The fifth child of Joseph Allen and Mary Lake Taylor, George Bailey Taylor ws born at the family home in Harrisville (now Farr West), Weber County, Utah, May 30, 1880. His father had been born in Pottawatomie County, Iowa while his parents were moving west with the Saints, and his mother was reportedly the first child born in North Ogden, Utah.
He never spoke of his childhood days to his family, but they learned that when he was small, he had beautiful, curly hair. This he wore in ringlets until he reached the age of about six years. One day he got one of his sisters to cut off some of his hair, so his parents had to finish the job. That ended his wearing ringlets.
One incident was recalled by his brother Lorenzo about George’s accidentally firing a gun in the house, narrowly missing his mother and striking a clock in the house. That brought the only spanking that George got from his father.
He was blessed with a strong body. In later years, his family recalled that he was known for his especially strong wrists. He learned early the value of hard work on his father’s farm, and by the age of 16 had acquired a fine team of horses and begun working for Lyman Skeen on his farm in Plain City.
While still a small lad, he was taught to be very frugal with his means. He had one pair of best shoes, so he would walk barefoot to church, carrying his shoes and putting them on after he arrived.
His first date with his future wife occurred while he was attending Weber Academy. He sat next to Elizabeth Torrie and handed her a note. She passed it on to his sister Lettie, thinking that it was intended for her. After reading the note, Lettie passed it back to Elizabeth, for it was an invitation for her to go sleigh riding. However, she was unable to go. Having lost her father and having no soles in her shoes, she could not afford suitable clothing. She had to work for a living. She was attending Weber Academy for a special Sunday School course.
George and Elizabeth were married December 11, 1901 in the Salt Lake Temple. They lived in Plain City, where George continued to work for Lyman Skeen. Before their first child, Edna, was born, they moved to Farr West. They lived in his parents’ house while they were taking care of the county infirmary in Roy. His brother Jed and his wife also lived in part of the home.
During the years that followed, George and Elizabeth became the parents of nine children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Seven were married in the temple.
| Name | Date of Birth | Married to |
| Edna | 17 Feb 1903 | Walter Richard Buss |
| Doris | 18 Aug 1904 | John Wilfred Stonely |
| Hazel | 27 Jul 1906 | Wendell Candland |
| Rhea | 22 Jun 1908 | Roland Stucki |
| Lawrence Chester | 4 Sep 1910 | 1) Alta Othea Jay (div) 2) Frieda Schmidt |
| Harold Dee | 10 Sep 1912 | Jessie Schmidt |
| Albert Blain | 17 Sep 1914 | (Died 22 Feb 1915) |
| Donald George | 15 Oct 1917 | (Died 19 Dec 1942) |
| Larene | 16 May 1920 | Charles Dale Grow |
George was a hard worker and taught the lessons of industry and thrift to members of his family. One of the goals that seemed foremost in his mind was that of having a farm for each member of his family If they wanted one. In Farr West, he owned during his lifetime, five parcels of land. The 80‑acre farm on which he lived is currently included in the Farr West and Plain City Stakes farm. He named the farm “Model Farm” and had a sign painted with that name on it and displayed by the entrance to the farmyard. Another farm of about 100 acres in the northeast part of the community he and his brother Lorenzo bought together, then later divided and each took half. This farm was later purchased by the Alex Papageorge family to add onto their farm. A 50‑ acre farm where Lawrence C. Taylor now lives was another parcel that George once owned and sold to his son Lawrence. A 20‑acre plot on which his father’s second wife Sarah had her home was purchased by George and later sold to Merrill L. Petersen. The fifth parcel of land, about 40 acres, he had bought and later transferred to his half‑brother Josiah Taylor.
George took great pride in improving his farms. He installed drainage systems, spent hundreds of dollars in leveling the land, and installed concrete headgates to reduce soil erosion. Securing enough irrigation water to produce good crops was one of his primary goals. Each farm had a flowing well. On his Model Farm he decided to dig a well just east of his house. After digging down about 10 feet, he dreamed that night that the well was in the wrong place. Through inspiration he felt that he should change the location and go further east and south. After they had dug deep into the ground on the new location, he found that the change had been wise. After pouring concrete Into circular forms day after day, the 50‑foot well was completed. He had an electric pump installed, which brought forth sparkling, cold water to fill an S‑inch pipe. He used this water day and night during hot summer months. He was proud of this new well. He invited many people from Ogden to come out and see his well and taste the wonderful, refreshing water. His family kept milk, butter, and cheese “refrigerated” in the cold water where it poured into a concrete ditch.
In 1933 when the great drought hit Utah, he was especially grateful to have such a good well. He felt sorry for the farmers who were not so fortunate, and he resolved to do something about it. While serving as president of the Western Irrigation Company, he drew other irrigation companies together and organized them into the Ogden River Water Users’ Association. He served as a director of this group for years. Together this group approached the United States Government and requested funds to build the Pine View Dam. Through their efforts, the project was approved and later constructed at a cost of $4 million. The reservoir was first filled in the spring of 1937. Its waters meant a great deal, not only to the farmers of Weber and Box Elder Counties, but to the development of the whole valley.
