ISAAC M. TAYLOR

 

     Isaac M. Taylor, a worthy native son of Lucas county and a representative of an honored pioneer family of Union township, owns and operates a well improved farm of three hundred and thirty-two acres in Union and Warren townships and has resided thereon from his birth to the present time.  He was born on the 10th of December, 1860, his parents being Jacob and Mary (McKnight) Taylor, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Virginia.  Jacob Taylor came to this county in 1854, when a young man of eighteen years, making the overland journey with an ox team.  Here he spent the remainder of his life, devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits until he passed away in Union township in 1872.  His wife, who made the overland journey to Iowa in company with her parents in 1856, died in Union township, Lucas county, in 1870.  They were well known and highly esteemed here, and in their passing the community lost two of its honored pioneer residents.  Their children, six in number and all natives of Union township, were as follows:  Mary Virginia, who is deceased; Isaac M., of this review; John Everett, who resides in the North Yakima valley of Washington; William P., of Warren township, this county; Eugene, deceased; and a son who died in infancy.

     Isaac M. Taylor first attended the district school near his father’s farm and subsequently continued his studies in the public schools of Derby.  The place on which he was born has remained his home to the present time, and early in life he became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist.  The pursuits of farming and stock-raising have claimed his attention throughout his entire business career and he now owns three hundred and thirty-two acres of valuable land in Union and Warren townships, with two sets of excellent improvements.  His live stock is of good grade and this branch of his business has added materially to his yearly income.  He annually harvests bounteous crops which find a ready sale on the market and has long been numbered among the prosperous agriculturists and representative citizens of his community.

     On the 22d of February, 1882, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Joanna McCullough, whose birth occurred in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of September, 1857, her parents being Thomas and Elizabeth (Webster) McCullough, likewise natives of that county.  Following the death of Thomas McCullough, which occurred in Greene county, Pennsylvania, his widow came with her family to Lucas county, Iowa, in 1875, and here spent the remainder of her life.  Her children were seven in number, namely:  Canada, who is deceased; William, a resident of Chanute, Kansas; John, who makes his home in Concordia, Kansas; Mrs. Joanna Taylor; Joseph Leroy, who passed away in Kansas; George L., living in Lakin, Kansas; and Charles Ellsworth, of Wayne county, Iowa.  All were natives of Greene county, Pennsylvania.  Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have become the parents of four children, all of whom were born on the same farm in Union township where the father first saw the light of day.  The record is as follows:  Carl E., whose birth occurred on the 24th of June, 1883, and who resides with his parents on the home farm; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Newsome, born March 14, 1885, who is a resident of Union township; Charles, who was born September 10, 1888, and resides with his parents; and Ray, who was born on the 19th of August, 1890, and also lives in Union township.  The two eldest sons attended the Capital City Commercial College of Des Moines, Iowa, Carl being a graduate of that institution and Charles pursuing his studies there for one year.

     Mr. Taylor is a democrat in politics and has served in the capacity of township trustee for four years, having also held the office of road supervisor.  Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America at Derby, while his wife is a member of the Baptist church at May.  He is a public-spirited and progressive citizen whose aid and cooperation can ever be counted upon to further any movement or measure instituted to promote the general welfare.  That his life has ever been upright and honorable is indicated in the fact that the associates of his boyhood and youth are still numbered among his stanch friends and admirers.

 

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