Taylor, William 1859-1922 & Olive Houlton Family

TAYLOR, HOULTON, MORRISON, SOUTHWELL

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 8/22/2023 at 06:15:04

Taylor, William J. 1859-1922 & Olive Jane Houlton Family

This story was taken from page 472 of the Ireton Centennial Book (1882-1982). The story was transcribed for this BIOS by Beth De Leeuw of the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society. Some research notes were added by Wilma J. Vande Berg .

Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Taylor were a prominent Center Twp. family. Mr. Taylor came to Sioux Co. from Sac Co., Inc., in the 1870’s and was one of twelve men whose petition led to the establishment of Center Twp. in 1882. His wife was the former Olive Jane Houlton and their family was blessed with six children: Floyd, Bessie, Mary, Sylvia, Gilbert, and Roy. Roy was lot as a young man due to a drowning accident. The Taylor homestead was located on the NW corner of Sec. #5 in Center Twp.; the Taylors helped to establish and were members of Center Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal Church then located in the extreme NW corner of Sec. 20. Mr. Taylor raised very fine Hereford stock and was Twp. Clerk; he died in 1922 and Mrs. Taylor passed away in 1958 at the age of 90.

Floyd, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Taylor, succeeded his parents in the farming operations in Sec. 5; they later moved to a farmstead in the SW quarter of the section. Floyd married Nellie Mae Wood and the couple had four children: Lula, Iva, William, and Lila. William eventually took over the farm after he returned from service in Europe in WWII. He passed away in 1977 and his widow and sons continue the Taylor name in Center Twp. Floyd Taylor died in 1954 and Mrs. Taylor in 1979. Floyd, like his father, W.J., was a Twp. clerk and was active in community affairs. He was a very able mechanic and enjoyed owning fine cars himself. ( Exact family author unknown)

RESEARCH NOTES: Added by Wilma J. Vande Berg Gathered from Ancestry.com Public member trees which were submitted by others, and from local archives.

William James Taylor born 10 Feb 1859 Manchester IA died 28 Jan 1922 Sioux Center IA. His parents were James Jesse Taylor 1834-1882 and Catherine Morrison 1835-1878. His wife was Olive Jane Houlton married 4 Oct 1886 Ireton IA

Olive Jane Houlton was born 21 Jul 1868 Calamus Clinton IA died 9 Dec 1959 Hawarden IA. She was the daughter of George Henry Houlton 1837-1878 and Mary Ann Southwell 1844-1933. Their children were as follows:

CHILDREN of William and Olive Taylor Sources – local obits and ancestry.com.

1. Floyd Taylor 1887
From the Thursday, October 21, 1954 Hawarden Independent:
Funeral services for Floyd M. Taylor, a lifelong resident of Sioux county who passed away at his home in Sioux Center on Oct. 13th, were held at 1 o'clock Friday in the Cooperative Burial Association funeral home and at 1:30 p.m. in the Central Reformed church. Rev. M. E. Klaaren officiated, and burial was in the Ireton cemetery.
Born Aug. 17, 1887, the son of William James and Olive Houlton Taylor, Floyd M. Taylor grew to manhood in Sioux county. He was married in 1907 to Nellie Ann Wood. He was the third generation to own the Taylor farm west of here and Mr. and Mrs. Taylor lived there until ten years ago when ill health, forced him to leave it and move to Sioux Center.
He is survived by his widow, his mother, Mrs. Olive Taylor of Hawarden, and four children: Lula, Mrs. Marvin Winterfeld of Garretson, S. Dak.; Ida, Mrs. Henry Kemper of Hawarden; William Taylor on the farm; and Lila, Mrs. Marvin Grotenhuis of Ireton. Also surviving are eleven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; three sisters: Mrs. Sylvia Robbins, Daly City, Calif., Mrs. Henry Worcester, Jordan, Minn., and Mrs. William Richmond, Butler, Mo. Active pall bearers were Fred Zylstra, Jim Hollander, Gerrit Zeutenhorst, Harold Boeyink, Richard Van Voorst and George De Ruyter. Honorary pall bearers were Henry Franke, Theo. Winterfeld, Emll Winterfeld, D. L. Mitchell, Pete Moeller and P. B. Mouw.
Relatives who came from a distance to attend the services were William Richmond from Butler, Mo.; Robert Richmond from Kansas City, Mo.; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Worcester and son Dean from Jordan, Minn.; Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Speicher of Fairmont, Minn. and Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz Vander Hamm of Rock Rapids, Ia.

