When I first got into my family linage, I asked family
members for info. My Uncle in Ohio has this book that
has come down through the family. He sent me a copy
of the book. I typed it exactly the way the copy I
recieved looked. I know for sure of one error in
the book. Richard (Tailor) Taylor did marry and had
children as well. In these memoirs it states that
He never married and had no children. We KNOW this
to be false. I have not disproved any thing in this
book. As a matter of fact alot of it is verified to
be true by other sources. You read and be the judge.
Tell me what you think.

Some accounts of the ancestors, relitives and family of Henry B. Taylor with a memoir written by himself.

The Taylor Branch

With a suppliment written by Rev. B.S. Taylor Brought down to Oct., 1892 Self published.

Page 3

By a manifest of the ship "Truelove," which sailed
from London in 1635, it appears that among the
passengers were Richard Taylor, aged 16: James
Taylor, aged 28; William Taylor, aged 17; Ann
Taylor aged 24.
All had been certified by their parish clergyman
to be of the true faith, and not serving men. It
is not certain that this Richard Taylor is the one
who afterward settled in Yarmouth, but the fact is
given here to stimulate inquire on that point. It
is known by tradition that there were two men in
the ship coming over from England named Richard
Taylor, both of whom settled in Yarmouth, one a
farmer and the other a tailor by occupation. The
first built his cabin by the side of a large rock,
and is known in history as Richard Rock Taylor;
the other was called Richard Taylor the tailor.
The latter had no children, so all the Taylors who
trace their ancestry to Yarmouth, soon after its
settlement, reach......

I. Richard (Rock) Taylor

1. He married in 1646, Ruth Burgess, and died in
1703. She died June 9, 1963. Their children were:

I. GENERATION.

2. (1) Richard, Jr. b. June 9, 1652, d. 1732.
3. (2) Mehitabel, b. July 23, 1654, m. John Smith,
Dec. 29, 1681.
4. (3) Keziah, b, Feb. 18, 1656, m. Samuel Eldridge,
Feb. 6, 1680.

Page 4

5. (4) Jasher, b. May 9, 1659
6. (5) Hannah, b. Sept. 17, 1661, m. Job Jenkins
( a Quaker), Aug. 26, 1682.
7. (6) Elisha, b. Feb. 10, 1664, m. Rebecca ---------,
8, (7) Mary, b. June 12, 1667.

II. Richard, son of Richard (Rock), m. Hannah -----.

History says he served in the war against King
Philip. Tradition says his wife and two children
had a painful experience with the Indians, probably
during his absence in that fierce conflict. The
Indians made an attack on the town where they lived
(name forgotten) and the inhabitants fled to a
sloop, which was the only craft then lying in harbor.
The last person to step over the side was Mrs.
Taylor, with an infant in her arms and a little
boy beside her. As she went on board, the Captin,
drawong his sword as a token of authority, forbade
any more coming on board lest the sloop sink, They
then went to Boston, where Mrs. Taylor left the
sloop, knowing neither where to go nor what to do.
After walking some distance she sat down by the
roadside and, reflectin upon her destitute condition,
began to weep. Soon a gentleman passed and after
walking a few rods, retuned and asked if she was
one of the company who had escaped from the Indians.
Being answered in the afffirmative, he told her to
remain where she was until he returned and he would
provide for her the coming night. After a short
absence he returned bringing another gentleman,
who took her eldest boy, while he provided for
Mrs. Taylor and infant until she could care for
them herself.

Children of Richard, Jr., and Hannah:

9. (1) Isaac, m. Judith Lewis, Nov. 30, 1733.
10. (2) Jasher, m. Experience Cobb, June 13, 1715.

Page 5

12. (3) Ebenezer, b. about 1689, m. Mary ________.
13. (4) Mary, m. Jonathan Wheldin, Dec. 6, 1698.
14. (5) Daughter.

X. Jasher, son of Richard, Jr., m. Experience Cobb.
He died Oct. 31, 1752. She died Dec. 17, 1764.

Their children were:
GENERATION II

15. (1) Ruth, b. April 28. 1715, d. June 18, 1738.
16. (2) Isaac, b. Nov. 14, 1716, m. Nary Joice,
Sept. 18, 1755, s. Ashfield, Mass.
17. (3) Lydia, b. June 12. 1717-18, m. John Wheldin,
Sept. 21, 1752, s. Bucklin, Mass.
18. (4) Jasher, b. Oct. 6, 1719, m. Thankful Sears,
Sept. 20. 1744, s. Ashfield, Mass.
19. (5) Betty, b. Feb. 27, 1721-22, m. Shubel
Baxter, Oct. 23, 1757.
20. (6) David, b. May 24, 1724, m. Thankful Hallet,
Mar. 23, 1748, s. Ashfield, Mass.
21. (7) Jonathan, b. Feb. 18, 1726-7, m. Thankful
Phinney, of Harwich, Mass.
22. (8) Stephen, b. May 16, 1728, d. Dec. 20, 1759.
23. (9) Thankful, b. Apr. 2, 1732, m. Richard Taylor,
Nov. 27, 1766.
24. (10) Keziah, b. Mar. 29, 1734, d. Aug. 1, 1801.

