John Marion Taylor, Sr.
By Beverly Belcher Woody
(Based on a 1911 letter to the Enterprise by John M. Taylor, Glasgow, Missouri, entitled “Recollections of Past Years” — Remembering Old Patrick County)
In December of 1911, John M. Taylor of Glasgow, Missouri, penned a letter to The Enterprise of Patrick County, Virginia—a letter filled with memory, affection, and vivid detail. Though he had been away from Patrick County for more than fifty years, Taylor’s recollections reveal how deeply the land, people, and rhythms of mountain life remained etched in his heart.
“I see so much of the long past through the columns of The Enterprise of Patrick, Va.,” Taylor wrote, “and enjoy reading them, and it carries me back to my boyhood days in that County where I first saw daylight in 1842, on the head waters of Rock Castle Creek.”
Taylor’s earliest memories are rooted along Rock Castle Creek, where he attended his first school in an old log schoolhouse near the home of John Brammer. The school was taught by Miss Elizabeth Hubbard, followed by another near the widow Ayers, where he studied under Barnett Price, Jerry Epperley, and Elijah Via. Like many children of his time, discipline was part of education, and Taylor recalled receiving his first whipping at a schoolhouse near the water line on Widgeon Creek, on the Jim Via farm near the Elijah DeHart graveyard.
In 1851, Taylor’s father moved the family to the south side of the mountain, purchasing a farm from a Baptist preacher, Alfred Handy, near the Crossroads or Green Hill Church. Taylor spoke reverently of Handy, describing him as “this good divine” who loved his Lord and Master. Handy later purchased oil mills from a man named Shelton, but soon afterward died. Taylor vividly remembered Handy’s burial and his final request—that a Bible be placed on his breast and one at his head and feet—a request that was honored. “This was the first preacher I ever saw buried,” he recalled.
Following Handy’s death, Buck Buril (Burwell?) moved to the oil mill and brought with him a pack of bloodhounds and two white ponies. Taylor remembered the thrill of those days, when Buril would bring the dogs and a pony just for him. “How we would make the mountains ring!” he wrote—an echo of boyhood freedom that still rang clear decades later.
By about 1857, Taylor was entrusted with responsibilities beyond his years. His father sent him to collect a $25 rent, and at dawn one morning Taylor set out on a little horse—an animal that, in later years, would make a name for itself as a cavalry horse. His route carried him down Desence (sp?) Creek, across Bull Mountain at the sinkhole on Davey Vaughn’s place, and over the Smith River near Jacks Creek Church. He passed Woolwine’s saddle shop, the homes of James Conner and Sam Alexander, crossed Rock Castle, stopped by Uncle Jimmie Via’s, followed the water line to M. T. Vaughn’s, and paused there for dinner.
Taylor continued to Howell’s place, accompanied by Elijah, only to find Howell gone to James Reynold’s for a keg of cider. Along the way, they met Howell driving a yoke of yearling steers pulling a truckle-wheel wagon. With no money to pay the rent, Howell offered Taylor the cattle and wagon instead, provided he could rent the farm another year. The deal was struck: Howell kept the farm, Taylor took the cattle, though his father received no further rent.
The next morning at daylight, Taylor began the return journey. Elijah accompanied him as far as Rock Castle before turning back with a promise to come again. Taylor pressed on alone, cracking his bark whip as his horse pulled the wagon. At Woolwine’s, Dink came out to help him cross the river. After that, Taylor continued homeward until night fell, when his father met him along the way and traveled home with him and the cattle.
Taylor’s life later carried him away—to Elamsville and beyond—and into “other adventures.” Yet Patrick County never left him. Writing in 1911, he noted that he had not been back in fifty-three years, but he remained a faithful reader of The Enterprise and intended to stay “on the paid up list.”
Among his treasured possessions was a powder horn that once belonged to John Brammer, carried during the War of 1812. The horn had been brought to Missouri in 1859 by Jeff Vaughn and was later used again during the War of 1861–1865, never falling into enemy hands—a tangible link between generations and conflicts.
Taylor closed his letter with words that capture the enduring pull of Patrick County:
“I think that there is no place I ever saw so cheerful, so sparkling to the eyes as the mountains of old Patrick County, Va. The mistletoe, the ivy and the laurel, the little brooklets of clear sparkling water and the beds of white pebbles with shoals of fishes passing over them all call up picture in my mind that I shall never forget.”
