five years
ago. The President and Mayor Taylor
became very friendly, and the Mayor pre-
scented his father. Mr.. Mckinley said he
was Glad to SEQ n man so old, and the
most cordial friendship was established
b.etween tho two in a brief space OF time.
The President urged Mr. Taylor to come
to see him at the White House, in Wash
lngton and the old man always said he
intended to make tho trip, But he never
Gid.
HIS FAMILY.
Mr.. Taylor's first wife died In 1893 In
1895 he was married to Mrs. Henrietta
N, Moore. At that time no was nearly
eighty-flyo years old. Fills second wife
has given him the most devoted atten-
ton and care. and has endeared herself
ito all of the children by her thought
fulness and affectionate nursng. Besides
his widow, Mr.. Taylor leaves one slster,
Mrs, Jane Lane. OF Chicago, and the fol-