The above names and dates are taken from a copy of
the records kept in the Clerk's office of the town
of Yarmouth,kindly lent for the purpose by the town
clerk, Wm. P. Davis, Esq. The copy contains records
of over 300, from which the above comprise the
immediate ancestors of Henry B. Taylor, Jonathan,
last above named, and Thankful Phinney being his

Page 6

grand-parents. The other branches of the family of
Richard (Rock) Taylor have spread over the land and
include many men of great energy, influence and
force of character, ministers of the Gospel,
lawyers, and other men of note. Among them may be
named four sons of Jeremiah, son of Isaac above
named, whose mother was Martha Alden, daughter
of Rev. Timothy Alden, of Harwich, all of whom
became worthy, useful ministers, the eldest, Rev.
Oliver Alden Taylor, leaving in print an
autobiography of surpassin interest. Phineas
Taylor Barnum, the great show-man, and Zackary
Taylor, President of the United States, are
descendants of the same puritan ancestor.
Of the children of Jasher Taylor and Experience
Cobb, Isaac, Jasher, Jonathan and Stephen, settled
in Ashfield, Mass., between 1730 and 1772. Isaac,
Jasher and Jonathan settled on a road that is
known to this day as Cape Street, from the number
of its settlers coming from Cape Cod (Yarmouth).
Probably Stephen settled in Ashfield about 1755,
but by reason of the indian war returned to the
Cape, where he died Dec. 29, 1759. Isaac, known
in Ashfield as Captain Isaac, was taxed in Ashfield
in 1766---" 1house, 2 cows and 1 horse." His
children were Ezekiel, Rachel, Stephen, Isaac,
Mary, Jeremiah and Isaiah. Jasher Taylor and
Thankful Sears moved to Ashfield in 1772.
Their children were, Samuel, Barnabas, Edward,
Experience, Hannah, Bethiah, Jasher, Thankful.
Jonathan, with his wife Thankful, and their four
eldest children, started from Yarmouth to make a
home in the then far West, among the mountains of
Western Massachusetts, probably in 1760.
Tradition says most of their way lay through an
unbroken wilderness, and with their goods on an
ox-sled, driving their cows and sheep, they were
obliged much of the way to cut down trees to make a
track for their sled. They stopped sev

Page 7

eral years on the way in Hardwick, Worcester Co.,
Mass., probably because the Indians were then
troublesome west of the Connecticut River. Their
children, Stephen, Rebecca, Joshua and David were
born and baptized. Probably they reached their
Canaan in 1769, as their daughter Thankful was
baptized in Ashfield in April, 1770, Their
daughter Hannah in May, 1773, and their youngest
child, Ebenezer, Feb. 18, 1776. It appears from
the Town Records of Ashfield that Jonathan Taylor
and his wife Thankful united wirh the Congregational
Church in Ashfield in Feb., 1769, and that he
afterward became a deacon of the same. It is tradition
that those threebrothers were devout, earnest,
Christian men, honored by their acquaintaces and
favored in their death.
Jonathan, at the age of 68, was living with his son
Jonathan, when, as told by his son Ebenezer, he
went on Dec. 28, 1792, to fodder some young cattle
at a stack in the meadow a short distance from the
house. Not retuning as soon as expected, it was
thought he had gone across the fields to visit a
sick neighbor, so no search was made till near
night. Then his tracks were found where he had
started for the neighbor's, and having knelt in a
fence corner, while at prayer, God had taken him.
Of the other two, one had been on a winter's evening
to a conference church meeting, and while walking
home with his son spoke of feeling faint. The son
called to a neighbor passing in a sleigh, and
helped his father in. On reaching home he was found
to be asleep in Jesus.
The other brother was living with a son, enjoying
a happyold age, and was accustomed to sit in his
arm chair in the warm chimney corner, of a winter's
evening and take a nap. One evening on trying to
awaken him, he was found to be resting in hope of
immortality and eternal life.

Page 8

XXI. Jonathan Taylor m. Thankful Phinney.
Their children:

GENERATION III.

