Contributed y Ralph Taylor
Between the federal census of the three decades, 1790-1820,
several Taylor (and other surname) families disappear from the Craven
& surrounding counties' records. They left for parts
unknown to those looking only at the local records. The
disappearances can be understood by putting the phenomenon into the
historical context of the times. And, the context yields clues as to
the disappeared's destinations.
Much of the context comes from the political history of our country's
founding. The 1790 census (and its successors) was a requirement by
the then newly-ratified Unites States Constitution to determine the
representation of states in Congress. Another aspect of the
Constitutional ratification process opened up lands for settlement in
what would become Kentucky & Tennessee. These vast areas of
virgin land became, initially, parts of the Southwest and Northwest
Territories.
Yet a third aspect was an implication of the slavery issue. The
Constitutional Convention essentially decided not to decide the fate
of this institution, but to delay decision for at least twenty years.
This would influence which North Carolinians emigrated and who
remained behind. In general, most of the wealthy & educated (who
could afford slaves) stayed where they were; life was good and moving
risky. Many of the illiterate subsistence farmers (dependent upon
their own labors) were tempted to seek new opportunities. While the
subsistence farmer's goal was not necessarily financial profit,
growing families required more land for self-sustenance and it was
more readily available in the new territories.
Indian troubles were a fourth aspect, bearing on the
timing of the beginning of what historians would call the
Westward Movement. During the 1776-1781 War of Revolution
and the weakness of the federal government from 1781 to 1789, few
military resources were available to protect pioneers in the new
areas. When the uprisings were put down (about 1793-1795), it became
possible for the prospective settlers to establish farms without
risking loss of life or property.
We think many of the Craven County disappearances can be traced to
emigration to the new states of Kentucky and Tennessee. Between 1800
and 1820, the population of Tennessee tripled.
Four of these are the families of Moses Taylor, Junior & Senior,
and James Taylor, Jr. & Sr. (There was also a 3rd
James Taylor in Craven.) The two Moses Taylors are listed in the 1790
census in Craven Co., but nowhere in the 1800 census. (If they were
already in Kentucky, there may be no census record.) The two James
Taylors are listed in Craven in 1790 & 1800.
All of the following Taylor housholds appear in images & indexes
at Ancestry.com of the 1810 census in Rutherford County,
Tennessee:
Name, Residence (City,Co.,State), Year, Eldest Male's
Age, Est. birth year Absalom Tayler Jefferson,
Rutherford, TN, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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James Taylor, Jefferson, Rutherford, TN ,1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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Jas Taylor, Jefferson, Rutherford, TN, 1810,
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>=45,
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<1765
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John Taylor, Jefferson, Rutherford, TN, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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John Taylor, Jefferson, Rutherford, TN, 1810,
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>=45,
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<1765
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Wm Taylor, Jefferson, Rutherford, TN, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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(Notes: >= means more than or equal to, at
least, < means before. The estimated
birth year helps to distinguish individuals from others of the same
name.)
The 1810 census for other Tennessee counties has been lost,
increasing the difficulty of research. In 1810, Rutherford had only
two townships listed, Jefferson & Nashville. Jefferson was
apparently the area surrounding Murfreesboro, then the state
capital.
And, in Warren County, Kentucky:
Name Residence (City,County,State) Year, Eldest Male's Age, Est.
birth year
Josph Taylor, Bolin Green, Warren, KY, 1810,
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>=45,
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<1765
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Abraham {Absolum?} Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
,
Daniel Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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16-26,
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1784-1794
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George Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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Jos Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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Joseph Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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>=45,
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<1765
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Moses Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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Mosis Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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>=45,
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<1765
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Reddin Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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- indexed is :{Line below Mosis &endash;
perhaps a transcription error?}
Absolum Taylor, Not Stated, Warren, KY, 1810,
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26-44,
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1765-1784
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Without extensive research, we can not say that all of these
individuals were in Craven County, NC before 1810. But, the
likelihood is strong that at least some of them were. Both Kentucky
and Tennessee, on each side of the Ohio River, were settled largely
by families from North Carolina & Virginia.
In the hope that it would lead to the parents & siblings of an
ancestor, the author has been engaged in finding the origins of two
James Taylor families (Senior & Junior) who began appearing in
Rutherford County, Tennessee records in 1809. Though it was most
probable they came from North Carolina, identifying the county was
not easy. There were 14 James Taylor households in North Carolina for
the 1790 census, 26 for 1800, and 17 for 1810.
