Taylor, John W.

Born: 1798-04-21 Kentucky

Flourished: 1833 to 1865 Sangamon County, Illinois

John W. Taylor was a minister, farmer, and judge. Born in Bullitsburg, Kentucky and often referred to by the name Wickliffe Taylor, he moved from his native Kentucky to Sangamon County, Illinois in 1833. Taylor resided in Springfield for a year, then settled on a farm in Richland in Cartwright Township. In 1850, he owned real property valued at $11,000. In addition to farming, Taylor officiated weddings in and around Richland and Springfield. In November 1853, he won election as judge of Sangamon County, holding that position until 1857. He also became involved in promoting prohibition in Illinois. By 1860, he owned real property valued at $25,000 and had a personal estate of $1,000.

Taylor married Jemima "Mimy" Gray in Gallatin County, Kentucky in June 1820. The couple had five children.

History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 74-75; Dorothy Brown Thompson, "Ancestors and Descendants of the Rev. John Taylor (1752-1835)," The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 47 (January 1949), 42; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 15 December 1852, 3:2; 7 November 1853, 3:1; 12 November 1853, 3:1; 7 December 1853, 3:2; 3 May 1855, 2:1; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 27 September 1856, 2:4; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 223; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 177; Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965, 1 June 1820, Gallatin County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2016).