25. (1) Jasher, b. Jan. 22,1753, m. Dolly Carr,
lived in Lenox, Mass., (his youngest brother,
Ebenezer, living with him from about 1790 to
about 1797), moved to Ohio and settled in Dover in
1814, where he died in 18--. From the records of
the Pension Office it appears that he enlisted
July, 1778, for 9 months, in Capt. Cleveland's
company, in the regiment commanded by Col. Michael
Jackson in the Revolutionary War.
26. (2) Henry, b. March 15, 1755, at Yarmouth, d. in
Capt. Ward's company in the Revolutionary Army,
Sept. 30, 1778.
27. (3) Jonathan, b. May 3, 1757, at Yarmouth, m.
three times. First, Phoebe Howes of Ashfield.
Second, Mrs. Eunice Baker Matthews of Dennis, Mass.,
Third, Mrs. Jemima Sheppard Lyon.
He was about 12 years old when his father moved to
Ashfield, where he lived until his death, March 19,
1839. From the records of the Pension Office it
appears that he served in the American Army before
Boston with Capt. Webber, in Col. Fellows'
Massachusetts regiment, joined his company at
Roxbury in July, 1775, and later was stationed at
Dorchester. About Jan. 1, 1776, he volunteered for
one year in Capt. Samuel Bartlett's Company, in
Col. Jonathan Ward's Massachusette regiment, and
participated in the siege of Boston, until the
place was evacuated by the British, March 17, 1776.
Thence he was ordered to the defence of New York
City, and was in the battle of Long Island, Aug.
27, 1776, in the night retreat to New York City,
then, when it was evacuated, Sept. 15, 1776, he
accompanied the army towards White Plains, and was
discharged at Peekskill. About July, 1777, he

Page 9

volunteered in the Militia under Capt. Benj. Phillips,
marched to Moses Kill on the Hudson River, from
which place they were induced, by the continued
advance of the invading army with Indians from
Canada, to retreat to Stillwater, Saratoga Co.,
N. Y., where the Continental regimaents were
assembling, andthence he returned home. He had
been there but three or four days when a wide-spread
alarm caused a summary call for the Militia, and he
marched, late in August, 1777, under Capt. Elisha
Stanston, by way of Bennington, Vt., to Saratoga,
N. Y., and thence to Fort Edward, having a skirmish
with the enemy on the way, at Moses Kill, the object
being to cut off the retreat of Gen. Burgoyne to
Canada. While on this scouting duty, the battles of
Stillwater, Sept. 19 and Oct. 7,1777, having taken
place, followed by the surrender of the army under
Burgoyne, Oct. 17, 1777, he was discharged. In June,
1778, he volunteered for four months in the State
troops under CaptainDavid Pomeroy, to guard the
public stores and prisoners at Albany, N. Y., where
Gen. Stark was in command.
28. (4) Sarah, b. Nov. 4, 1759, m. Joshua Vincent;
lived and died in Heath, Mass.
29. (5) Stephen, baptized at Hardwick, Mass., April
25, 1762, m. Mindwell Taylor. He enlisted for 8
months in Capt. William Watson's company, Col.
James Wisson's Massachusetts regiment, and was
discharged Nov. 1, 1778. He reinlisted in the same
company for 9 months and was discharged at West
Point, N. Y., April 9, 1780. He served another term
of 18 months, probably from the spring of 1782 to
Dec., 1783, and was injured at West Point, in his
left leg, by a severe bruise received while on
fatigue duty. He had no children.
30. (6) David, b. at Hardwick, Mass., July 26, 1767,
was a practitioner of medicine, m. Helen Phelps,
April 25, 1798,

Page 10

settled in South Hero, Vt., died Aug. 25, 1821.
Widow died July 27, 1845, in Indiana. 31. (7)
Rebecca Jerusha, b. at Hardwick, Mass., Sept. 23,
1764, m. --Smith, moved to Dover, Ohio, in 1811.
32. (8) Thankful, b. at Ashfield, Mass., baptized
April, 1770, m. Gad Wright, lived in Williamsburg,
Mass.
33. (9) Hannah, b. at Ashfield, Mass., baptized May,
1773, lived and died in Lenox, Mass., unmarried.
34. (10) Ebenezer, b. at Ashfield, Mass., in Jan.,
1776, baptized Feb. 18, 1776, lived some of his
minority with his oldest brother, Jasher, at Lenox,
Mass., m. Lucinda Boardman at Chateaugay, N. Y.,
in 1804, where he resided till the spring of 1814.
During the winter of 1813-14, the settlers in the
Chateaugay, (N. Y.) wilderness were much disturbed
and harrassed by the marching of the hostile forces
along the old turnpike. Early in March, 1814, while
the British army was retreating to Canada, the
horses of (34) Ebenezer Taylor were stolen and only
by a persistent pursuit into Canada and an appeal
to a high officer was he able to recover them.
Then, being obliged to return along by-roads on
account of the enemy, it was nearly morning before
he reached home. Calling up his wife and children
he said, "give us breakfast and we'll leave this
country." Packing a few necessary articles on a
sled he drove the same day to South Hero, Vt.,
where for five years he resided on the West shore,
opposite and in sight of Plattsburg. Here on the
11th day of September, 1814, he, with a large
throng of deeply interested spectators, witnessed
the important naval battle between the British and
American fleets, and rejoiced in the defeat and
the humiliation of the proud and haughty invader.
In 1819 he removed to a farm on the south end of
the Island where he lived till the spring of 1820.
Then he moved to Mil

