Individual: From: Early Immigrants to Virginia from the 1500s and 1600 s. Taylor Caroline County Crest: A naked arm couped at the shoulder embowed, holding an arrow ppr. Motto: Consequitur quodcunque petit . James Taylor, ancestor of the Caroline County family of that name, is said to have come from the vicinity of Carlisle, England. He was in Virginia before 1650 and took out patents of land on the Mattaponi River. By his first wife, Frances, he had Jane, born 27 Dec., 1668; James, born 1674; Sarah, born 1676. His first wife died in 1680, and in 1682 he married Mary, sister of John Gregory, by whom he had the following children: John and Anne, twins, born 1685, John died young; Mary, born 1688; Edmund, born 1690 ; John, born 1693, died young; Elizabeth, born 1694, died young; John, born 1696. James Taylor died about 1698 at an advanced age. An old ring handed down in the family is said to have once been his property, and it bears engraved upon it the above crest which is that of the Taylors of Pennington Castle. The descendants of James Taylor have been exceedingly prominent in the history of the State, one of them--Zachary, becoming President Notes for JAMES TAYLOR I: Was a large landowner and he was a prominent citizen in the colony. He was a lawyer and a public official and served as a member of the House of Burgesses. He was Sheriff of New Kent County in 1690 and vestryman of Saint George's Parish. He moved to Orange County, Virginia, and belonged to Saint Stephen's Parish in New Kent County and also in King and Queen County. He owned 13,925 acres along the Mattaponi River where he built his home and named it " Hare Forest ", named for the Earls of Pennington Castle in England where Taylor ancestors are buried. By division of county lines his home was in Orange County, Virginia where his children was born. This home is now located in Caroline County, Virginia. WFT8-1383 States that a seal ring which had belonged to James Taylor I and which bore the crest and seal of Taylor arms has been handed down to the present generation. With his seal ring has also descended a legend to the effect that on a certain occasion when the King of England was enjoying a chase in one of his royal forests, a wild boar, hard driven, turned upon the royal huntsman, whereupon there sprang to his defense one of the knights who slew the boar. The King out of gratitude gave the Knight a crest, the distinguish mark of which was an uplifted hand, accompanied by the motto:"CONSEQUITUR QUOD COMQUE PETIT". Home was "Greenfield". Burgess 1702-1710, King and Queen County, Virginia. Justice,Knight of the Golden Horseshoe. Grandfather of two Presidents, Zachary Taylor and James Madison. In 1716 accompanied Governor Alexander Spotswood on an expedition over the Blue Ridge Mountains in to the Shenandoah Valley. This was an attempt to promote Virginia's expansion. The men who accompanied Governor Spotswood were called Knight of the Golden Horseshoe. NOTE: From: William Taylor Wittle Ancestral File 13255 shows only 3 children; Jane, James, and Sarah. The LDS records show 15, of which three cannot have been of this family because their birth years are too late; therefore, 12 are reflected here.
James came to America with his parents on the ship "True Love" in 1635. They apparently landed first in Pennsylvania because James' father, John, died there. James later settled at "Hare Forest" in what is now Orange County, Virginia. NOTE: (Source: The Life of Rowland Taylor, by William James Brown, published by Epworth Press, England and furnished by Rector of Hadleigh, England Rev. John Betton. The Book of Martyrs, by Fox, published in England 1610 , vol. I. Sections furnished by George Taylor of La Grange, IL and Maj. Bulan Davis, U.S.A.F.) James Taylor born February 12, 1610. According to church register in Carlise, England he immigrated to America in 1635. He married Elizabeth Underwood who divorced him, the first divorce registered in VA. He was called Governor, Councilman and was a doctor. He died in VA in 1655. NOTE: Source: "Archives & Manuscripts" at VTLS-Web Gateway Author : Sneddon, Jonathan T. Accession No 33830 This collection concerns the descendants of James Taylor (1615-1698) of King and Queen County, Virginia. It traces the various branches down through Orange County, concentrating on the lineage of the donor.
The VA land office records show that he lived on the Mattap oni River , in the lower part of what is now Caroline Co. He was succeeded in the ownership of this place by his oldest son in 1799.
