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James Taylor was born on 12 Feb 1610 in Carlisle, England. He immigrated in 1635 on the "True Love". He was married to Frances Walker and their daughter, Elizabeth was married to Anthony Morgan (see bio). James became a large landowner & prominent citizen in the Virginia Colony. He was a lawyer & public official & served in the House of Burgesses. He was sheriff of New Kent Co. in 1690 & vestryman of St. George's Parish. He owned 13,925 acres alon the Mattaponi River where he built his home & named it "Hare Forest", named for the Earls of Penninton Castle in England, where Taylor ancestors are buried. This home is now located in Caroline Co. (after the county lines were redrawn)
"The Genealogical & Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain & Ireland Vol 4" says the Taylor of Pennington Lineage: Their ancestor was the Norman Baron Taillefer, who accompanied William the Conqueror in his invasion of Great Britain and of whom Wace, the Anglo-Norman poet, speaks in describing the battle of Hastings (14 Oct 1066) Also of interest, President Zachary Taylor traces his ancestry to this same James Taylor. James died on 30 Apr 1698, and is buried on his farm, which is 8 miles south of Bowling Green, VA. |