George loved good horses and cows. He bought good stock and cared for them well so they were productive. In 1918 he traveled to Vermont with a farm manager for the State Industrial School and a banker from Ogden, where they purchased a number of registered Holstein cattle. For a number of years he kept these until after his son Donald’s death, when Cream 0′ Weber Dairy financed other farmers so they could buy his stock and keep them in this area to build up the quality of their herds.
George was one of those responsible for getting the Weber Central Dairy Association cooperative enterprise started. He and James R. Beus of Hooper and others worked together to get the co‑op under way. It later evolved into what is now known as Western General Dairies, Inc.
George would not tolerate mistreatment of his animals by hired men. He was kind to the animals, and he became especially knowledgeable about caring for those who became sick. His skill in handling diseased cattle and horses brought many requests from neighbors and friends to assist them in times of such need.
“Early to rise” was one of George’s favorite mottos. He frequently stated, “The best time to get work done is in the early morning.” He would awaken by 4:00 a. m. much of the time during the busy summer season, and would soon be busy with chores or field work. He occasionally called neighbors in the middle of the night (sometimes to their dismay), such as one time when he phoned Henry McEntire, the watermaster, to check when his water turn was to start.
He wasn’t afraid to try new ideas. One year he raised a wonderful crop of celery. He raised onions several years. The last year he raised onions on the farm now owned by Merrill Petersen, he had an especially abundant yield that brought him $9,000; He achieved yields up to 1,000 cwt. of onions per acre. Some years the price was discouraging. He accepted 50 cents per hundred pounds at times. One year the price was so poor that he dumped a lot of onions back onto the ground to use as fertilizer. One year during the bad depression, a truck load of men came to work for him in the onions all day and each one took for pay 100 pounds of double onions (lower grade). During the year that he dumped the onions for fertilizer, some of his dairy cows grazing in the field next to the onions ate a few of them. They did this for about three days. George had a phone call from the dairy, saying, “George, what are you feeding those cows? The milk has a terrible taste. Whatever you are giving them, don’t do it any more.”
George didn’t like to see weeds on his farm. He kept the family supplied with good hoes and determinedly kept the weed‑killing operation in progress intermittently during the summer season. The girls would work in the fields until about 11:30 a. m., then hurry into the house to assist their mother with preparing dinner. Also, on the days when they were to take their piano lessons, they would work until nearly time for the lesson, then run into the house and get ready for their lessons.
The older girls remember weeding corn with a hired man. One morning they covered three acres. When they came into the house for dinner, their father was sure it was impossible for them to have finished so much. In the afternoon, he went into the field with them and showed them how they were not only supposed to kill the weeds, but hill up each corn plant after the weeds were out. After that they learned that it did not pay to hurry over their work, for they would surely have to go back and do it a second time.
George witnessed the development of the sugar beet industry in Weber County. On December 6, 1897, the Ogden Sugar Company was established, which was consolidated with two other sugar companies in 1902 to form the Amalgamated Sugar Company. The Ogden Sugar Company erected a sugar factory in Wilson Lane in 1898 after selling stock to farmers and businessmen in Weber County. At first the methods of planting, thinning, and harvesting were rather primitive. The seed was planted with a garden planter. Some of the first beets that were grown were thinned with kitchen knives. Later, hoes were used to do the job. The first cultivator had one wheel in front and two in back and was pushed by hand. Handles and diggers were attached to the frame. Furrows were made by diggers that were pointed at the front and had wings on the rear. About 1905 heavier equipment was introduced into the county, which was suitable to be horse‑drawn. Bankers loaned farmers money to purchase this equipment so they could increase their acreage. The sugar beet industry became a major economic boon to the farmers in this area. George used his best flat land to plant this crop. He hired much of the work to be done. Beet thinners for many years earned $4 per acre for this difficult task. A good worker had to hurry along to finish one‑ half acre a day.
Beet harvest began early in October. To avoid the unpleasant possibility of having to work after heavy rains or snow, farmers pushed the beet harvest as fast as possible, working from early daylight until late at night, even using lanterns to finish their day’s work.
While George worked for Lyman Skeen early in his married life, he used to haul sugar beets to the Wilson factory. Only by putting in 16 hours a day could he make two loads of beets in a day. He would have to load and unload the beets by hand.
After he was married, George worked at the sugar factory in the fall. He would drive his team and wagon there early in the morning, load beets from the big beet pile that was often 7 feet tall and covered 2 to 3 acres. He would throw on a toad of beets, drive them one‑half mile to the water channel, and throw the beets into the trough which carried them by force into the factory. He worked at this for 10 hours a day at the price of 20 cents a ton of beets. He milked cows at night and morning in addition to his 10‑hour work day away from home. The work at the factory provided the family with cash to live on during the winter months.
