John Barry Taylor
A HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS By E. POLK
JOHNSON 1912 The Lewis Publishing Company
Transcribed by Kim Mohler
JOHN BARRY TAYLOR, for fifteen years president of the bank of James Taylor & Son, a well known and popular private banking institution which, in 1882, was consolidated with the German National Bank of Newport, is now living retired in the gracious enjoyment of a competency obtained through former years of earnest toil and well directed endeavor. Mr. Taylor is a scion of an old and honored Kentucky family, members of which have gained eminent distinction in the various walks of life as valiant soldiers and distinguished statesmen, his great-grandfather, General James Taylor, being a cousin of former president Zachary Taylor.
General James Taylor was born in Carolina county, Virginia, in 1769, and 1791, when twenty-two years of age, he emigrated to Kentucky, and he became the owner of large landed estates in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, much of which property was granted him by the government in return for services rendered in the war of 1812. A portion of this land was the site of the now thriving city of Newport. The Taylor lineage is traced back to English origin and the family in America was founded by James Taylor, who emigrated from Carlisle, England, to America and settled in Virginia in the year 1632. The Taylor family became very prominent in the Colonial days and the ancestral estates were of important order.
General James Taylor had acquired a large
fortune in Kentucky when the war of 1812 broke out, and in regard to the
recognition of his abilities the following statements made by Henry Clay are
well worthy of perpetuation: “During the War of 1812 and for many years previous
thereto General James Taylor possessed perhaps more influence than any other one
individual in this part of the county. His zeal and activity during the war and
particularly at the commencement of it are well known in the history of the
western country.”
General James Taylor devoted his private fortune and credit to the purchase of
supplies for the armies of his country when there were no government funds to
reimburse him. In this connection a contemporary thus wrote: “In the spring of
1812 the government found it necessary to reinforce Detroit. There being but few
regular troops available, Governor Meigs was required to organize from twelve
hundred to fifteen hundred volunteers for service. But owing to the utter lack
of management or culpable neglect of the war department, nothing but arms was
provided them. General James Taylor, a gentleman of large fortune and one who
from his business habits and sagacity, as well as immense means, was able to
command an extensive credit and from his relation to and intimacy with President
Madison was supposed to possess great influence with the government, was urged
by Governor Meigs, as well as by several gentlemen of Cincinnati, to supply what
was lacking to equip this force and put it in motion. At the earnest
solicitation of the government and gentlemen referred to, he consented to act as
quartermaster general of the army. General Hull confirmed the appointment and
everything required in the purvey or ordnance and quartermaster departments
necessary to the health and comfort of the troops and to prepare them for
efficient action was provided.
Without the great zeal, labor and pecuniary means of General James Taylor no
movement could have taken place till late in the season. At Detroit and in
Canada everything that depended on General Taylor was promptly executed. On his
return to Kentucky, a prisoner on parole, he exerted his credit when that of the
public had failed and continued to pay for and supply whatever was necessary for
the service.” Little more need be said concerning the generosity, loyalty and
sterling integrity of this pioneer citizen, whose honor was founded on worth and
whose respect was the result of accomplishment. He served in his official
capacity until the close of the war and thereafter resided in Newport until his
death, in 1848. On his deathbed he voted for his cousin, Zachary Taylor, for
president. The poll books were brought to him and he wrote in a legible hand: “I
cast my vote for my kinsman, Zachary Taylor, for president of the United States.
I have fired my last shot.” He passed to the great beyond two hours later.
In politics he was an old-line Whig and he was actively interested in the party
cause for many years. Upon the organization of Campbell county he was elected
its first clerk. He also served as representative and as senator in the state
legislature. In 1795 was solemnized his marriage to Mrs. Keturah (Moss) Leitch,
a native of Virginia and the widow of General David Leitch. In 1784, when very
young, she accompanied her parents, Major Hugh and Jane (Ford) Moss, to Kentucky
and they were forced to live in the block house at Bryant station during the
turbulent Indian troubles. Her first husband, Major David Leitch, was a Scotsman
and a Revolutionary officer. The Newport Chapter of the Daughters of the
American Revolution was named in honor of Mrs. Taylor. She was summoned to the
life eternal in Newport at the patriarchal age of ninety-four years. By her
second marriage she was the mother of eleven children, of which number all but
four died in infancy.
Of these children Colonel James Taylor, father of him whose name initiates this article, was the third in order of birth. He was born, one of twins, on August 9, 1802, in the village of Newport. His twin sister, Keturah, became the wife of Major Harris. Colonel James Taylor was reared to maturity in Newport and received most excellent educational advantages in his youth. He was graduated in Transylvania College and became a lawyer of note, being one of the greatest land attorneys in this section. Upon the death of his father, in 1848, he became executor of the latter’s large estate, estimated at nearly half a million. He was one of the organizers of the Northern Bank of Kentucky at Covington and was president of this popular financial institution for twenty-five years. His broad and varied business interests occupied his entire time and attention and he had no leisure for political affairs. Though never an office-holder he ever accorded a staunch support to all measures and enterprises projected for the general welfare of the community and he was aligned as an old-line Whig until the dissolution of that party, at which time he transferred his allegiance to the Democratic party.
His religious faith was in accordance with the
tenets of the Episcopal church, of which both he and his wife were communicants.
In 1823, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Susan Barry, a native of Lexington,
Fayette county, this state, and a daughter of William T. Barry, who was
postmaster general, under President Jackson, and who served with distinction as
a member of congress and as United States senator. He was for many years judge
of the circuit court and at the time of his death was American minister to
Spain. Mrs. Taylor’s death occurred on the old homestead built by her
father-in-law in 1832, on the 8th of December, 1881. Here also her husband
passed away on the 29th of March, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor became the parents
of five sons and three daughters, two of the sons having died in infancy.
John Barry Taylor, the immediate subject of this review, was the sixth in order
of birth of the above children and he was reared to maturity in Newport, where
he was ushered into the world on December 27, 1836. At the age of fourteen years
he went to Gambier, Knox county, Ohio, where he pursued his academic studies and
where he was graduated from Kenyon College as a member of the class of 1859.
Soon after his graduation the Civil war broke out. Colonel James Taylor was a
strong Union man but the sympathies of his sons were with the south. These
feelings were so strongly expressed by John Barry Taylor that he was arrested
and later placed on parole by General Burnside. After the close of the war
between the north and the south Colonel Taylor organized the private bank of
James Taylor & Sons, John B. and his brother James being the active managers of
the same. After the death of James, in 1875, John B. was the executive head for
many years, serving as president of the institution from 1867 to 1882, at which
time the private bank was absorbed by the German National Bank of Newport, as
already stated. Since 1882 John B. Taylor has lived virtually retired in the old
Taylor homestead built by his grandfather nearly eighty years ago.
In 1862 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Taylor to Miss Elizabeth Washington,
who was born and reared in Newport, Campbell county, and who is a daughter of
Colonel John Thornton Washington, a native of Virginia, who removed to Kentucky
at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are both communicants of the Protestant
Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Taylor is a strong Democrat and he has taken
an active part in the party councils but he has never been a seeker of the
honors or emoluments of public office. He is affiliated with various
organizations of a fraternal and social nature and has ever been a strong
influence for good in his home community.