Sometimes the most valuable historical documents do not neatly answer our questions. Instead, they open doors—leading us deeper into the past, inviting us to listen more closely. Such was the case with this remarkable letter connected to John Marion Taylor, a man whose memories of Patrick County remained vivid more than half a century after he left its mountains.
The letter, rich with detail and affection for the land of his youth, created as many questions as it answered. The chief among them was a simple but compelling one: Who was John Marion Taylor?
Research reveals that John Marion Taylor was born on August 22, 1843, in Patrick County, Virginia, to David Penn Taylor and Malinda (DeHart) Taylor. His paternal grandparents were David Taylor and Nancy Penn, while his maternal grandparents were Elijah K. DeHart and Mary Ellyson “Mollie” Jordan—names long rooted in Patrick County history.
The 1850 census places the Taylor family in the Northern District of Patrick County, confirming their presence during John’s childhood. At that time, David Penn Taylor, age thirty-five and born about 1815, was listed as a farmer. Children in the household included Mary, Nancy, John M., Elizabeth J., David P., and Tazewell H. Taylor. These records align closely with John Marion Taylor’s own recollections of growing up near the headwaters of Rock Castle Creek, a place that would remain dear to him throughout his life.
By 1860, the Taylors joined the great westward movement that carried many Patrick County families beyond the Blue Ridge. Census records show David Penn Taylor, then forty-six, living in Glasgow, Missouri, in Howard County. Still a farmer, he possessed a personal estate valued at $4,830. His wife Malinda and children—Mary, Nancy, John M., Elisabeth, David P., Lus H., Ellen, Malinda, and Charles G. Taylor—were enumerated with him, marking a new chapter far from the hills of southwest Virginia.
Further insight into the Taylor family surfaced decades later through an unexpected source. In 1973, Ridge Runners: A Magazine of Migration published by William Allen Yates described how family history sometimes survives not through grand heirlooms, but through humble objects whose true worth lies in the stories they contain. Such was the case with the Taylor Family Bible, preserved by Thelma Smith of Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
Mrs. Smith explained that she possessed a small, old, inexpensive Bible with no cover, yet filled with handwritten records of the Taylor family. Recognizing its importance, she wished to see the Bible and accompanying clippings returned to the correct family, rather than lost to time.
Those records documented the life of Malinda (DeHart) Taylor, born December 3, 1818, in Patrick County, and deceased July 10, 1912. She married David Penn Taylor on December 23, 1838. Malinda was the daughter of Mary “Mollie” Jordan, herself the daughter of Thomas Jordan, at whose home General George Washington is said to have had his headquarters—a notable Revolutionary War connection.
Mrs. Smith described the Taylor family as being “of war fame,” uniting the families of Taylor, DeHart, Penn, Stewart, and Staples; all names deeply woven into Patrick County’s early fabric.
At the time of Malinda Taylor’s death, six of her ten children were still living. Among them was John Marion Taylor, whose complete lineage was carefully recorded in the family Bible. Other surviving children included Daniel P. Taylor; Mrs. Nannie Stanley; T. H. Taylor; C. V. Taylor of Glasgow; Ellen Ward of Harrisburg; Mrs. Lee Tippett of Armstrong; and Malinda Adaline Taylor.
John Marion Taylor’s adult life is well documented. Born August 22, 1843, he married Matilda Morgan on September 24, 1872. Matilda was born July 23, 1852. Together they raised a family whose names and dates were faithfully preserved:
Allie Taylor, born July 28, 1873;
Tazzie E. Taylor, born July 30, 1875;
Maude Taylor, born September 3, 1878, who married a Swearengen in New Franklin;
Raolo Taylor, born March 17, 1882, who married Anna Truel on July 18, 1906;
an infant son, born March 13, 1885;
David D. Taylor, born September 28, 1889, who died March 5, 1919; and
John Marion Taylor, Jr., born September 7, 1891.
What remains unquestioned is John Marion Taylor’s enduring attachment to Patrick County. Though he spent most of his life elsewhere, he never forgot the land of his youth, nor the people who shaped him. He passed away on November 28, 1924, leaving behind not only descendants, but a written legacy that continues to guide and challenge researchers today.
In the end, John Marion Taylor’s story reminds us that Patrick County’s pioneers did not always remain within its borders—but they carried its mountains, creeks, and memories with them wherever life led.
For questions, comments, or story ideas, please contact Woody at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