Three of the 1800 twenty-six, James Taylor Senior & Junior plus a
James Taylor without the suffix, are listed in the 1800 census of
Craven County, but not afterwards. By 1808, both a James Taylor
Senior & Junior appear in court records, tax lists and road duty
assignments of Rutherford County, Tennessee. By means of deeds, wills
& other records , their specific location within Rutherford and
James Senior's children were sorted out.
For example, extracts from Pioneers of Rutherford Co. TN:
Abstracts of County Court Minutes 1804-1810" by Carol Wells,
1989:
pg. 139 letters of administration given to James Taylor on
estate of James Arnold, dec'd, bond with Solomon Beasley, Absolom
Taylor; 4 Jan 1808" {James Arnold was the husband of James Taylor
Senior's daughter, Dorcas.}
p. 140 James Taylor, admr of James Arnold, dec'd, rendered
inventory.
p. 163 4 July 1808 acct of sales of James Arnold, dec'd, by
admr James Taylor.
This would indicate that James Taylor Senior was resident in
Rutherford by 1808.
Further is this statement, from a sketch by Alma Taylor McCollum,
James Taylor and wife Elizabeth White migrated from Craven Co.,
NC to the Concord area of Rutherford Co, 1806... They had 4 children
at that time:
- Vincent b. 1797
- Wm b. 1800
- Phebe b. 1802
- Nancy b. 1806
James Cullen Taylor was born 14 Jan. 1809.
The wife's name indicates that Ms. McCollum is speaking of James
Taylor Junior. She appears not to mention James Taylor Senior.
Concord is near Overalls Creek.
Rutherford County Tax Lists, Taylors extracted {0
WP indicates over 55 years of age}:
1809
Taylor, John 100 ac.
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0 WP
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Taylor, Wm. 0 ac
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1 WP
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Taylor, Stephen
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1 WP
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Taylor, James
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1 WP
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- Taylor, James Sr. 559 ac 0 WP
1810
Taylor, Absalom
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1 WP
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Taylor, James
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1WP
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Additional returns:
Taylor, James 559½
ac 0 WP
1811
Taylor, John 100 ac
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0 WP
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Taylor, John
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1 WP
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Taylor, Wm. 45 ac
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1 WP
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Taylor, James
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1 WP
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- Taylor, James 500 ac0 WP
Taylor, Michael
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1 WP
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Taylor, Thomas 1 lot
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1 WP
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1812
Taylor, John
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|
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1 WP
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Taylor, Wm. 45 ac
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1 WP
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Taylor, John 100 ac
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0 WP
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Taylor, Wm.
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1 WP
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It is not immediately apparent why some names are missing for some of
the years.
Deeds:
On 12 Oct 1812, James Taylor Senior bought a tract of land, 490 acres
+ 70 poles in size, on Overalls Creek &endash; a tributary of the
Stones River -- in Rutherford Co. from John & Ellinor Dickey, the
heirs of Thomas Dickey. (In 1807, Thomas Dickey was still listed as
the owner of this land, but had not paid the 1806 taxes.)
On 30 Jul 1814, James sold a 50-acre portion of this to Chloe Rucker,
wife of Williford Rucker, and several times in the deed referred to
Chloe as my daughter. The deed was registered on 7 Sep
1816. On 5 Sep 1816, James made 4 more deeds of parts of this Dickey
tract to his children and one to Michael Taylor. Family relationships
are indicated by language in these deeds.
Summary of James Taylor, Senior Rutherford Co., TN Deeds, (All
portions of Thomas Dickey grant) to:
Grantee
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Dates on Deed
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Acres
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Money Cons.
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Love & Affection
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Witnesses
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Chloe (Taylor) Rucker
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Ex: 30 Jul 1814 Reg:7 Sep 1816 Del: Jan 1822
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50
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$200
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for the love and affection which He bears to his said
Daughter and ..
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Ben Carr, J.{?} Snell
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Aaron Taylor
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Ex: 5 Sep 1816 Reg: 20 Feb 1817 Del: 29 Apr 1817
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108
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$400
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for the love and affection he bear to his son, and ..
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Ben Carr, William Cock
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Susannah (Taylor) Gilliland
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Ex: 5 Sep 1816 Reg: 18 Mar 1817 Del: 15 Apr 1817
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70
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$300
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for the love and affection which he bears to his daughter
and..
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Ben Carr, William Cock
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Kesiah (Taylor) Hill {or Gill}
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Ex: 5 Sep 1816 Reg: 18 Mar 1817 Del: 29 Apr 1817
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14.8
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$100
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for the love and affection which he bears to his daughter
and ..
