Frances Kathryn TAYLOR

1905 - 1985  (79 years)

• Name	Frances Kathryn TAYLOR  [1]
  Born	23 Nov 1905	Marion Co. Mo.
  Gender	Female
  Died	26 Apr 1985	Prescott, Az
  Buried	2 May 1985	Greenwood Cemetary, Palmyra, Mo.
  Person ID	I4	Josh E. Taylor Jr. Tree
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2019

  
  

  Father	Joshua Booten TAYLOR,   b. 25 Aug 1876, Marion Co. Mo. ,   d. 13 Feb 1967, Marion Co. Mo. [Palmyra]  (Age 90 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Grace Eugenia MCLEOD,   b. 11 Mar 1877, Marion Co. Mo. ,   d. 30 Nov 1963, Marion Co. Mo.  (Age 86 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	29 May 1901	Marion Co. Mo.
  Notes	"Will Celebrate Golden Wedding "Mr and Mrs. J. Booten Taylor will observe their 50th wedding anniversary at their home here Saturday, when open house will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. "Mr and Mrs Taylor were married in the Bethel Baptist church by the Rev O.L. Brownson, and they farmed north of Palmyra until they retired and moved to Palmyra in 1937. Mrs. Taylor is the former Grace Eugenia McLeod, daughter of the late J.F. [sic] and Martha Mcleod, and Mr Taylor is a son of the late J.B. [sic] and Virginia Compton Taylor. They have three children, Aubrey of Urbana, Ill., a professor at the University of Illinois, J. Eugene, of Nashville, a representative of the National Life and Accident Insurance company, and Mrs. Kathryn Mitchell, a teacher in an Overland, (Mo.) school. There are two grandchildren. "One son, Francis, died in an auto crash in 1935. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are active workers in the Baptist church of which Mr. Taylor has been a deacon 51 years." -- Probably from the Palmyra Spectator of May 24, 1951, p. 8 "J.B. Taylors Celebrate 50th Anniversary "May 29, 1901, J.B. Taylor and Grace McLeod, in the presence of about 75 relatives and friends in the home of the bride's parents, Mr. And Mrs J. B. McLeod, were united in marriage. "Miss Gertrude McCall of Monroe City, officiated at the piano, giving a short musical program closing with Lohengrin's wedding march to which the bridal couple attended by Miss Maude Hansbrough as bridesmaid, and J. P. McLeod as groomsman, entered the room and in front of a bank of pink and white roses, were met by Rev O.L. Brownson, who received the marriage vows. "In celebrating their 50 years of married life, they were at home to about 65 or more of their friends Saturday afternoon, who called to extend congratulations and good will. "On Sunday about 38 relatives were their dinner guests. Those present were Mr. and Mrs William Glascock of Shelby; Mr. and Mrs. R.L. McLeod of Independence; Mr. and Mrs. H.M. McLeod, and J.J. Mcleod and Helen of Palmyra; Mrs G.W. Imbler Miss Mabel McLeod and Nelle Chevront, [ of Kirksville, Mo.;] Dr. A.B. Taylor and Mrs Taylor and Kay of Urbana, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. O.V. Mitchell, St. Louis; Mr. and Mrs Eugene Taylor and Josh of Nashville, Tenn.; Dr. Austen White and family of Vandalia, Ill.; Miss Hazel White and Mabel Taylor, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr and Mrs. C.R. Taylor, Mr. and Mrs Raymond Todd and Abbie, Palmyra; Mr. and Mrs Floyd Crouch and son, Quincy, Ill. Afternoon callers, Mr. and Mrs Ernest Chatten and Roger and Mrs E.A. Welch of Quincy, Ill. "Mrs L.A. Harris of Kalispell, Mont. had planned to come, but illness in her family prevented. "They received many cards, letters and telegrams of congratulations all the way from the East to West coast [sic.], also some lovely gifts and flowers." -- probably from the Palmyra Spectator of May, 1951. I am curious about the choices of attendants for the wedding. Grandma had so many sisters; why was one of them not chosen? Perhaps she did not want to single out one or the other. Grandpa's choice of best man is even more puzzling. Was Charles Bryant Taylor not one of his best friends? Had CBT already married and moved out of the community? What about John Hansbrough? He and grandpa were friends at the Military Academy at Mexico, Mo. Why was he not the best man? -- LKL
  Family ID	F1	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Othel V. MITCHELL,   b. 4 Jan 1903, Marion Co, Mo. ,   d. 9 May 1955, St. Louis, Mo  (Age 52 years)
  Married	31 Dec 1930	LaGrange, Missouri
  Notes	"YOUNG COUPLE SURPRISES FRIENDS "The marriage of Miss Kathryn Taylor and Othel V. Mitchell on New Year's eve came as a surprise to their many friends in this city and county. While close friends understood that the couple were engaged they did not know that they intended to be married at this time. The wedding ceremony was quietly performed by the Rev. Harold Hunt, pastor of the Bethel Baptist church at his home at LaGrange about eleven o'clock in the evening. The young people were accompanied by Eugene Taylor, brother of the bride, and Vernon Brinkley. Mrs Mitchell is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Taylor of north of this city. For several years she has been teaching school in Chicago and the marriage occurred while she was home on a Christmas vacation. Mr. Mitchell is a son of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Mitchell and until recently was associated with his father in conducting a bus line between this city and Quincy. It is understood the young couple will make their home in Chicago." -- Palmyra Spectator, Jan ?, 1931 Until, I saw the above clipping, I never knew that Kathryn and Othel had ben married with such haste and secrecy, although, now that I think of it, there were never any wedding pictures in evidence. I wonder what my grandparents, particularly my grandmother, thought about their only daughter's depriving them of the chance to give her a big wedding? I don't think that the marriage was a great success. Othel apparently drank excessively on occasion. She was a teatotalling Southern Baptist. He liked hunting, fishing, and being "with the boys." She liked the symphony, opera, and clothes. She didn't particularly like to cook. They never had any children. She taught throughout her marriage. Was this because he was sometimes unemployed or because she liked the luxuries afforded by two incomes? -- LKL
