Taylor, Thomas G.

Born: 1825-XX-XX Clark County, Kentucky

Died: 1908-06-16 Jacksonville, Illinois

Thomas G. "Squire" Taylor was an attorney, farmer, real estate investor, Whig, and temperance supporter. He attended and graduated from Transylvania University's law school in Lexington, Kentucky before marrying Eliza H. Chappell in February 1849. The couple eventually had at least three children together. A few days after their marriage, they moved to Springfield, Illinois, where Taylor began practicing law. In June 1849, he partnered with Silas W. Robbins to form Robbins & Taylor, a partnership which lasted until September 1851. In July 1852, Taylor was appointed secretary of the Whigs of Sangamon County. While living in Springfield, he also worked as a commissioner for the state of Kentucky, preparing and certifying documents in Illinois relating to legal matters in Kentucky. His real estate investments and wealth grew substantially over time. In 1850, he owned $4,000 in real estate. By 1860, he was farming in Elkhart, Illinois, owned $15,000 in real estate, and had a domestic servant as well as four farm hands. After living in Chicago for a time, he relocated to Jacksonville, Illinois in 1862.

Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 26 February 1849, 3:2; 1 June 1849, 3:1; 17 September 1851, 3:2; 6 July 1852, 2:2; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 121; William H. Townsend, Abraham Lincoln, Defendant: Lincoln's Most Interesting Lawsuit (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1923), 42-43; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Elkhart, Logan County, IL, 303; Jacksonville Daily Journal (IL), 13 September 1918, 8:5.