| Notes |
- Basic information from JET, grave markers, and personal knowledge
Joshua Booten Taylor was named for his father's brother Joshua Thomas Taylor and for his mother's brother James Booten Compton. The "Booten" came from a preacher and family friend, James Booten. -- JET
"Ten Room Farm Home Destroyed By Fire
"The ten room house on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. George Keller in Fabius Community was completely destroyed by fire, Tuesday morning. The place formerly owned by Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Taylor, was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Verne Spencer. Mrs Spencer is the former Lois Keller.
"Much of the household goods was [sic] saved and no outbuildings were destroyed.
"The Palmyra Rural Fire Department was called to the scence [sic] about 11 a.m., but the blaze was too far underway for the structure to be saved. Fireman worked for four hours. They brought the truck back to Palmyra for a further supply of water after the first hour.
"Origin of the blaze was not determined.
"Firemen making the run were Chief Edward Schaeffer, Lawrence A. Wellmann, Lester West, Tom Stow, and James Boettcher.
"Spacious, conventient [sic] and modern, the house, built a number of years ago by Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, was one of the attractive farm home [sic] of the county.
"The house was insured.
"Mr. and Mrs. Spencer were planning to move in the near future to a farm near Shelbina." -- Palmyra Spectator Jan 24, 1956 (written next to clipping)
The date of the above may have been the date of the fire not of the article. The house was built in 1871 & 1875 by Joseph Franklin Taylor (q.v.) and was remodeled by J.B. Taylor in 1902, 1909, and 1925 according to notes made by JET. I remember the fire incident quite well. The fire was thought to be electrical. The housewife, Mrs. Spencer, was doing laundry and carrying it to the attic to dry. When she opened the attic door to hang up another load, she found the attic ablaze. Whenever we visited Palmyra, my father always drove through Quincy so that he could pass the old home place. After the fire, he never drove that way again if he could help it.--LKL
Funeral Services of Joshua Booten Taylor (from the Quincy paper of Thursday, February 16, 1967)
"Funeral services for Joshua Booten Taylor, 90, of Palmyra, were held Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Lewis Brothers Chapel with the Rev. Howard Meyer officiating. Burial was in Greenwood cemetery. Casket bearers were Bill Owsley, Randles and Robert summers, Bob Calvert, Raymond Todd and Archie Pugh.
"Mr. Taylor was born August 25, 1876 in Marion County, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Taylor. On May 29, 1901 he was married in Marion County to Grace E. McLeod, who preceded him in death on Nov 30, 1963. He died Feb 13, at 6:10 p.m. at Ivy Manor Rest Home where he had resided for several years. He was a retired farmer and a member of the First Baptist Church of Palmyra.
"Survivors include two sons, Dr. A.B. Taylor of Urbana, Ill., and J. Eugene Taylor of Nashville, Tenn.; one daughter, Mrs. Kathryn Mitchell of St Louis; two grandchildren, Kay Taylor of Chicago [i.e., Skokie, Ill.] and Josh E. Taylor of Atlanta, Ga.
"He was preceded in death by two sons and one sister."
Joshua Booten's mother died when he was born. This was surely a great influence in his development and personality. He had an older sister who was very sickly. He and the sister were raised by their father and by a cousin of their mother, Eliza Catherine ("Aunt Cat" or "Cattie") Tripplett. He attended Franklin school and then the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri, probably because there was no local high school. There he won a medal.
He spent a year at the University of Missouri in Columbia, but had to return home to take care of his father's affairs (See Joseph Franklin Taylor).
His boyhood friends included John Hansbrough and Charles Bryant Taylor. Details of his meeting and courting Grace E. McLeod are not known to me, but they probably knew each other from a very young age since they lived in the same neighborhood, attended the same church, etc.
As a father, I believe he was quite strict. He did not like to have his oldest son use his tools; a fact used by Jack to explain his general mechanical ineptitude.
My grandfather Taylor was a deeply religious man of serious demeanor. He was unfailingly courteous, always touching his hat brim in greeting a woman on the streets of Palmyra. Until his eyesight failed and his mental condition deteriorated, he loved to read. He perused many religious tracts and books, but also enjoyed gentle humor in the best sellers of the day. I was not too fond of visiting my Taylor grandparents because there was little to do there. No card games! Worse yet, no public library to loose myself in books. The local television stations were limited, and the daily soap operas that my grandmother followed were not to my taste. Thus I ended up reading a number of the non-religious books that I dug out of the bookcases.
Grandpa had retired from farming about 1936 or "37 because of his allergies, asthma, and general ill health. He had some sort of surgery, possibly prostate surgery in the spring of 1937 and was thus too ill to attend my parents' wedding. He was also very upset by the death of his youngest son, Francis in an automobile accident in 1935. Frank was the only son interested in farming and would have been the one to inherit the farm which had been in the family for two or three generations.
Despite his retirement from things agricultural, Grandpa kept a vegetable garden at the back of the house. He was the first to plow the plot and plant. My parents, upon hearing of his early spring activities, would swear that he would loose it all to frost, but he never did. In addition to the vegetable garden, he did much of the heavy work in Grandma's flower gardens in front of and along side the house.
The church formed a third and greatest interest for my grandfather. He had been a member of the Bethel Baptist Church, founded by his great grandfather, when he lived on the farm. He also held many positions in the church government. When he moved to town, he transferred his membership to the First Baptist Church of Palmyra. I remember this church from the late 1940's through the 1950's when one Reverend Sutterfield was the minister. What a horrible man. His sermons consisted of yelling! Yelling the scripture readings; yelling his "message" which consisted of repetitions of the text in various forms. There were no depth, no interpretation, and certainly no inspiration. When my cousin, Josh was presented to The Reverend by his proud grandparents, Josh demanded, to their utter dismay, "What makes you shout so much?" I was in complete agreement, but a a bit more subtle (or cowardly), calling him Mr. "Stutterfield" to myself. My favorite occupation during interminable services was to count the organ pipes across the front of the church! -- LKL
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Taylor Family Genealogy
1876 - 1967 (90 years)