Page11

ton, Vt., and lived on Fox Hill till the spring of
1847. Then he moved to Pike River, P. Q., where he
lived till the fall of 1852, when he went to spend
his last days with his son Henry B. then financial
agent of Troy Conference Academy at Poultney, Vt.
Here he died July 25, 1853, in great peace, having
been for the last fourteen years of his life a very
devout, earnest Christian. He generally called
Captain Taylor, from having been captain of the
militia company in the regiment commanded by Co.
Thomas Smith, while living at Chateaugay, N. Y.,
during the war of 1812, and was well known as a man
of industrious habits and sterling integrity of
character. From the above it appears that Deacon
Jonathan Taylor and four of his sons served more
or less in the War of the Revolution. No doubt all
served much more of the seven years than appears
on the files of the Pension Office. Ebenezer Taylor
often said that his father and four brothers were
in the service most of the time, and especially
his oldest brother Jasher, who was out in every
year, and his brother Henry, until his death. It
is tradition that when Deacon Jonathan arrived
home fromthe army in the fall of 1778, he opened
the door and stood weeping on the threshold for
some time before he could inform his wife of the
death of their Henry in the service.
During the absence of the father and four oldest
sons, the mother with the aid of her two little
boys and her girls, planted the farm crops, took
care of the stock, and made provision as well as
she could for the winter. Deacon Jonathan sometimes
said at the close of the war he was not worth a
dollar in the world, so greatly had his means
decreased and his estate become incumbered and
wasted by the absence of himself and sons.
Who can estimate the cost of our national freedom?
Yet

Page 12

who can doubt that it is worth to mankind vastly
more than all it cost?
Soon after the close of the war serious trouble
arose in Western Massachusetts over the impsition
of taxes. Meetings were held and an organization
made to prevent their collection from the deeply
impoverished people. The leading spirit in this
uprising was Capt. Daniel Shay, who had done much
good service in the Continental Army, but feeling
that the people were being oppressed, was ready
to lead them against their new oppressors.
Ebenezer often told of his brothers' interest in
the strife, of their meeting with Capt. Shay, and
of the return of his oldest brother, Jasher, from
the last assembly of Shay's force; how he entered
the house and, hanging his musket on the hooks,
said he had carried that musket seven years fightin
the enemies of his country, but now that it had
come to using it against his old comrades, in an
effort to destroy the nation they had set free,
he, for one, would go no farther.
The same spirit animating the breasts of the
majority of Shay's men, his force quietly despersed
and the trouble was over.
Soon after this, Deacon Jonathan arranged with his
son Jonathan to take the farm and care for him and
his wife during their lives.

XXV. Jasher Taylor, m. Dolly Carr.
Their children:

GENERATION IV.

35. (1) Henry, b. Sept. 28, 1779, m. Elizabeth
Barnes, d. July 3, 1862. She died 1871.
36. (2) Temperance, m. Follett.
37. (3) John, m. Abigail Ward.

Page 13

38. (4) Jonathan, m. Anna Smith, d. 1851.
39. (5) Rhoda, d. in Lenox, Mass.
40. (6) Anna, d. in Lenox, Mass.
41. (7) Enos. Unmarried.
42. (8) Reuben, d. while the family wore moving to
Ohio.
43. (9) Abigail, m. Chester Dean.
44. (10) Dennis, m. Rebecca Smith.
45. (11) Stephen.

XXVII. Jonathan Taylor, m. 1st, Phoebe Howes.
Their children:

46. (1) Betsey, m. Samuel Foster, moved to Ohio.
47. (2) Lucy, m. Edward Hatch, Jan. 1, 1801.
48. (3)Phebe, m. Samuel N. Gaylord, lived in Cortland,
N.Y., d. about 1860.
49. (4) Lois, m. Orrin Wakefield, lived in
Kingsville, Ashtabula Co., Ohio.
50. (5) David, m. Jerusha Sekells, lived in Salem,
O. Was killed in a saw-mill in 1836.
51. (6) Jonathan, m. Rebecca Ellis.

XXVII. Jonathan Taylor, m. 2nd, Eunice Baker Mathews.
Their children:

52. (1) Sally, b. in Lenox, Mass., Oct. 3, 1800.
Was a tailoress, m. Jan., 1855, to Rev. David Pease,
a Baptist minister, d. Nov. 30, 1878, in Ashfield.
53. (2) Priscilla, b. Sept., 1802, m. Summer
Bement, d. Dec., 1834.
54. (3) Hepsibah, b. May, 1804, m. Earl J. Merriman,
lived in Westfield, Mass., d. in 1875.
55. (4) Mary, b. May, 1806, d. Jan. 23, 1830.

Page 14

56. (5) Jerusha, b. Dec. 5, 1808, m. 1st, Francis E.
Williams of Conway, Mass., Sept., 1834. He died
Aug. 6, 1868, m. 2nd, John M. Bardwell of Conway,
Feb. 27, 1873. He died Jan. 23, 1887. She is still
living, visited her relatives in Mooers and at
Pike River, P.Q., in Aug., 1888, and has her winter
home with her daughter, Mrs. Jerusha A. Woodruff,
in Northampton, Mass., while her summers are spent
in her own house in Conway.

