Abraham Taylor

The name "Abraham Taylor" is about to get difficult. There were many in Craven; in each generation, almost every son would name one of his sons Abraham.

The emphasis here is on providing an overview, "telling the story", and less about standards of evidence and source citations. Keep in mind that some aspects of the story are subject to question; the evidence isn't quite clear-cut.

And his extended family

These Taylors came to Craven County, North Carolina in 1729 not just as a father, mother and small children, but with several adults, some of whom had started their own families. From documentation pieced together, the party included:

Abraham, age 39, and his wife Dinah, Eda or Ede. {Due to the similarity of given names, we suspect her name may have been "Edinah" & variously shortened.}
- Son Robert, age 20, & his wife, Catherine.
  - Possibly, Robert's son Moses. Moses was born in 1729, thus he may have been born either before or after arrival in Craven.
- Possibly, daughter Anne, age 17.
- Son Jacob, age 16.
- Daughter Rachel Eda, age 12.
- Son Joseph, age 9.
- Son Abraham, age 6.
- Son Isaac, age 4.
- Possibly, daughter Prudence. (Born in 1729, she may have been born after arrival.)
John, age 37, the elder Abraham's brother, and John's 2nd wife Rachel. (John's 1st wife, Judith, died in 1726.)
{There is doubt about this brotherhood statement. Martha Marble has found little proof that this was the same man as Abraham's brother.}
- Son John, age 27
- Possibly, son Henry (born Mar 1729).
- Possibly, son Absalom, whose birth date is unknown.

This was a reasonably large party making the arduous trip. We can envision three or four wagons, filled with goods & people and accompanied by livestock.

Abraham purchased a lot in New Bern sometime in the 1729-1734 time span, though he seems to have farmed in the Bachelors Creek area, northwest of town and also Core Creek, even further northwest. By the time of his death in 1751, he is apparently in the Southwest Creek area of then-Johnston County. However, another Abraham (His son?) is still in the Bachelor Creek area.

John seems to have established himself in the Slocum Creek area, south of New Bern town and across the Trent River.

Before Craven

They came from Baltimore County, Maryland, their parents having migrated there from Virginia. John and Abraham were the children of Abraham and Jane (Courkin) Taylor, both of whom were born, roughly, 1660 in Northampton County, Virginia and who migrated to the south side of Gunpowder Hundred in Baltimore County sometime between 1685 and 1687. The two brothers left their sister, Lettice (Leticia?), in Maryland; she had married William Dodderidge and then Edward York, having sons by both.

In 1728, the Abraham Taylor who was to move to Craven conveyed 100 acres of Baltimore County land to William Barney, in apparent preparation for the move.

They came to Craven

The earliest-known record of this family in Craven is Abraham's purchase of a lot -- either number 11 or 41 -- in the town of New Bern, sometime from 1729 to 1733 from Walter Lane and William Hancock, town commissioners. He is described as being "from Baltimore County of Maryland".

We note that few records are available for the period before 1751. We know about many of the early transactions only from references to them in later deeds & wills.

They multiplied & spread

The Abraham Taylor who bought the New Bern lot also lived on Bachelors Creek & Core Creek in Craven and later on or near South West Creek in present-day Lenoir County. He died in 1751 in then-Johnston County. His estate was settled in the Craven District Court in New Bern.

Robert Taylor family

Abraham's son Robert was a blacksmith and lived on Core Creek &/or Flat Swamp (near the present Wintergreen Road, between Cove City & the Neuse), later apparently moving a few miles northwest, to South West Creek. Robert's sons & daughters (born 1729-1748) also seemed to have lived in the Core Creek/Flat Swamp area and developed ties to the Beasley, Daughety, Green & Slade families there.

Robert's & Catherine's family included:

Moses, b.1729, m. Elizabeth Prevatte in 1764, moved to Kentucky in 1793, d.1819 in Warren Co. Kentucky. He was a cooper (barrel-maker) in addition to farming. He is also described as a carpenter and joiner, both skills essential to making barrels.
Moses' family is described extensively at Taylor's Castle and a work by L. Rhea Taylor.
Aaron, b. ca1731, d. after 1769. It's not known if Aaron married. He may be the same as "Tucks" Taylor who appears on a 1754 militia muster roll for the district.
Abraham, b.1733. The proliferation of Abraham Taylors makes it difficult to uniquely identify him among the records. We think it possible that he is the man whose descendants lived in the Bachelor Creek area.
Absalom, b.1734. This is probably not the same as John's son, as we have him being given land by Robert and also being excused from taxes for lameness. It's not known if he married.
Mary, b.1736, m. Owen Daughety, ca1759.
{Daughter}, b.1738
{Daughter}, b.1740
The names of these two daughters are currently unknown to us, but one married a Jeremiah Slade, another a Robert Green. Robert Taylor patented land on Core Creek with a Robert Green and also an Ebenezer Slade.
James, b.1740-1742, m. 1st Elizabeth Beasley (d. 1781/1783), 2nd Sarah Daughety in 1784, moved to Overalls Creek of Rutherford Co., Tennessee with most of his children ca1806, d. 1816 in Rutherford. James was also a blacksmith and was a road overseer. He is probably the same man who was one of the subjects of a court hearing about "going with the British" during the Revolutionary War. (He was "let off", partly because of a petition by his neighbors.)

