Policarpus Taylor, Esquire
Rear Admiral British Royal Navy
Biography
By Barbara Lewellen
Copyright 2003 Lewellen

INTRODUCTION

Policarpus Taylor,was christined November 10, 1706, at St. Afege, Greenwich, Kent, England, the church of "sailors." His parents were Policarpus Taylor and Mary Williams. Policarpus first married Elizabeth. They had two daughters christened at Saint Martin In The Fields, Westminster, London, England, named Susannah, born ca. 1738 and Mary, born ca. 1740.

Wife Elizabeth, died sometime before 1753. Policarpus secondly married Alice Gregory, on 13 December 1753, at Saint George Mayfair, Westminster, London, England. Two children were born in Norton, Durham, England, to this second marriage: Sarah Taylor, c. 1752, and Polycarpus William Taylor, c. 1753.

Policarpus Taylor spent nearly 35 years in the Navy, before retiring in Norton, Durham, England, in 1762. Mr. Taylor wrote his will 19th April 1780. His executors, the Reverend Robert Poole Finch, D. D., and his son Thomas Finch, Esquire, presented the will to London court on 4th February 1781. The third executor Richard Allnutt, Esquire, was not present.

Policarpus was named after a 17th century Austrian Count named Polykarp William von Kuenberg of Salzburg. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber composed "Sonata Sancti Polycarpi a 9" in 1673 for the election of Polykarp von Kuenberg, as a prior of Salzburg Cathedral. The sonata was scored for eight trumpets and was played on January 26th. Eventually this date became known as "The Day of the Trumpet Player."

The parents choice of the name Polycarpus for their son could be as simple as the fact that he was either born or christened on January 26th, Saint Polycarp's day. This 4th century Saint was martyred in Alexandria during the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximilian, ruler of Syria and Egypt, known for his fierce struggle against Christians.