XXVII. Jonathan Taylor, m. 3rd, Mrs. Jemima
Shepherd Lyon. Had no children. One of her
children by by her first marriage, Miss Mary Lyon,
as founder and first principal of Mount Holyoke
Female Seminary, has earned a just and glorious
renown by her great service to Christian female
education.

XXVII. Sarah Taylor m. Joshua Vincent.
Their children;

57. (1) Ruth, b. in Heath, Mass., m, --------Sears.
58. (2) Orrin.

XXX. Rebecca Jerusha Taylor, m. -------Smith.
Their children;

59. (1) George, drowned soon after reaching Ohio.
60. (2) Stephen, m. Philura Love.
61. (3) Roswell, m. Jane Farr. Had three children,
Jerusha, Melvina A., Almira.
62. (4) Rachel, m. Silas Southworth.
63. (5) Rebecca, m. Dennis Taylor, son of (25)
Jasher.
64. (6) Hepsibah, m. Asaph Brown.

XXXI. David Taylor, m. Helen Phelps.
Their children;

65. (1) Stephen, b. July 7, 1801, d. at Jackson,
Ore.
66. (2) Selim, b. Apr. 19, 1803, s. in Indiana.

Page 15

67. (3) Sevedra, b. Feb. 8, m. Martha R. Wilkins,
Sept. 25, 1842, d. at Detroit, Mich., May 31, 1876.
68. (4) Sebastian Frederick, b. Dec. 24, 1808, m.
Judith Kellogg, Oct. 30, 1833. Was a lawyer, judge
of the Supreme Court of Ohio, lived and died at
Sandusky, O., Oct., 1882.
69. (5) Solon, b. Sept. 13, 1811, m. Sarah W.
Carrier, lived and died at Newark, N. Y., Dec. 30,
1806.
70. (6) Seth, b. July 7, 1813, unmarried, d. at
Burlington, Vt., May 17, 1845.
71. (7) Sylvester H., b. Mar. 31, 1816, d. Aug.,
1858, in Wisconsin.
72. (8) Helen, d. in infancy.
73. (9) Huldah, b. May 19, 1818. Killed by being
thrown from a carriage by a runaway team, on Fox
Hill, Milton, Vt., Oct. 12, 1829.
74. (10) Philura, b. June 27, 1820, m. ------------
Kennedy, d. Nov. 30, 1854, in Indiana.

XXXII. Thankful Taylor, m. Gad Wright.
Their children;

75. (1) Ebenezer.
76. (2) Gad.
77. (3) Hiram.
78. (4) Phinney.
79. (5) Thankful, m. ----- Nye. Lived in Barre,
Mass.
80. (6) Persis. Unmarried.

XXXIV. Ebenezer Taylor, m. Lucinda Boardman.
Their children;

81. (1) Abel Lewis, b. July 29, 1805, m. 1st, Ann
Woodbury, Mar. 31, 1832; she died Feb. 12, 1833.
He m. 2nd, Almira H. Ellis,Oct. 2, 1836. He died
April 30, 1880. She died Feb. 16,1892.

Page 16

82. (2) Jonathan B., b. 1807, d. Oct., 1828.
83. (3) Jane Jerusha, b. Jan. 11, 1810, m. Moses T.
Davis, Sept. 25, 1831, d. Mar. 15, 1862.
84. (4) Lucinda Boardman, b. 1818, d. Aug. 24, 1820,
atSouth Hero, Vt.
85. (5) Henry B., b. at South Hero, Grand Isle Co.,
Vt., Mar. 8, 1822, m. Julia M. Shessen, Feb. 1, 1849.

The following Personal Memoirs were written at the
earnest request of his children, by Henry B. Taylor,
and are here inserted as a part of the Family
History: Henry Boardman Taylor was born in South
Hero, Grand Isle County, State of Vermont, March 8, 1822.
His father then owned a farm on the south end of
Grand Isle, and here on the banks of the beautiful
Lake Champlain with the Freen Mountains near at
hand on the east and the Adirondacks in view across
the lake on the west, his early childhood was
passed.
When seven years of age his father sold his farm
on the Island and removed to one he had purchased
in the town ofMilton, Chittenden County, Vt. Before
leaving their island home the family had been
called to bury two of their number. Lucinda in
early childhood, and Jonathan, in his young manhood,
had been called from their midst, and grief and
sorrow had borne heavily upon the loving mother.
While living on the Island the family was
surrounded by many relatives. Joseph Boardman,
brother of the mother, lived on an adjoining farm.
Henry Boardman, another brother, lived on a farm
adjoining his brother Joseph. Elisha Boardman, the
youngest brother, lived on the west shore at the
ferry to Cumberland Head. Also, on the father's
side, there lived on the Island, one brother,
namely, David Taylor, M.D., with family of seven
sons and three daughters, named Steph