James' children included:
- With Elizabeth
  - Absalom, b.1760, may have moved to Tennessee with James. He is our third Absalom Taylor in Craven in these three generations and his separate identity established by deeds from James and to Moses.
  - James Junior, b.1765, m. Nancy or Deborah White. Moved to Tennessee 1806. Named as executor of James Senior's 1816 will.
  - [--?--], b. 1773/1783, d. bef 1783. This child died before James returned from the War. We know of him or her only from testimony in the court case.
  - Kesiah (nicknamed "Kitty"), b.1775, m. William Hill. Moved to Tennessee 1806. Received land from James in 1816 deed calling her his daughter.
  - Sarah, b.ca1779, m. Alexander Patterson. Moved to Tennessee 1806. Her son, King Patterson, was a beneficiary in James' will.
- With Sarah
  - Chloe, b.abt 1786, m. Williford Rucker. Moved to Tennessee 1806. Received land from James in 1816 deed calling her his daughter.
  - Jesse, b.1789, m. Catherine HIll or Holt. Moved to Tennessee 1806. Received land from James in 1816 deed calling him his son. Left Tennessee for Alabama.
  - Aaron, 1790, m. Martha Daniel. Moved to Tennessee 1806. Received land from James in 1816 deed calling him his son. Left Tennessee for Alabama.
  - Dorcas, b.1793, m. James Arnold. Moved to Tennessee 1806. James stood administrative bond for her husband's estate, jointly with Solomon Beasley.
  - Susannah, b.1802, m. Joseph or Joel Gilliland. Moved to Tennessee 1806.
Robert Junior, b. before Sep 1747 was the 2nd of Robert's sons to be exempted from taxes (in Sept 1768) due to infirmities. It appears Robert Junior established residence in Lenoir County.

Father of Michael Taylor

Associated with James & Sarah (but not believed to be their son) from no later than 1806 until after James' death was the author's ancestor, Michael W. Taylor b.1789, who moved to Tennessee with James in 1806 and to Illinois in 1830. Michael died in Coles County, Illinois in Jun 1838, leaving 12 children and many grandchildren.

We believe that one of the sons of Robert (Aaron, Abraham, Absalom or Robert Jr.) was the father of Michael Taylor . Michael was closely associated with James from the time of his majority (and probably before, when no records are available) until James' death. However, the evidence suggests James was not Michael's father.

John Taylor family

Abraham's brother John and 2nd wife Rachel seem to have settled in the Slocum Creek or (presently known as) Tucker Creek area, south of New Bern and across the Trent River. John's children included:

With Judith
- John, b.1702, m. Sarah Ward
- Rebecca, b.1719,
- Abraham, b.1720
With Rachel
- Henry, b.1729
- Absalom, b.1742
.

Some join the Westward Movement

The opening of Kentucky & Tennessee in 1789 provided fresh opportunities for land. Some of our Taylors took advantage of them.

In 1793, Robert's son Moses and his extended family left Craven County for Kentucky. This included Moses Junior and several others. Some of the associated Beasley and Daughety families accompanied Moses to Kentucky.

Another of Robert's sons, James, left Craven for Rutherford County, Tennessee in 1806. Leaving with James were

his 2nd wife, Sarah Daughety;
sons James Junior & Absalom and Kesiah {married William Hill} & Sarah {later married Alexander Patterson}, daughters from his first marriage;
sons Jesse & Aaron and daughters Chloe {later married Williford Rucker}, Dorcas Arnold & Susannah {married Joel Gilliland} from his his 2nd marriage;
&
Michael Taylor, who may have been a nephew.

Jesse and Aaron would later move to Alabama; Michael to Illinois.

There were others who moved directly to Alabama.

Other Resources

You may want to review some of these resources.

The Taylor Joint Project, by Gloria Taylor: A review of Taylors in Craven County.
Taylor's Castle, by James Whit Taylor: The descendants of Moses Taylor with notes as to Moses' ancestors.
Old Dobbers, by Martha Newborn Marble: Contains many files for the Dobbs County which became present-day Greene & Lenoir. Many of these concern specific Taylor families.
A Western Pioneer Family, by Ralph Taylor: Pedigree file, with extensive notes and source citations. Emphasis is on descendants of Michael Taylor who joined the Westward Movement in the 19th century.