2. Roy Taylor 1889 ROY TAYLOR DROWNED
The Body Was Not Recovered for Several Days.
Roy Taylor, the fourteen-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Taylor of Center township, was drowned last Thursday afternoon [July 30] in the Rock river, about two hundred yards above where it empties into the Sioux. Mr. Taylor and two sons had gone to the river for a load of sand and while Mr. Taylor was putting on the load the boys concluded to take a swim. The water was very deep and swift at this point and the older boy got beyond his depth and went down. Roy rushed in to assist him and was carried under by the current and was never seen again alive. The older boy caught some willows and succeeded in saving himself.
Boats, nets and dredging tackle were taken from here the next morning and searching parties worked unceasingly day and night until Sunday morning trying to find the body. Sunday morning the fireman on the Milwaukee excursion train thought he saw a human form lodged in the river near the bridge and when he reached Hudson the news was telephoned back to Hawarden and then to the Foster home north of town. One of the searching parties that had been out all night in a boat had just stopped there for breakfast and they at once returned to the river and found the body on the Dakota side of the river lodged against some bushes. It had floated down the river nearly five miles from where the drowning took place.
The work and the diving of many who were out searching for the body was heroic and Mr. Taylor expressed the deepest gratitude to them for their efforts. The remains were brought to Sumner's undertaking rooms where they were prepared for interment. The funeral was held Monday at Center Chapel and the remains were interred in the Ireton cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have the sympathy of all in their deep sorrow.
Source: Hawarden Independent, August 6, 1903.

3. Mary Edna Taylor 19 Jan 1891 Sioux county IA Died 19 Oct 1964 Dakota MN She married 4 Oct 1916 Clay IA. to Lewis H. ‘ Henry’ Worcester. He was born 14 Aug 1881 Sioux county IA. He died 16 Dec 1966 Farmington MN. They were of Farmington MN in 1958. They had the following children as listed on a family report on ancestry.com public member trees. Julie Olive Worcester 1917-2004, Mona Esther Worcester 1920-2010, Lula May Worcester 1921-1993. Lewis Eugene Worcester 1923-2007, Walter Dean Worcester 1925-2012 and Ila Mary Worcester 1928-2019.

4. Sylvia Maria Maria Taylor Born 21 Mar 1893 Center Twp Sioux county IA died Dec 1963 Mrs. Sylvia Robbins of San Fransico CA in 1958. The 1880 census of Center township Sioux county IA has no Sylvia in the family but does have Hilda born Mar1893. Noted in the caption is that Hilda Taylor aks Sylvia Taylor.
1950 census of Daly City San Mateo CA has Sylvia M. Robins 55 born IA divorced with daughter Bonnie D. Robins age 20. In the 1940 census she was married husband not listed, Sylvia was 46, head of house, daughters were Velda 19, Francis 16 and Bonnie 10, they were living in Canton SD. In the 1930 census of Canton SD, her husband was Howard Robbins age 37, daughters Velda 9, Frances 6 and Bonnie 0.
Sylvia was living with her daughter Velda L. Robbins 1920 – 3 Feb 1987 San Mateo CA when she died.

5. Bessie Estella Taylor 1896-1975
Funeral services will be held at the First Baptist Church at Hawarden at 1:30 P.M., September 25 for Mrs. William Richmond, 78, of Hawarden, who died at the Hawarden hospital September 21.
Services will be conducted by the Rev. Arthur J. DeNeul and burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery at Ireton. Mrs. Richmond, the former Bessie Taylor, was born December 23, 1896, near Ireton. She was married February 17, 1915, to William Richmond. Mr. Richmond died June 23, 1970.
Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Glenn (Bernice) Carpenter of Hawarden, and Mrs. Perry (Mary) Hyler, of Salt Lake City, Utah; two sons, Robert of Hawarden and Raymond of Salt Lake City; 19 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Source: Sioux Center News, September 28, 1975

