By Gayle Hix

Introduction #

The information that follows was retrieved from our Norfolk tithables database of Taylor families. The information in the database was extracted from a three-volume transcription of the originals by Elizabeth B. Wingo. This database should cover all Taylor families in Norfolk County, Virginia during the period 1730 to 1780 with a thirteen-year blank spot between 1736 and 1750. Sons were reported out at age sixteen by their father or by their widowed mother. This database will give us a tremendous amount of family information provided we analyze it very carefully and thoroughly.

A recent query of the database for Peter Taylor produced eighteen hits. The results of this computer study are grouped by primary area where these Taylor families lived. Some comments and questions have been added to this report.

Southern Branch

The first Peter Taylor listed in the Norfolk tithables was living on the road from Sugg’s Mill to Deep Creek on the West side of the Southern Branch of Elizabeth River in 1730 (bk. 1, p.8). He was living in the same household with David Southerland and Thomas Arthur. There were no other Taylor families living along this road in 1730.

This Peter Taylor was living on the West side of the Southern Branch in 1731. In this record he was living as a separate family (bk. 1, p. 33). He was still the only Taylor living in that area in 1731.

This Peter Taylor was still living on the West side of the Southern Branch in 1732. In this record he was living as a separate family (bk. 1, p. 62). He was still the only Taylor living in that area in 1732.

A new Peter Taylor living on the Head of Deep Creek on the Southern Branch in 1732 in the same household with his father, John Taylor, and his brother, Jonas Taylor (bk. 1, p. 64).

This new Peter Taylor was living on the South side of the Southern Branch in 1733 in the same household with his father, John Taylor (bk. 1, p. 98).

The previous Peter Taylor was living along the road from Sugg’s Mill to Great Bridge on the Southern Branch in 1733. In this record he was living as a separate family (bk. 1, p. 77).

This Peter Taylor was living along the road from Sugg’s Mill to Great Bridge on the Southern Branch in 1734. In this record he was living as a separate family (bk. 1, p. 131). The index shows another Peter Taylor on page 134, but he was not found there.

This Peter Taylor was living along the road from Sugg’s Mill to Batchelor’s Mill on the Southern Branch in 1735. In this record he was living in the same household with “his son” Daniel McPherson (bk. 1, p. 160).

This Peter Taylor was listed twice in 1735. The second time he was shown living along the road from Sugg’s Mill to Batchelor’s Mill on the Southern Branch. In this record he was living in the same household with “his son-in-law” (bk. 1, p. 166).

The new Peter Taylor referred to above was living on the South side of the Southern Branch in 1735 in the same household with his father, John Taylor (bk. 1, p. 163).

Western Branch

There was a Peter Taylor living on the Western Branch in 1736 in the same household with jonas Taylor (bk. 1, p. 187).

There was a Peter Taylor living in the Western Branch Precinct in 1750 in the same household with Robert Culpeper, John Chastain, and negroes Scotton (Scotland), Tom, Pachene (Patience), and Thomas (bk. 1, p. 203).

This Peter Taylor was living in the Western Branch Precinct in 1751 with Negroes Scotlen (Scotland), and Paccence (Patience) (bk. 2, p. 22).

Borough of Norfolk

The third Peter Taylor was in the alphabetized list for the Borough of Norfolk in 1768 (bk. 3, p. 86). The only other Taylors listed here were James, John, and Margaret Taylor.

This Peter Taylor was in the alphabetized list for the Borough of Norfolk in 1770 (bk. 3, p. 115). The only other Taylors listed were James, John, and Margaret Taylor.

This Peter Taylor was in the alphabetized list for the Borough of Norfolk in 1771 (bk. 3, p. 148). The only other Taylors listed were James, John, and Margaret Taylor.

This Peter Taylor was in the alphabetized list for the Borough of Norfolk in 1774 (bk. 3, p. 232). The only other Taylors listed were James, Margaret, and two Thomas Taylors.

Notes

The first Peter Taylor in the Norfolk County tithables was probably the son of Theodore Taylor. Theodore received land grants of 150 acres, 264 acres, and 212 acres in the Great Bridge area on the West side of the Southern Branch and his descendants largely stayed in that area. This Peter Taylor was witnessing deeds in the Southern Branch area as early as 1723 and 1724 (bk. F, pp. 88, 107, 111). He witnessed wills in 1721, 1723, 1734, 1743, and 1746.

The will of Theodore Taylor is fragmented with one fragment naming son, William, and another fragment naming son, Thomas. Each of these two sons appears to receive fifty acres, with another fifty acres going to a John Nicholson. Was John Nicholson the brother-in-law of Peter Taylor, William Taylor, and Thomas Taylor?

Peter Taylor sold 100 acres of his 212 acre grant to John Nicholson in 1693 and 10 additional acres in 1696. William Taylor and Thomas Taylor owned adjoining land in Richford Swamp. Peter Taylor sold 220 acres at one point and sold another 50 acres in 1702.

The first Peter Taylor drops out of the Norfolk tithables in 1735.

The second Peter Taylor left more records. He was clearly the son of John Taylor I and his wife Judith. The will of John Taylor was in reality a land deed dated 17 July 1713 and recorded the same day (see deed bk. 9, p. 261). He names sons, John, Thomas, and Jonas, with John being the eldest. Peter had not yet been born.

Peter was first reported out in the tithables as son of John in 1732, giving Peter a birth year of 1716. Peter Taylor was living on the Southern Branch until 1735. He then bought fifty acres on the Western Branch and lived there until he and his wife, Dorcas, sold the fifty acres on the South side of the Western Branch in 1746 (see deed bk. 14, p. 24). The will of Peter Taylor was dated 1 November 1752 and proved in the January 1753 court (see will bk. 1, p. 296). He named sons Arthur and Paul.

Dorcas, widow of Peter Taylor, reported out negroes starting in 1753 and continued to do so through 1773. Even though she dropped out of the tithables in 1773, she likely lived until 1778, when her death sparked the formal division of their negroes in 1789.

A deed dated 10 January 1789 divided equally the sixteen negroes of Peter Taylor, deceased, to Arthur Taylor, William Taylor, Sarah, wife of William Lewis, and Marah, wife of Joshua Ives. What happened to Paul Taylor? (See records of Edgecombe County, North Carolina).

We know very little about the third Peter Taylor. He was always near Margaret Taylor, James Taylor, and John Taylor in the Borough of Norfolk, which would lead us to put him in that family. Margaret Taylor was the widow of John Taylor, the Merchant, and James and John were their sons. This Peter Taylor needs to be further identified. Was he the Peter Taylor that married Margaret Wallace in 1768 in Norfolk County?