George Taylor: PA Signer of the Declaration
- katellashisadventure
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The exact date of George Taylor’s birth is unknown, but it is assumed he was born around 1716 in Northern Ireland to Reverend Taylor and his wife. His family ancestry can be traced to Ireland. It is possible that he was also related to the Taylors of Derbyshire, England, but, since so little is known about his parents, it is hard to establish this link. He was one of only three signers who were born in Ireland. Some suggest he may have been born in England. Author Benjamin Franklin Fackenthal reached this conclusion based on a bookplate George Taylor used to indicate he was from England rather than Ireland. However, aside from the bookplate, which bears a coat of arms, there does not appear to be any hard documentation to prove his exact birthplace and birth year. Little is known about his early life, but it appears he may have received a basic education in Ireland, as evidenced by his reading and writing skills. It was alleged that he was studying medicine, but there is no documentary evidence to support this claim.
He arrived in America around 1736 as an indentured servant to Samuel Savage Jr., an iron master at Coventry Forge near Philadelphia. Savage had paid for Taylor’s passage to America. He initially works for Savage’s stepfather, Samuel Nutt, shoveling coal into a furnace, but it proves too physically demanding for him to continue. Nutt notices that Taylor has many other skills and employs him in his counting house, at Coventry forge, where he eventually becomes the manager.
Nutt passed away in 1737, and his wife and son, Savage, inherited the iron and furnace properties and then constructed another furnace, Warwick Furnace, in 1738. Taylor was also a clerk at the new company, but unfortunately, Savage passed away in 1741. In 1742, Taylor married Savage’s widow, Ann Taylor, who was the daughter of Isaac Taylor. Her family was Quaker, but she had been expelled from the society when she married Savage. Taylor and Ann would have two children. Their first child, James, was born in 1746, but he died in 1775 at age 29. Before his death, he married Elizabeth Gordon and had five children. George Jr, the grandson, would move to Virginia and never marry. The next grandchild, Thomas, also moves to Virginia, and he drowns in the Lehigh River. Another grandson, James Jr., marries his first cousin, Anna Maria Gordon, in Alexandria, Virginia, on December 19, 1786, and has four children before dying in Richmond in 1837. Two granddaughters would be born: Ann, who marries Samuel Swann and moves to Virginia, and Mary, who dies at a young age. The other child for Taylor and his wife was a daughter named Ann, who died in childhood. As a result of this marriage, Taylor takes over the management of the iron and furnace business, which continues to grow over the next few years.
In 1747, he was appointed a Captain in the Chester County Associators, a militia group that Benjamin Franklin had formed for frontier protection. While doing this, he continued to run the mills, but in 1752, he stepped down from managing Warwick Furnace. His stepson, Samuel Savage III, had come of age, and according to his father’s will, he inherited the Furnace. Ann, the widow of Savage, gives up control of the Furnace but keeps a life interest in the two farms located in Chester County.
In 1753, Taylor, along with his partner Taylor Flower, leased Durham Iron Works for five years. The family moves to Dunham to run the iron works and live in the mansion on the property. This iron works would produce cannon shot for the French and Indian War. It was also during this time that he became active in the community. From 1757 to 1763, he was the Justice of the Peace for Bucks County and was active in his local church, Red Hill Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterians left the church in 1800. For some time, it was closed, then reopened, and today it is known as St. Luke’s United Church of Christ. While Taylor attended church there, he served as a trustee and was involved in a land transfer concerning their burial ground, now known as Fallows Hill Cemetery.
He buys a home in Easton, PA, for £117.15S.10d, as well as a lot across the street where he builds a stable for his animals. The Taylors would live in this home when the lease for Durham Iron Works expired in 1763. Taylor sells this home in 1779 for £1300, in depreciated Pennsylvania money, to Theophilus Shannon, also selling him the stable for £100 in Pennsylvania money.[1] He then buys a home for his son, James, on Northampton Street in Easton and sells it to him for 5 shillings. James would convey the property to Myer Hart of Easton in December of 1771, after he moved to what is now Allentown, Pennsylvania. In March of 1767, he purchased 331 acres of land and built a home known as the Manor of Chawton, just east of Easton, Pennsylvania. The home was finished in 1768 by Philadelphia carpenters, but he leased out the majority of the property after his wife, Ann, died in 1768. It is unknown where she was buried, but some say it was on the Chawton property. There is no evidence to prove this, and she may be buried at the Galloway Burial Ground, which was part of the land transfer in which Taylor had been involved as a trustee of their church. The Manor of Chawton would be sold to John Benezet in 1776, but in 1772, before that, he moved into his son’s home.