OBITUARY OF WILLIAM J. TAYLOR 1859-1922
SIOUX COUNTY PIONEER CALLED TO REWARD
W. J. Taylor, one of Sioux County's pioneers, died at his home south of Rock Valley Saturday morning [January 28] from leakage of the heart. He had not been well for several years. Mr. Taylor was born at Manchester, Iowa, Feb. 10, 1859, and was almost sixty-three years old. When he was a small boy his parents moved to Illinois and after residing there a few years returned to Iowa and located in Sac County. Nearly forty years ago Mr. Taylor came to Sioux County and had lived on the farm south of Rock Valley almost continuously since that time. He was a man of kind and unassuming disposition. He made friends and kept them. He was kind to his family and an obliging neighbor and will be greatly missed in the neighborhood where he has lived so many years. He leaves his wife and five children, three girls and two boys. All are married except one who is at home with his mother. Funeral services were held at Ireton Tuesday afternoon in the Presbyterian church. Quite a number from Rock Valley attended the funeral. Source: Rock Valley Bee, February 3, 1922.
Another Obit - Death of Center Township Pioneer William James Taylor was born near Manchester, Delaware county, Iowa, Feb. 10, 1859, and died at his home near Ireton, Iowa, Saturday morning, Jan. 28, 1922. He lived in Delaware county until about 10 years of age when he moved with his parents to Illinois, where the family resided for three years, then moving to Sac county, Iowa. In the spring of 1882 he came to Sioux county, settling on the farm north of Ireton where he has since resided. On October 4, 1886, he was united in marriage with Olive J. Houlton of this place. Six children came to bless this home, one son, Roy, preceding his father to the Home "over there." Besides the wife and five children, there remain to mourn his departure eleven grandchildren, two brothers and a host of friends. Mr. Taylor was a lifelong Christian, and at the time of his death was a member of the Presbyterian church of Ireton. Rev. Fred Taylor of Grace church, Sioux City, a former pastor here, preached the funeral sermon and paid a splendid tribute to the life and character of the deceased. Mr. Taylor was a man known far and wide for his integrity and honor in every transaction. He was devoted to his family, a good neighbor, and a kind friend, always thoughtful of others and willing to help in every time of need. The funeral service was held on Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock at the Presbyterian church, conducted by the pastor, Rev. Otto L. Carr, assisted by Rev. Fred Taylor of Sioux City and Rev. J. A. Kettle of Ireton. Burial was made in the Ireton cemetery. Those from out of town who attended the funeral were: Mr. and Mr. Arthur Chambers, of Hudson, S.D.; Mr. and Mrs. Fay Houlton of Sioux City; Mr. and Mrs. Howard Robbins and babe of Boone, Colo.; Mrs. Southwell of Sioux City; Mrs. Mary Houlton and Mrs. Bailey of Fergus Fals, Minn. Source: Hawarden Independent, February 2, 1922.
OBITUARY OF OLIVE TAYLOR 1868-1958
"Grandma" Taylor Dies at Age 90; Services Friday Mrs. Olive "Grandma" Taylor, 90, one of Hawarden's well-known older residents, died at the Panska Nursing home Tuesday night [December 9]. She had been a patient at the Hawarden hospital a short time before being moved to the Panska home recently. For the past two years she had been cared for by her daughter, Mrs. William Richmond, in Hawarden. Mrs. Taylor was born July 21, 1868, in Clinton county, Iowa. She moved to Ireton vicinity with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Houlton, in 1882. She married William James Taylor in 1886 and they farmed eight miles north of Ireton. Six children were born to this union. Three sons preceded her in death, William, Floyd and Roy Taylor, and Mr. Taylor, who died in 1922. In 1927 Mrs. Taylor moved to Hawarden and became a member of the Associated church. Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Richmond, Mrs. Henry Worcester of Farmington, Minn., and Mrs. Sylvia Robbins of San Francisco, Calif.; a sister, Mrs. Nettie Bailey of Wyndmere, N.D.; 18 grandchildren and several great grandchildren, totaling 62 descendants. Source: Hawarden Independent, December 11, 1958.

Picture on page 472 of the Ireton Centennial Book

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