Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/68

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48
TAYLOR
TAYLOR

and Lectures upon Select Topics in Revealed The- ology " (1859). See " Memorial of Nathaniel W. Taylor" (New Haven, 1858).


TAYLOR, Nelson, soldier, b. in South Norwalk, Conn., 8 June, 1821. He received a common-school education. At the beginning of the war with Mexi- co he joined the army as captain of the 1st New York volunteers on 1 Aug., 1846, served through the war, and at its close settled in Stockton, San Joaquin co., Cal., where he was elected a state senator in 1849 and sheriff in 1855. He was also president of the board of trustees of the State in- sane asylum from 1850 till 1856. Returning to New York city, he studied law, taking his degree at the Harvard law-school in 1860. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for congress in 1860. At the beginning of the civil war he en- tered the volunteer service as colonel of the 72d New York infantry. He commanded this regiment, which formed a part of Gen. Daniel E. Sicklos's brigade, during the Chickahominy campaign. He had command of the brigade at Williamsburg and in Gen. John Pope's Virginia campaign, and was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, in recog- nition of his services, on 7 Sept., 1862. He resigned on 19 Jan., 1863, resumed practice in New York city, and was elected as a Democrat to congress, serving from 4 Dec, 1865, till 3 March, 1867. He was a member of the select committees on freed- men and invalid pensions.


TAYLOR, Oliver Alden, clergyman, b. in Yar- mouth, Mass., 18 Aug., 1801 ; d. in Manchester, Mass., 18 Dec, 1851. He was graduated at Union in 1825, and at Andover theological seminary in 1829, made German translations, and assisted Prof. Moses Stuart in teaching Hebrew at Andover for several years, and on 18 Sept., 1839, was installed as pastor of the Congregational church in Man- chester. He published many articles in the " Biblical Repository " and other periodicals, and was a frequent contributor of poetry to magazines be- tween 1820 and 1828. He translated Franz V. Reinhard's " Plan of the Founder of Christianity " (New York, 1831), and his " Memoirs and Confes- sions" (Boston, 1832), wrote two books for the young, entitled " Brief Views of the Saviour " (Andover, 1835) and "Life of Jesus " (1840), made a catalogue of the library of Andover seminary (1838), and pub- lished a memoir of Andrew Lee under the title of " Piety in Humble Life " (Boston, 1844) and a ser- mon on " The Ministerial Office " (Andover, 1848). See a " Memoir " of him by his brother, Rev. Timo- thy Alden Taylor (Boston, 1853).— His brother, Riifns. clergyman, b. in Hawley, Mass., 24 March, 1811, was graduated at Amherst in 1837, and at Princeton theological seminary in 1840. He was pastor of the Presbyterian church at Shrewsbury, N. J., till 1852, when he went to Manchester, Mass., as his brother's successor, remaining six years. Af- ter a pastorate of four years more at Hightstown, N. J., he became district secretary of the American and foreign Christian union. This office he held for a period of ten years, after which he preached in New Jersey and Massachusetts till 1878, and afterward confined himself to literary work, resid- ing at Beverly, N. J. He received the degree of D. D. from Lafayette college in 1863. Dr. Taylor is the author of " Union to Christ " (New York, 1846) ; " Love to God " (New York, 1848) : " Thoughts on Prayer " (Boston, 1854) ; and " Cottage Piety Ex- emplified" (Philadelphia, 1869): also of a series of interesting letters from northern Europe, and numerous pamphlets.


TAYLOR, Oliver Swalne, educator, b. near New Ipswich, N. H., 17 Dec, 1784; d. in Auburn, N. Y., 19 April, 1885. He prepared himself for college in the intervals of farm-work, was gradu- ated at Dartmouth in 1809, taught for some time, then studied medicine, received the degree of M. D. from Dartmouth in 1813, and practised till 1817, when he resumed teaching. For a brief period he was associated with Jeremiah Evarts in editing tho "Panoplist." In 1826 he took charge of the academy at Homer, N. Y., and in 1830 removed to Auburn, which has since been his home. He taught there and elsewhere, numbering among his pupils many who attained eminence. He engaged earnestly in Sunday-school work, teaching the prisoners in Auburn penitentiary for seventeen years, and at the age of ninety still conducting three classes each Sunday. He also preached fre- quently, being licensed on 17 June, 1840, and ordained as an evangelist on 8 Dec, 1848. His hundredth birthday was publicly celebrated at Auburn. — His son, Charles, missionary, b. in Boston, Mass., 15 Sept., 1819, was educated at the academy of his father and at the University of the city of New York, where he was graduated in 1840. He taught ancient languages in the high- school of the South Carolina conference, and, after joining the conference in 1844, studied medi- cine in Philadelphia, preparatory to engaging in missionary work in China, obtaining his degree in 1848. He departed for his field of Tabor the same year, being the first missionary to China that was appointed by the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He returned to the United States in 1854 on account of the failure of his wife's health, be- came a professor in Spartanburg female college, and in 1857 was its president. In 1858 he was elected feneral Sunday-school secretary of the Methodist Ipiscopal church, south, for four years. In 1866 he was elected president of Kentucky Wesleyan college at Millersburg, which post he resigned in 1870, in order to resume the active work of the ministry. The degree di D. D. was conferred on him by the University of the city of New York in 1869. Dr. Taylor, while in China, with the assist- ance of a native teacher, prepared several tracts, a catechism, and a " Harmony of the Gospels " in the Shanghai dialect. He has published "Five Years in China" (New York, 1860) and "Baptism in a Nutshell " (Nashville, 1874).


TAYLOR, Richard Cowling, geologist, b. in Hinton, Suffolk, England, 18 Jan., 1789; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 26 Nov., 1851. He was educated as a mining engineer and geologist, partly under the direction of William Smith, the " father of British geology," and in the early part of his career was engaged in the ordnance survey of England. Subsequently he devoted his attention to investigating and reporting on mining property in various parts of England, including that of the British iron company in Wales, his plaster model of which received the Isis medal of the Society of arts. In 1830 he removed to the United States, and, after surveying the Blossburg coal region in Pennsylvania, gave three years to the exploration of the coal- and iron-veins of Dauphin county in the same state, concerning which he published an elaborate report with maps. He continued occupied with similar work in the United States, and also made surveys of mining lands in Cuba and the British provinces. Mr. Taylor's knowledge of theoretical geology led him to refer the old red sandstone that underlies the Pennsylvania coal-fields to its true place, corresponding with its location in the series of European rocks. He was the first to point out this fact. Prior to his arrival in this country he devoted much attention to archaeology, and pub-