James Taylor , Jr . ( Kentucky ) James Taylor , Jr . ( 1769 – 1848 ) was an American banker , Quartermaster general , and one of the wealthiest early settlers of Kentucky . He was a founder of the city of Newport , Kentucky . Early life . Taylor was the fifth child born to James Taylor Sr . and his wife , Anne Hubbard Taylor in Midway , Virginia . His father , James Taylor Sr . , bought of land in Northern Kentucky from his friend George Muse , which was part of the land Muse had been awarded for his military service in the French and Indian War . The Taylor family had two cousins , James Madison and Zachary Taylor , who later become presidents of the United States . On April 1 , 1792 , just short of his 23rd birthday , James Taylor Jr . left his father ' s plantation for Kentucky accompanied by three slaves , Moses , Humphrey and Adam , along with an English Army deserter , Robert Christy , and Christy ' s wife and their three children . They reached Newport June 20 but couldn ' t find lodging so he stayed at Ft . Washington in Cincinnati . His enslaved men worked through the summer to clear in fields along the Licking , plant two corn crops and build a small cabin on lot no . 6 at the southwest corner of Second Street and Central Avenue . He became the driving force behind the settlement ' s development . He laid out the first road to Lexington in August with Jacob and Edward Fowler . In 1794 James Taylor tapped his connections with Kentucky ' s leaders to lobby at Frankfort for acts incorporating Newport and creating Campbell County , Kentucky . The legislature established the county on December 17 , 1794 from parts of Mason , Scott and Harrison Counties . On December 14 , 1795 it approved Newport ' s charter . James Taylor Jr . and Keturah Moss Leitch were married on November 15 , 1795 . James and Keturah Taylor had 11 children , but only four survived to maturity . Military career . In 1803 , James Taylor Jr . solicited the help of his cousin , James Madison , who was then U . S . Secretary of State , to persuade the federal government to move the Ft . Washington military post from Cincinnati to Newport . The Newport Barracks replaced Fort Washington across the river in Cincinnati , Ohio . There were but in the original tract , which was bought from the old Colonel Taylor estate for the minimal price if $ 1 . In 1806 , two additional acres were bought for $ 47 . Taylor was hired as the superintendent of the construction of the barracks . He was to erect three buildings . Gen . James Taylor Jr . was Quartermaster General and paymaster of the Northwestern Army during the War of 1812 , thus Newport became a vital center for war supplies . Death and legacy . During a storied lifetime , James Taylor Jr . operated ferries across both the Ohio and Licking rivers , helped to found banks , invested in the mammoth Newport Manufacturing Co . , operated saw and grist mills along the Licking River , was part owner of a salt - works at Grants Lick , Ky . , ran a tanning business and in his spare time was known to collect fossils and hunt buffalo at Big Bone Lick in Boone County . James Taylor Jr . and his wife were members of St . Paul ' s Episcopal Church , Newport , on the Courthouse Square . He and his wife Keturah were laid to rest at the Taylor Family Plot Evergreen Cemetery , Southgate , Ky . At his death , James Taylor Jr . was said to be one of the wealthiest men in the state of Kentucky , with an estate valued at more than $ 4 million . In the mid - 19th century , Newport became a hub for trade , industry and culture . Just a few years later , Gen . Taylor ' s grandson established the wealthy area of East Row , a collection of elegant homes . Today , the East Row local Historic District is the second largest local district in Kentucky and the Taylor Mansion is the district ' s oldest house . Taylor is the namesake of the General James Taylor Park .