Page 17

en, Solon, Sebastian, Sevedra, Seth and Sylvester,
Helen, Huldah and Philura.
The home of the family in Milton was on Fox Hill,
about a mile from the lake ferry to the Island and
the same distance from the lower falls of the river
Lamoille. Here the parents resided until 1848, and
here, attending the district school winters and
working on the farm summers, Henry lived with them
until the spring of 1837.
The school-house was about a mile distant and the
schools were of the most elementary and primitive
character; Yet he obtained in them some knowledge
of spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography
and English grammar.
When about ten or elevin years of age, a profound
impression was made on his mind by the faithful
pious counsels and prayer of a young lady named
Farr who taught the district school one summer.
He, with other pupils, became deeply interested in
religion, held prayer meetings at the intermissions
of school, and some of them joined the church and
continued to live Christian lives. Henry was
dissuaded by his parents from joining the church
and soon lost his serious impressions.
In the year 1831, Sept. 25, his sister Jane was
married to Moses T. Davis who became a beloved
brother, friend and counsellor to him for more than
30 years of his life.
With him he made two trips on a passenger packet
from the city of Vergennes, Vt., to Buffalo, N.Y.,
in the fall of 1838, and one from Vergennes to
Troy, N.Y. On their return from the latter trip
the packet was frozen in the canal at Schuylerville,
and as there were no railroads or stages running
then, they traveled over the frozen ground by the
way of Fort Edward, Whithall, Orwell, Addison,
Vergnnes and Burlington, to their home in Milton-
a long weary journey on foot.

Page 18

In the spring of 1837 Henry went to live with his
brother, Abel Lewis,and served him as clerk in the
store during the summer. He had a severe attack of
bilious fever in the fall and in the early winter
had a taste of the alarms of war.
An insurrection known as the "Papinaux War" took
place in Canada; a small force was organized at
Swanton and started to march into the lower province,
but were met at Moore's Corners by a body of
Canadian militiana and defeated. The firing was
distinetly heard at Pike River, and the terror and
excitement among the people was intense.
In the winter of 1838 the troubles were renewed
and some sharp battles were fought at different
points. Those were indeed troublesome times. Many,
suspected of sympathy with the patriots, were
arrested and thrown into prison and the whole
country was under martial law.
In March, 1839, A. L. Taylor, learning that a
charge of criminal sympathy with the rebels had
been lodged against him and a warrant issued for
his arrest, fled by night on foot across the lines
and came to his father's house and despatched Henry
to take charge of his business. His first duty was
to visit a camp of lumbermen near the Scotch
Mountain, with directions to the men about their
work, then to ride across the country to Chambly,
cross the Sorel and St. Lawrence on the ice to
Montreal, purchase a bill of goods to be shipped
by railroad to St. Johns, and thence to ride home,
all traveling being on horseback.
That shipment of goods was among the first made on
the St. Lawrence and Champlain R. R. - the first
built in Canada and among the first opened for
business in America. Abel L. Taylor remained an
exile in the United States until about the first
of June, when he returned via. Montreal (where he
assured of safety by the authorities) to his home
and res

Page 19

umed his business of merchant and lumberman. Henry
resided with him as clerk in his store until
September. During that summer he was the subject
of deep religious convictions and spiritual
awakenings under the preaching of Lathrop Burge,
a local preacher of the Methodist Church and a
resident of Ticonderoga, N.Y., engaged in lumbering
at Pike River, Canada. Many good resolutions were
made by Henry B. To reform his life, but as thy
were made in his own strength and without any
Confession of sin or acts of repentance, they were
as oftern broken. Early in September he started
for his father's on a sailing vessel, hoping to
meet at North Island some friends from Milton at a
camp-meeting. But the vessel was detained two days
by head winds and a large painful boil came on his
foot which so lamed him that on arrival at the
camp-ground hecould walk only with great difficulty
and was glad of a chanceto ride with an old friend
of his father's to the Ferry at Milton and to reach
home. Here he met the turning point of his life.
In his seventeenth year, though moral and of good
repute and the use of strong drink as a beverage,
and was in the way of death and eternal separation
from Holiness and Heaven. But God's Providence had
brought him to the place where and time when he
should be led by the Holy Spirit to choose the
Saviour of maen as his portion and ingeritance
forever. The summer before his sister Jane had been
led to Christ and with a few other elect ladies had
maintained a prayer-meeting in the neighborhood. A
day or two after Henry's return a former schoolmate
named Samuel Hewes returned after an absence of
several years, to visit relatives, and, having a
license to exhort, attended the prayer-meeting and
appointed a meeting for the next evening, which
Henry B. was induced to attend. There the work of
conviction for sin was deepened and