George usually harvested 500 tons of sugar beets each year on his farms. One year he, his brothers Pen and Si, hauled 8,000 tons of beets, earning $185 each for this work.
Farm life brought its rewards and its crises. One time a load of milk in cans was hauled to the milk station that was located where Clifford Dabb now lives. Elsbury Garlick, who ran the milk separators, happened to release some steam that frightened the team of horses. Starting to run for home. the rough ride caused the milk cans to tip over, spilling the milk along the road back to the Taylors’ farmyard.
Members of the family who worked on the farm received many valuable lessons from their father. One day while Harold was driving a team of horses on the ditcher in the north field, the ground was very hard. The horses became tired and one horse went down. George jumped into action. He spoke to the horse, hit him with the reins and urged him to get up. After it pulled again, he let the horses rest. He gave this advice: “Never let a horse quit or lie down when it is pulling. That will ruin it for work.”
George was not only a hard worker and good manager on his farm, but he also gave commendable service in the Church. Trained early in his life to give his devoted support to the church authorities, he accepted position of responsibility and performed his duties well. He served in the Sunday School Superintendency and held the position of second counselor to Bishop Moroni Chugg for a number of years. A little later he worked on the Genealogical Committee in the ward, often taking children to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms for the dead. He and his wife also went to the temple occasionally to do endowments for the dead. He served for many years on the ward Old Folks’ Committee and enjoyed very much this opportunity to help the members of that group to have a very special annual celebration.
George was literally a peacemaker. If upset, he would say, “Oh, sugar,” then walk away. He rarely was angry, but everyone, especially his family, knew that when he spoke, he meant what he said.
George raised good watermelons. Several years he gave the ward a good feast. Unfortunately, the boys would raid the patch, so he discontinued raising melons.
After most of his children had married and left home, a tragedy occurred which tried George sorely. Their son Donald was called into the service of his country during World Mar II and was killed during training maneuvers on December 19, 1942. Donald had seemed the most likely one of the family to take over the Model Farm. Now he was gone. George soon sold much of his dairy herd and went into semi‑retirement.
A wonderful experience lay ahead for George and his wife Lizzie. They were called to serve a mission to Kentucky. Up in the hills of that beautiful state, a new challenge came into their lives. Two opposing factions in the church presented a problem. One group swore that if a member of the other group were placed in a position of responsibility, they would never come to church, and vice versa. George and Lizzie had to be the peacemakers in the area and keep the work of the church moving forward. George had a great skill in making friends among the non‑members, too. George taught people in the mission field how to keep the Second Great Commandment. At Christmastime when one of the families was in dire need, George and his wife took into the home an entire Christmas layout for the family.
While they were in the mission field, they obtained permission to travel to Palmyra, New York, and see the pageant. As the great production started, it began to rain. Those who had attended began to move toward their cars when President George Q. Morris got on the loud speaker and told them the rain was going to stop and urged them to stay. The rain stopped and it was a beautiful clear night for the rest of the production. Yet the surrounding areas had a big storm that night. The Taylors had witnessed a miracle.
Returning from their mission, this couple took up their residence in a home on 5th Street in Ogden. Harold had taken over the Model Farm. When in their new “city” life, George was given an opportunity to be of service. He was put in charge of the ward’s welfare farm activities and performed a fine service there. He was also a real friend to the young children who lived on the street, often giving them oranges to eat.
On May 23, 1949, George attended Black and White Dairy Days at Plain City and had invited about 30 prominent people to dinner there on the promise from the celebration committee that these people’s dinner would be paid for by the town. George came home from the celebration and retired that night. His last words were to his loving wife, “You are a better woman than I am a man.” He passed away without a struggle. (The estate was required to pay for the dinner of his 30 guests that day.)
When the funeral service was being arranged, members of the family felt that it should be held in the tabernacle because of the wide circle of friends George had made. Lindquists’ Mortuary assured them that they had handled the crowds for a number of prominent families in Ogden without difficulty. After the service, however, they came to the family and apologized. They had not only filled their mortuary chapel to capacity, but turned away approximately 500 people. Although it was too late to change plans, the family felt that this was indeed one of the greatest tributes that could have been paid to their father for his years of service and leadership in the greater Ogden community. There were others who were unable to attend the funeral who missed George. The little children who lived on 5th Street near his home cried and cried when they heard that “Mr. Taylor” had passed away. They were going to miss the oranges that had been so freely given them.
(Prepared July 12, 1979 by Brian L. Taylor from notes provided by members of the family of George B. Taylor. Historic data on the sugar beet industry in Weber County was extracted from the book Beneath Ben Lomond’s Peak by Milton R. Hunter.)