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Ben Carr, William Cock
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Jesse Taylor
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Ex: 5 Sep 1816 Reg: 25 Feb 1817 Del: 29 Apr 1817
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109
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$400
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for the love and affection which he bears to his son, and
..
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Ben Carr, William Cock
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Michael Taylor
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Ex: 5 Sep 1816 Reg: 18 Mar 1817 Del: 29 Apr 1817
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108
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$400
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for the good will and affection which he bear and ..
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Ben Carr, William Cock
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Other Taylor deeds: Land Deed Genealogy of Rutherford Co. TN
Vol 1, 1804-1813: earliest land grants on Stones, Duck and Elk
Rivers by Marsh and Marsh, 2001, has entries for Absalom
Taylor, Geo. M. Taylor, James Taylor and Thomas Taylor.
Wills:
From Wills and Inventories of Rutherford Co. TN Vol 1
1804-1828" by Helen and Timothy Marsh, 1998
p. 72 will of James Taylor of Rutherford Co., TN
beloved wife Sary Taylor, son Jesse Taylor, dau: Darcas Arnold
grandson King Patterson (land where parents now live&emdash;Alexander
Patterson and Sary his wife)
son James Taylor, extr, 12 Dec. 1817; wit: Benj. Ransom, J. Snell,
Joseph Smith {Will proved in 1820. The witnesses and named
beneficiaries & executor identify this as the will of James
Taylor Senior.}
And, for another James:
p. 198 will of James Taylor of Rutherford Co., TN
beloved wife Deborah; all of estate to her except a horse, Jack, to
my beloved mother.
Edin Taylor, extr, 15 Oct 1828 Wit: Samuel Denny, C.R. Davis
A third Taylor will was for George:
p. 204, will of George Taylor of Rutherford Co. TN;
beloved wife Jerusha; my sons: Wm. Taylor, Eden Taylor, George
Taylor, James Taylor, Leonard Taylor; my daughters: Jane Taylor;
Sally Taylor
Eden Taylor and Jerusha Taylor appointed executors
11 July 1827, wit: Andrew McKee, Nathaniel Green
Road Duties:
The County Court would, from time to time, order adjoining landowners
to build or maintain roads. Carol Wells, in Rutherford
County Tennessee County Court Minutes, 1811-1815" has extracted
many of these orders.
In April 1813, James Taylor was among those ordered to help cut out a
road from Armstrongs Creek to Overalls Creek. On 11 Jan 1814, he and
Edmund Taylor were among those to mark a road from Isham Cherry's saw
mill to near the county line.
Conclusions:
The Rutherford County, TN information is sufficient to uniquely
identify James Taylor Senior and place him in a specific place from
1808 through his death, 1816-1820. It also identifies James Junior as
Senior's son.
The key to identifying the origins of James Taylor Senior &
Junior came in two pieces: (1) James Senior's December 1816 will in
which he mentions my beloved wife Sary and (2) a 1784
marriage between a James Taylor and a Sarah Daughety in Craven
County. These two pieces of information are consistent with each
other, but not necessarily conclusive. No other James Taylor has been
found who matches. In the absence of conflicting records, we'll
accept the James Taylor in Rutherford as the person who married Sarah
or Sary in Craven.
It is likely that other Taylor residents of Craven County emigrated
to Tennessee; the author has closely studied only one of these. Other
such candidates include any named above, e.g., Absolum, John, Josiah,
& William.
The author had hoped that information would show the parents of his
ancestor, Michael Taylor. Alas, it shows only that Michael had a
close association with the James Taylor, Senior family for at least
twenty years, 1810-1830, but that Michael was probably not the
biological child of James.
Appreciation:
We are indebted to Gloria Taylor & Martha Marble for their work
in gleaning and publishing the information from Old Dobbs
County, without which it would have been impossible to follow the
trail backwards from Tennessee.
Similar credit should go to Debbie Spero for diligent search of
Taylor records in Tennessee.
Perhaps deserving most of the credit for inspiring this research is
someone who didn't sign or date her work, or provide sources. It was
probably Mary Blankenship Allen who, in the 1950s, produced The
Taylor Line a one-page typed (& much photocopied) sheet
listing the parents & siblings of my grandfather, with a brief
reference to his Taylor grandparents & great-grandparents.
Subsequently, she has been proved mostly right.
Surname Projects M-Z
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