Page 20

strengthened by the prayers and exhortations of
God's people, and a purpose formed to attend to the
undying interest of his soul. The nest day, on or
about Sept. 30, 1839, in a grove near the house of
his dear friend, Jacob Roberts, his mind received
the blessed Divine assurance that his sins were all
forgiven and that he was accepted as a child by the
Father for the sake of the Son of God. The same
evening at a meeting in the house of Brother Roberts
he was able to confess to the glory of God the work
done for him. Soon after, his father, who had for
nearly 40 years been a Universalist, was led to
renounce his dependence on that hope, and to accept
Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. The mother,
who had indulged a hope in Christ as her Saviour
but had never made any public profession, was led
to give glory to God for the salvation of herself
and family. All united with the Methodist Episcopal
Church and for nine years thereafter weekly prayer-
meetings were held in the father's house.
The winter of 1839-40, Henry B. boarded at home and
attended school in the "Blake district," kept by
his friend, S. Hewes. The summer of 1840 he was
again clerk for his brother A, L. at Pike River.
Feeling a strong desire to obtain a better education
he left his brother in September and entered Troy
Conference Academy at Poultney, Vt., with James
Covell. Principal, and Rev. Stephen Allen, George B.
Cone, and John Newman for teachers. He had a pleasant
room, and for room-mate, John N. Brown, since and
now of the Genesee conference, Chaplain in the
Army, Presiding Elder, etc. At the end of the
quarter he returned home and took a school in a
district in Colchester near Cobb Hill which he
taught four months for $12 per month and board
around.

Page 21

During this winter of '40 and '41 great excitement
pervaded the country over the preaching of William
Miller and his followers of the near approach of
the end of the world. By careful investigation
Henry B. was satisfied of the error of their
teachings and kept on his chosen way in the
Methodist Episcopal Church. In the spring of '41
he returned to Troy Conference Academy where he
found Jesse T. Peck, Principal, and attended school
two terms, and in the following winter taught
school in the "Blake district," in Milton, for $15
per month and board around. The summer and fall of
1842 he attended the Academy, and the following
winter taught school in Poplar Hollow, town of
Hampton, N.Y., and attended the Academy in the
summer and fall of 1843. The winter of '43 and '44
he taught school at Granville Corners.
At first entering on a course in the Academy he had
no plan or purpose but to qualify himself to teach
common school. Soon the impression became fixed in
his mind that he was called of God to preach the
Gospel. The same conviction being in the minds of
his friends in the Church, a vote was taken in the
class meeting and a license to exhor was given him
by Rev. O. E. Spicer, dated Dec. 27,1841. After
this he formed the purpose of pursuing a College
course, and studied on the preparatory course.
But, during the winter at Granville Corners, the
Excitement in the Church over the belief in the
near end of the workd led many good people to
deprecate the course he had marked out, and they
urged him to enter the work of the Ministry without
further school preparation. This, added to the lack
of means to meet expenses at College led him to
give up the plan and to offer himself to the Troy
Conference in the spring of 1844 at the session
held in Poultney. It was judged best by his friends
that he should be employed a year under the Presiding
Elder before admission into the Conference. After
the close of the school,

Page 22

he boarded and read theology with Rev. L. A.
Sanford, the Pastor of the M. E. Church at Granville,
and with him visited the city of New York in May,
and attended the session of the General Conference
of the M.E. Church, memorable in the History of the
Church for the trial of Bishop Andrews on charge of
slave holding, which led to the disruption of the
Church. He saw and heard there some of the mighty
men of that time; among them, J. B. Gough, J. P.
Durbin, Capers, Pierce, Bascomb, Bishop Soules and
others. After Conference at Poultney he was
employed by Presiding Elder Seymore to supply
Ellenbugh Mission. On arriving at Plattsburgh, he
learned there was no public conveyance to his
charge, then a dense wilderness with a few
scattered settlements on and near the Military
turnpike. Being anxious to be at his work Sunday
he set out on foot Saturday morning and with some
chance rides reached the place of the first Sabbath
appointment the same evening. He was warmly greeted
by the few Church members in the scattered
settlements, had good congregations, and passed a
pleasant year, having a few conversions, organizing
Sunday Schools, temperance societies, etc.
Being recommended by the Quarterly Conference he
was admitted into the Troy Conference in May '45,
and appointed to Champlain circuitwith O. E. Spicer
for Preacher in charge. This year he boarded with
B.W. Shedden, at Mooers, and traveled the two towns
with his colleague. During the winter, with the
consent of the Quarterly Conference he taught the
village school in Mooers. That year the people of
the State were allowed to vote on the question of
License, and he held many meetins and attended
conventions to promote the No License vote. In the
spring of 1846 he was appointed to Essex, N.Y.,
with Seymore Coleman, Preacher in charge, boarding
at Essex village with John Stafford.

