TAYLOR
Our known Taylor ancestor, Lewis Ball Taylor, probably descended from the Taylor-Ball family, originally of Lancaster County, Virginia. Later generations migrated down into Halifax County, NC. This is also the location of many Braswell families. A John Taylor in Brunswick, with whom Lewis had several land transactions may have been his brother. A Benjamin Taylor, who owned plantations in both Brunwick and Lunenburg Counties, died in 1811. Although he left no will establishing his family, he was most likely a member of this Taylor-Ball family - perhaps Lewis's father. It may be only a co-incidence that Lewis named his first son Benjamin.
Lewis Ball Taylor (1770-1831) married Elizabeth "Betsy" Braswell (c. 1775-1845), the daughter of Jesse Braswell, in Brunswick County on 20 January, 1793 by Rev. John King, a Baptist. Their children were Benjamin, an infant girl, John W., Jesse Lee, Napoleon Bonaparte, Jane Henrietta, James M., George Washington, Lewis Ball, Jr., William Ney Murat, and Elizabeth Lenora.
Lewis, the executor of his father-in-law's estate, died intestate in 1831, but an inventory of his personal estate was made on December 31. The home seems to have been well-furnished, containing books and pictures; however, there are only 2 carts and horses, a few cows and pigs, and limited farming tools. No negro men are listed and the one negro woman and girl were possibly household servants
His son, William
Ney Murat Taylor (1816-1896), was a respected and loved member of the
family and his Brunswick County community. He was a farmer, cabinet maker,
wheelwright, appraiser, estate administrator, juror, guardian, and witness
to wills. At the age of 27, he was commissioned a Captain in the Ninety-sixth
Regiment of Infantry, 15th brigade, 1st Division of Virginia Militia. There
is no record of his having fought in the Civil War, but as he would have
been 46 years old and a father, he may have been excused from service.
He married
Alpha Ann Elizabeth Bishop(c.
1824-1902) in 1850. Their children were Henrietta, Jeanette, Muntis Ann,
William H., Mary Ella, James, Napoleon, B., Lenora, Robert B., and Anna
Elizabeth.
The house where
he lived with his family has been abandoned for many years. On the other
side of the house, beyond a low fence covered with roses, is the Taylor
family cemetery. William "Pappy" Taylor and his wife are buried there,
as are several of their children. His memorial stone is inscribed:
May the ResurrectionHis daughter, Mary Ella Taylor (1860-1899), the fifth child in the family, was an infant when the boys of the neighboring farms marched off to fight as Confederates, her older brother only three. During the war and the hardships of the Reconstruction, three more brothers and two sisters would be born. At 17, she married Peter Winn Pearson, 22, a young man with few prospects for making a living except as a sharecropper on someone else's land. By the time she was 19, she was a mother. When her husband became overseer for the departed Drumgoole family, the young couple moved into the abandoned plantation house. Babies came frequently: as soon as one was weaned, there was another. She died shortly after the birth of her ninth at the age of 39. She was buried near her parents in the family cemetery. A memorial stone was recently placed at the site.
Find Thee
On the Bosom of Thy God