The answer is Yes, No, and Maybe!
If you were born a Taylor you may have grown up with a family story about being related to Zachary Taylor. Well, in one sense you are.
Just as you are related to Confucius, the Chinese Philosopher, or Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy XII and ruler of Egypt. In that sense, as a member of the human race, you are cousins with Zachary Taylor, as well as cousins with Confucius and Cleopatra.
If you mean that you are a direct descendant of Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) the American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States, it is likely that you are not. The reason is that Zachary had only one son, Richard "Dick" Taylor (January 27, 1826–April 12, 1879), Confederate States Army General. Richard Taylor had two sons, Richard (born in 1857) and Zachary (born in 1860), who both died during the war after contracting scarlet fever.
Thus, there are no direct male descendents of Zachary Taylor, unless 150 years of public interest and genealogy has failed to locate another male heir.
If your claim to being related to Zachary Taylor, the 12th President of the United States, is based upon having the Taylor surname, you could still be related to him as a collateral relative. That is, your line could trace through his brothers, uncles, great-uncles, great-great uncles, and so forth. To check this go to the extensive list of his Taylor line, found at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=zachary-taylor&id=I1. Or see http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pmcbride/james/f061.htm.
But wait, there are still two other options. One is that you are a descendant of Zachary Taylor through the line of one of his daughters. Which you can investigate through the links provided. The other option is to be a biological relative of a heretofore unidentified line. That option would require DNA work to prove…
For more research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachary_Taylor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Taylor_(general)
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=zachary-taylor&id=I1
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pmcbride/james/f061.htm
Lalia Wilson, granddaughter of James Bentley Taylor, writing for the Taylor DNA Project
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Zachary is my 5th cousin, 8 times removed. I am proud and at the same time sort of ashamed because he owned slaves.
ReplyDeleteYes, and he made children with these slaves. Descendants are just as related as whites.
DeleteI just found out according to ancestry.com Zachary Taylor is my great-great-great-great-grandfather is this is true I am an African-American man therefore he must have had sex with his slaves
DeleteI’m an African-American descendant of Zachary Taylor through his nephew Edmund Haynes Taylor.
DeleteMy grandfather did our family tree and im also a cousin of him how can i find out more ? I dont know how to go about looking up a family tree
DeleteWell, I dunno about that. But my Grandfather Arthur W Grafton is buried in Zachary Taylor national cemetary in Louisville in the Zachary Taylor family plot. He held the last 2 plots, to be precise, in the family section there...
ReplyDeleteHe had one son. My Father A. Wallace Grafton. My father has one son. Me.
Myself, my siblings, and my cousins were all raised with our parents telling us that we are descendants of Sarah Knox Taylor and Jefferson Davis. We were told that Zachary Taylor did not approve of Sarah having a relationship with Jefferson Davis. Therefore, they would see each other at Sarah's aunts house without Zachary Taylor knowing. Then Sarah got pregnant and they got married shortly before the birth of the baby. soon after the baby was born, Sarah died. Running for office, Jefferson Davis's brother advised to let someone else raise the baby. Jefferson then married Varina to make things look good for the public eye. we were told that the baby, Massa Mariah Davis, was sent to Point Marion to grow up and eventually married and became Massa Stone. I've been to the grave sites for the family. I have much info to support much of this. There was a professor years ago who said that they knew Sarah and Jefferson had a baby but no one knew what happened to it. The professor and his class were researching this for their project that year. He had an employee from the Jefferson Museum on the bottom floor of the Richmond, Virginia courthouse give me his business card and asked me to contact him and we could work together. Unfortunately, my daughter was injured at a dance competition the next day and I didn't get in touch with him. I really regret this. My e-mail address is: angelssarah@comcast.net Please contact me if you possibly could. Thank you. Sarah Cosner
ReplyDeleteAn error in my typing previously: Zachary Taylor did NOT know that Sarah and Jefferson were meeting at the aunt's house.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my great-grandmother, Massa Davis, was the one who originally told my mother this information. She also said that she was sent north in a covered wagon with a black nanny or mammy. there is an extra grave at the site we are thinking this is the woman who took her north and raised her. Massa had alot of property in West Virginia given to her by the state of Virginia.
An error in my typing previously: Zachary Taylor did NOT know that Sarah and Jefferson were meeting at the aunt's house.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my great-grandmother, Massa Davis, was the one who originally told my mother this information. She also said that she was sent north in a covered wagon with a black nanny or mammy. there is an extra grave at the site we are thinking this is the woman who took her north and raised her. Massa had alot of property in West Virginia given to her by the state of Virginia.
