Taylor — Origin & Etymology
The Taylor surname is an occupational name of Old French origin — from tailleur, meaning a tailor (a cutter and sewer of cloth). It entered English use after the Norman Conquest and is documented from the 12th century. Taylor is the second most common occupational surname in English, after Smith, and appeared in every Southern state among slaveholders.
Notable Slaveholder: President Zachary Taylor (1784–1850)
Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States, was a significant slaveholder. By the time of his presidency he owned approximately 100 enslaved people across plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi. His primary plantation was Cypress Grove in Jefferson County, Mississippi. Taylor family enslaved individuals are documented in Mississippi and Louisiana slave schedules of 1840 and 1850.
Taylor Research Resources
- Jefferson County, MS probate records — Zachary Taylor estate; Mississippi Department of Archives and History (mdah.ms.gov)
- Louisiana Taylor slaveholders — Multiple Taylor slaveholding families documented in Louisiana slave schedules; search FamilySearch by parish
- Tennessee State Library & Archives — Multiple Taylor slaveholding branches documented in TN Freedmen's Bureau labor contracts post-1865
- Library of Virginia — Among the oldest Taylor slaveholding lineages; Virginia Untold contains Taylor-enslaved individuals from the 1700s
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