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2019
  Family ID	F4	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Kathryn, as she was always known, was the second child and only daughter. She was fortunate to have been born into a family where her mother always had help in the form of Aunt Catt or a hired man's wife--or both. I don't think that Kathryn carried anything like the burden of housework and child care that my mother did. I have the feeling that she could be a bit feckless, even wild, resulting in my father's being to look after her, to be responsible for her--a role he took very seriously She possibly went to high school, and certainly to college at LaGrange College. There are many old snapshots that show her as the quintessential flapper wearing cloche hats and dropped waist dresses that were flattering to her face and to her tall, willowy figure. She seems to have had a lot of boyfriends in college. After getting her AA degree at LaGrange, Kathryn, as so many did in those days, started teaching without getting her bachelor's degree. Did she teach in the Palmyra or LaGrange area first? She taught several years in the Chicago area, in Harvey, if I remember correctly. Did she teach there after her marriage to Othel? For many years after marriage, she lived in Palmyra. She was living there when her brother, Francis died in1935, and she was living there in 1938(?) when her parents made a long trip west. Did she teach during the time in Palmyra? (The Quincy obituary does not mention it.) Apparently in the late '30's she began working summers, living with her brother Gene and his wife, to complete her BA degree which she received from Peabody in 1940. I can barely remember visiting her in Memphis about 1943. For many years, I thought it was THE Memphis in Tenn., but now I believe it may have been Memphis, Mo., a small town near Kirksville. Did she teach there? What did Othel do there? Soon after World War II, she and Othel moved to Overland, Mo., a suburb of St Louis. Othel had a job with a company that made department store window displays. Kathryn began teaching in the Ritenour district from which she retired about 1972. Kathryn seems to have inherited her father's allergies. She had increasing problems during her later years in the St Louis area. Finally her physician advised getting out of the pollution and cold winters. In 1972 she moved to Stuart, Fla. She did not like it there. She did not have any friends in the area, to my knowledge. There were no cultural opportunities like the symphony. After her brother, Gene, moved to Prescott, Az, she moved there in 1979. She didn't really like Prescott, so she moved briefly to Glendale (Phoenix) to the mobile home park where my parents spent the winters. This did not suit her either, so she moved back to Prescott. Eventually she lived in Samaritan Village, a retirement-nursing home in Prescott. She was very sensitive to small scratches and had severe arthritis and other ailments which limited her mobility. Kathryn Mitchell "Kathryn Taylor Mitchell, 79 of Prescott, Ariz. died Friday (April 26, 1985) in Prescott Samaritan Village in Prescott. "Mrs Mitchell was born Nov. 23, 1905, a daughter of Joshua Booten and Grace McLeod Taylor. She married Othel Mitchell, Dec 31, 1930. He died in 1955. "Four generations of Taylors preceded Mrs. Mitchell in Marion County, the earliest being the Rev. Jeremiah Taylor, founder in 1823 of the Bethel Baptist Church north of Palmyra. Mrs. Mitchell was active in the Baptist church throughout her life. She attended Marion County schools and La Grange College and graduated from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn. Mrs. Mitchell taught grade schools in Illinois and Missouri, including 30 years in the Redenour District in St Louis County. She moved from Overland to Stuart, Fla., in 1972 and to Prescott in 1979. "Surviving are two brothers, Aubrey B. Taylor of Urbana, Ill. and J. Eugene Taylor of Prescott. "Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Lewis Brothers Chapel at Palmyra. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. "Memorials may be made to Third Baptist Church Foundation, 620 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Mo., 63103 or to the charity of the donor's choice." -- probably from the Quincy Harald-Whig, Tuesday April 30, 1985. "Kathryn Mitchell "Kathryn Taylor Mitchell, 79, died Friday, April 26, at Prescott Samaritan Village. "Born Nov 23, 1905, she was the daughter of Joshua Booten and Grace McLeod Taylor. She was preceeded [sic.] in death by her husband Othel V. Mitchell in 1955. "Mrs Mitchell attended public school in Marion County, Mo., and attended LaGrange Missouri College and graduated from George Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn. "She taught elementary school in Illinois and for 30 years in the Ridenour District, St. Louis, Mo. and moved to Prescott in 1979 from Stuart, Florida. "Survivors include bothers [sic] Eugene Taylor, Prescott and Aubrey Taylor, Urbane [sic.], Ill., a niece, Mrs Theodore Long, Skokie, Ill and a nephew, Josh Taylor, Atlanta, Ga. "Memorial contributions may be made to Third Baptist Church Foundation, 620 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Mo., or to the charity of the donor's choice."

  
  

• Sources

  [S38] Family group sheet prepared by Joshua Eugene Taylor.