Taylor became very involved in politics around 1764, when he was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. He served until 1769 and was very active on several committees. Also in 1764, he became the Justice of the Peace for Northampton County. Even as he was slowly getting involved in public service, he did not stop pursuing financial opportunities. In 1774, he entered into a new lease with James Galloway, the owner of Durham Iron Works. He also leases a variety of businesses, including mines, quarries, blast furnaces, and forces, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1775, he secured a contract for making cannonballs for the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety. His furnace will produce ammunition for the Continental Army from 1775 to 1778. It was the first place to make shots for the Continental Army, and the first shipment went out on August 25, 1775.[2] But this would cost him a great deal of his own personal wealth, as the Continental Congress does not always pay him for the ammunition. This would prove to be his greatest contribution to the American cause. The Americans seized Galloway for treason, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council allowed Taylor to operate the business until the end of his lease. The Iron Works was then sold to four people, one of whom was Taylor. His partner, Richard Backhouse, managed the works when Taylor moved to Greenwich Township, in New Jersey, to operate another furnace.
In 1774, he would obtain a commission from the Royal Governor to administer oaths to Northampton County Officials. In 1775, his son, James, would die. All of James’s property, at Allentown, was sold at auction by the sheriff. It appears he may have frequently had to depend on his father for financial aid. During this same year, he was commissioned a Colonel in the 3rd Battalion of the militia. He takes part in drilling exercises and organizing the battalion, but does not seem to have participated in the actual fighting. In October, he was elected a delegate to the Pennsylvania Assembly and helped draft instructions for the state delegates to the Continental Congress. These instructions forbid the delegates from voting for independence and instead direct them to work towards reconciliation. The instructions were rescinded in June of 1776, but many of the delegates voted against the Declaration, leading to their replacement. Taylor was one of the men elected to replace those who had voted against the Declaration.
After he takes his seat in the State House, he signs the Declaration on August 2 and serves on a committee that calls on states to call up troops to help fight the war. In January of 1777, he was selected to preside over the Indian Treaty Conference in Easton, Pennsylvania, and then in March of 1777, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council. He retires from this position and the Congress due to illness. Between his election to the Supreme Council and the time he gets ill, he does not miss a single session. He described his illness in a letter to Timothy Matlack as a “violent fever” which confined him to his bed chamber for four weeks.[3]
Unfortunately, little is known about his life after he left Congress. It is known that he moved back to Easton around 1780 and became ill again. He leases a home which is now known as the Parson’s Taylor home. He died on February 23, 1781, in Easton, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the St. John’s Lutheran Church Cemetery. He was reinterred at Easton Cemetery when the church property was sold to build a school. At the time of his death, his estate included two slaves, one named Tom, who was sold for 280 bushels of wheat valued at £77, and another, named Sam, who was sold for £15 as he was crippled. There was also a horse, 3 cows, a 24-hour 8-day clock, and a walnut case, all of which were valued at £24. Several gifts were made to the executor of his estate and to his housekeeper, Naomi Smith. His estate was split in two, with half of it going to the children of his son, James. His daughter-in-law had placed the children under his care around 1780 and deeded half of her interest in her father’s estate to Taylor. The other half of his estate provided for the five illegitimate children he had with his housekeeper. They were Sara, Rebecca, Naomi, Elizabeth, and Edward Smith, and they were not considered legitimate descendants because of the circumstances of their birth. The children were to be kept with their mothers until they were ten and could be educated.
His estate had minimal value, and the Durham Iron Works partnership account was insolvent when settled. A letter written in November of 1780, shows how little he had when he wrote to an Eastern, Pennsylvania Church Rector asking for “a replacement for a metal stove plate and some sustenance”,[4] noting that he only has two small cattle, and they are not large. This letter would go up for auction in 2012 with a high bid of $66,999, but the owner refused to sell it for that amount. The auction house had thought it would go for as much as $80,000 because Taylor’s correspondence is so rare. [5]
Tidbits He did not publish any of his writings. On February 3, 1778, he wrote an Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “I renounce and refuse all allegiance to George the Third, King of Great Britain.” |
[1] Fackenthal, Benjamin Franklin, “The homes of George Taylor” (1922) 10
[2] Fackenthal, Benjamin Franklin, “The homes of George Taylor” 17
[3] Fackenthal, Benjamin Franklin, “The homes of George Taylor,” 18
[4] Vidonic, Bill. “Historic signer’s letter commands thousands in online auction” Pittsburgh Tribune Review (PA), February 13, 2012.
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