Myself, my siblings, and my cousins were all raised with our parents telling us that we are descendants of Sarah Knox Taylor and Jefferson Davis. We were told that Zachary Taylor did not approve of Sarah having a relationship with Jefferson Davis. Therefore, they would see each other at Sarah's aunts house without Zachary Taylor knowing. Then Sarah got pregnant and they got married shortly before the birth of the baby. soon after the baby was born, Sarah died. Running for office, Jefferson Davis's brother advised to let someone else raise the baby. Jefferson then married Varina to make things look good for the public eye. we were told that the baby, Massa Mariah Davis, was sent to Point Marion to grow up and eventually married and became Massa Stone. I've been to the grave sites for the family. I have much info to support much of this. There was a professor years ago who said that they knew Sarah and Jefferson had a baby but no one knew what happened to it. The professor and his class were researching this for their project that year. He had an employee from the Jefferson Museum on the bottom floor of the Richmond, Virginia courthouse give me his business card and asked me to contact him and we could work together. Unfortunately, my daughter was injured at a dance competition the next day and I didn't get in touch with him. I really regret this. My e-mail address is: angelssarah@comcast.net Please contact me if you possibly could. Thank you. Sarah Cosner
ReplyDeleteHas it been proven that John Taylor the Immigrant born in 1607 and immigrated to Virginia in Cumberland County was a great grandfather of Zachary Taylor? If it has then yes he is a cousin.
ReplyDeleteMake that Lancaster County, Virginia.
DeleteWho am I descended from, via DNA evidence? My mother's mother, Annebelle Taylor-Harris’ father, Eugene Taylor, was white. He's the descendant of U.S. President Zachary Taylor family, either directly or indirectly, either legitimately or illegitimately. This Taylor branch has its roots in and around the Fashion Plantation, Hahnville, St. Charles, Parish, Louisiana, and the Rosedown Plantation, St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Rosedown was owned by the Turnbull Family. Fashion was owned by the Zachary Taylor family and operated by his son, Confederate General Richard Taylor. Richard Taylor was married to a rich French Creole (light skinned black?) woman named Marie Bringier (Taylor). They had two sons who both died in infancy. Eugene Taylor fathered at least 19 children, with at least four black/part-black women, including my great grandmother, Emma Givens. My grandmother was the eldest of these children. I have several hundred Taylor family cousins, mainly in the greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Metropolitan area, but also scattered across the USA. My question is: What is the blood/DNA/lineage connection between Eugene, Richard and Zachary Taylor? My mother described President Taylor as an uncle of her mother's family.
ReplyDeleteTo Unknown...my grandfather was Theodore Taylor and his father was Clarence Taylor. I've always been told that we were related to Zachary Taylor through a slave/relationship connection. My grandfather was African American. Now it makes sense knowing that Zachary owned slaves and Richard, was married to a mixed woman. With all the Sal ace owners and wealthy land owners mixing with slaves it's very apparent to me that there is probably a connection of sorts.
ReplyDeleteIs there a Taylor DNA group (besides Y DNA)? Descendant of Col. James Taylor, I have Strother, Savage, etc. Matching descendants of Thomas Taylor and Margaret Swinderly or something like that. A600828, A544019, A012273, A832713, A555949.
ReplyDeleteMy great grandmother was Lucy Taylor Davis. Her great x 3 grandfather was Zachary’s great grandfather, James Taylor. So, Zachary is my 2nd cousin 5 times removed.
ReplyDeleteI think I am related to him but I'm not sure
ReplyDeleteMy great great or three greats grandfather is Zachary taylor
ReplyDeleteMy STONE & TAYLOR family is originally from Madison County, Kentucky from about 1790s to current... we are of African American mixed race ancestry. Most of my people have moved into Ohio & Indiana boarder over the years. My mother's family lived in Longtown, OH then into Springfield, OH.
ReplyDeleteWe are descendants of the STONE,TAYLOR & DAVIS families... which we definitely have DNA related to Zackary Taylor and several other well noted people of early America.
My father's surname is TAYLOR of Mercer County, Kentucky AND Jackson & Gallia County, Ohio and my mother's maiden name is STONE of Madison County, Kentucky. Please contact me at fet12sw@yahoo.com if you have any questions or information.
For what it is worth... family genealogists have us related to Zachary. And John Penn. Also John Taylor of Caroline County. Just now looking at the history.
ReplyDeleteHe is my 6th cousin 9 times removed, so, hello fellow cousins.
ReplyDeleteI have always been told Zachary Taylor is my 10th great grandfather and would like to know for sure
ReplyDeleteI am related as well through my great grandmother Priscilla Agustus Taylor via the Fashion Plantation in Louisiana.
ReplyDeleteMy great great great grandfather was Zachary Taylor 12 president of the United States. I am related through one of his daughters who married a German Count who's last name was Wood. My father was given a special tour of the white house years ago for being a direct decendant of Zachary Taylor. To date I have the dowry given to Zachary for his daughters hand in marriage to this German count. We are also related to James Madison Uncle, and a few others. My father who has passed away Roger Glen Wiley knew more details of our family history. We always loved hearing stories about our ancestors growing up. So yes there are descendants through the daughters who were married.
ReplyDelete