Horace Dickinson Taylor

1821 - 1890  (69 years)

• Name	Horace Dickinson Taylor
  Birth	8 Jan 1821	Sunderland, MA
  Gender	Male
  Census	10 Nov 1860	Houston, Harris, TX ; H.D., age 39, born MA, merchant
  Census	18 Jul 1870	Houston, Harris, TX ; age 49, born MA, corn merchant
  Census	8 Jun 1880	Houston, Harris, TX ; H..D, age 59, born MA, cotton factor, parents, born MA/MA
  Death	9 Nov 1890	Houston, Harris, TX
  Burial		Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, TX
  Person ID	I1685	Family Tree | 12 Generation Ancestor Chart
  Last Modified	3 Sep 2014

  
  

  Father	Rev James Taylor,   b. 22 May 1787, Sunderland, MA d. 11 Oct 1831, Sunderland, MA (Age 44 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Terry Taylor,   b. 16 Apr 1789, Enfield, CT d. 1831, Sunderland, MA (Age 41 years)
  Marriage	15 Jun 1810	Sunderland, MA
  Family ID	F589	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Emily Baker,   b. 29 Jul 1827, Baldwinsville, Onondaga, NY d. 20 Feb 1906, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 78 years)  [1, 2]
  Marriage	1 Dec 1852	Houston, Harris, TX
  Children	+ 1. Mary Taylor,   b. 27 Sep 1853, Houston, Harris, TX d. 14 Jul 1906, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 52 years)   2. Ellen Taylor,   b. 2 Nov 1854, Houston, Harris, TX d. 12 Jan 1860, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 5 years)   3. George Taylor,   b. 30 Jun 1856, Houston, Harris, TX d. 30 Jun 1859, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 3 years)   4. Elizabeth “Bessie” Taylor,   b. 28 Oct 1858, Houston, Harris, TX d. 16 Dec 1859, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 1 year) + 5. Edward Wyllys Taylor,   b. 17 Mar 1860, Houston, Harris, TX d. 13 Sep 1919, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 59 years) + 6. Horace Dickinson Taylor,   b. 4 Dec 1861, Houston, Harris, TX d. 4 Jul 1949, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 87 years) + 7. William Baker Taylor,   b. 5 Sep 1863, Houston, Harris, TX d. 22 Jul 1947, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 83 years) + 8. Emily Bagby Taylor,   b. 29 Mar 1870, Houston, Harris, TX d. 19 Dec 1902, Houston, Harris, TX (Age 32 years)
  Histories		History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston
  		Early Days on the Bayou 1838-1890, The Life and Letters of Horace Dickinson Taylor
  Family ID	F426	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	6 Sep 2014

  
  

• Photos		Horace D Taylor
  		Horace D Taylor - later years

  
  

  Headstones		Taylor Family Grave Site Plot: Sect. D-2, Lot 92
  		Taylor Family Gravestone Inscription HORACE DICKINSON TAYLOR / born in Sunderland, Mass. / Jan. 8, 1821 / died in Houston, TX / Nov. 9, 1890 EMILY T. FARRAR / born Mar. 30, 1870 / died Dec. 19, 1902 EMILY BAKER TAYLOR / wife of H. D. Taylor / born in Baldwinsville, N.Y. / July 29, 1825, / died Feb'y. 20, 1906.

  
  

• Notes

  HORACE DICKINSON TAYLOR (1821 - 1890) At the age of 17 Horace Dickinson Taylor left his native Massachusetts with his brother, Edward, after the sudden death of their parents. They settled in Independence, Texas, in 1838, and in 1848 the Taylor brothers moved to Houston where they established a cotton business. Horace became sole owner of the business in 1850 and soon thereafter bought a warehouse near a steamboat landing on Buffalo Bayou. From this strategic location he could roll cotton down to boats waiting below and within a short time developed a thriving cotton brokerage enterprise. Horace married Emily Baker in 1852. They reared three sons and two daughters here on their 3.5 acre wooded homesite. Taylor became one of the city's influential citizens, serving as Alderman in 1861-1862, Mayor in 1866, and as an elder of the First Presbyterian Church. Buffalo Bayou, neglected during the Civil War, was dredged during Taylor's term as Mayor, effectively re-establishing commerce to the Gulf. The bayou soon became the lifeline of Houston businesses, allowing the city to successfully compete with Galveston for trade. Taylor, who was one of the founders of the Board of Trade and Cotton Exchange in 1874, continued in the cotton business until his death.

  
  

• Sources

  [S40] Anonymous, History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston, (Lewis Pub. Co., Chicago, 1895), 474-475. [S43] Red, Ellen Robbins, Early Days on the Bayou 1838-1890, The Life and Letters of Horace Dickinson Taylor, (Texian Press, Waco, TX, 1986), 175, 181-182.