Page 23

To promote the building of a church at Willsboro
Falls he acted as Building Committe, collecting
subscriptions, letting contracts, hiring men, and
working on the belfry when he could not get men to
go in the cold weater. The Church was completed,
dedicated by J.T. Peck, and many souls saved in it
before Conference.
At the dedication he had a visit ever memorable,
from his mother and nephew, William E. Taylor. At
the conference held in Albany, N.Y., in the spring
of 1847 he was appointed to Isle La Mott, Vt. Here
a fine stone Church had been erected and enclosed
but stood unfinished with a debt of about $400.00
upon it. By advice of the Preacher's Meeting of the
District, he undertook to pay off the debt and
complete the church. Enough to pay the debt was
raised on the Island and he visited the principal
charges of the district and raised enough to
complete the church. It was while collecting the
materials to finish off this church that the
incident occurred, which was described by Rev.
Ward Bullard, then laboring on Grand Isle, Vt., in
the "Christian Advocate." and copied in "Stevens'
History of American Methodism" and "Park's Troy
Conference Miscellanies," as follows: "Rev. H. B.
Taylor, one of our faithful itinerants, while
laboring upon those Islands, was subjected to a
severe trial. Like the Apostle of old he was a
night and a day in the deep. He was crossing to
the Isle La Motte in December, 1847, with two other
men on a scow loaded with lumber for a new church.
The wind capsized the scow and the falling snow
prevented their being seen, while the roar of the
waters hindered them from being heard.
They secured a few pieces of their lumber on which
they sat, or lay, and held on to the edge of the
boat while the waves were breaking over them. Far
away from the shore, a watery grave seemed
inevitable. The capsizing took place about four

Page 24

o'clock in the afternoon, and the boat, by drifting
reached the shore about three o'clock the next
morning. After being eleven hours in the water,
they gained the land in so chilled, frozen and
exhausted a state that they could not stand. By
locking arms and bracing against each other they
managed to get to a house near by and aroused the
inmates. Bro. Taylor was at this time engaged in
transporting lumber for a church that he was
building. He had the privilege, too, of preaching
faithe to his two companions, who were irreligious
and who expected to perish."
After the dedication of the church, aided by Rev.
S. D. Brown, he held a few days meetings; several
were converted and added to the church. At the
Conference held in Troy, May, 1848, he was moved
by the appeals of his old principal and friend,
Jesse T. Peck, to consent to act as traveling agent
for Troy Conference Academy and conjointly with
Dr. Peck to raise about $25,000 to pay its debts.
While laboring on Burlington district in this work
he received word that Dr. Peck had left to become
President of Dickinson College, the trustees had
been sued and the plan abandoned. For the remainder
of the year he was employed in collecting up old
subscription bills, etc., for Troy Conference
Academy. February 1, 1849, he was married to Miss
Julia M. Shedden, daughter of B.W. Shedden and
Esther Rood, at Mooers, N.Y.
At the conference held at Sandy Hill, May, 1849,
the trustees asked his re-appointed him to Pleasant
Valley in Albany District. After conference the
trustees felt the need of his services so greatly
that they induced Rev. J. Lindsey, Preisding Elder
of his district to release him from his charge, and
he went to Poultney and began housekeeping. The
year was on of great labor involving constant travel
over the whole extent

Page 25

of the conference to collect funds, get agreements
with creditors, etc. By selling part of the real
estate belonging to them, collecting up old
accounts, subscriptions, etc., the long standing
and crushing debts of the Institute were provided
for, and at the conference of 1850 the Academy was
pronounced out of debt. November 26 of this year,
his eldest son, Bushrod Shedden, was born in West
Poultney, Vt. At Conference of 1850 he was appointed
to Warren circuit, embracing the wtowns of Caldwell,
Bolton, Warrensburg, Chester, Horicon and Athol,
and Edward N. Howe was employed as his colleague.
At that Conference he was elected and ordained an
Elder, and presented a series of resolutions for
taking Missionary Collection, which were adopted
and formed the basis of the plan of the Discipline
(see minutes of the Conference). At the Conference
of 1851, held at North Adams, Mass., he was returned
to Warren Circuit with H. H. Smith as colleague.
From the seat of Conference he took a trip to
Illinois on a visit to his sister, Jane J. Davis.
Went by railroad to Buffalo, steamer to Detroit,
rail to Michigan City, and steamer to Chicago, by
canal boat to Laselle, Ill., then by steamer down
Illinois River and the Mississippi River to Alton,
Ill. There he hired a horse and drove out to the
home of his sister, on the open prairie near
Stanton, Ill. He took a land warrant for his
brother-in-law to use in paying for his farm. After
a short visit he returned by stage via Springfield,
Ill., Indianapolis, Ind., to Dayton, O., where he
took the Cincinnati and Cleveland R. R. to Lake
Erie, the steamer to Buffalo, and throuh Lake
Ontario to Ogdensburgh, thence by rail to Mooers,
where wife and baby had been visiting. At the first
quarterly Conference of the year he was put in
charge of Johnsburg charge, and Lathrop Burge was
employed as a supply. George S. Brown, a colored
man who had been

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