Background
Taylor was born in Georgia in late 1795.
Taylor was born in Georgia in late 1795.
Taylor, at 62, is the oldest person to assume the office of Speaker of the Texas House. After moving to Alabama, Taylor enlisted and fought in the First and Second Seminole Wars, serving as a captain in the latter. He was appointed brigadier general of the Alabama State Militia in 1841, and thereafter was always known as General Taylor.
From 1836 to 1842, Taylor represented Fayette County, Alabama, in the Alabama Legislature in the Fifteenth through the Twenty-first, and Twenty-third Alabama Legislatures.
In April 1847, Taylor and family moved to Larissa, Texas (ten miles northeast of Rusk) in Cherokee County. In 1855, Taylor was elected to the Sixth Texas Legislature for the first of two terms to the Texas House of Representatives, where he represented Cherokee and Anderson counties.
When the Seventh Legislature convened on 2 November 1857, Taylor was the only nomination for speaker. He was elected and served until he became ill on 26 December 1857 and took leave of absence.
On 18 January 1858, Taylor resigned as Speaker.
Taylor died on 22 July 1858 and was buried in Larissa.
By 1844, Taylor had moved to Tippah County, Mississippi where he served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.