Wife of William Taylor
(son of
Joseph Taylor, Jr & Sarah "Sally" Best)

Mother of
1. John Taylor
2. Allen Taylor
3. Julia Ann Taylor
4. Mary Ann Taylor
5. Louisa Taylor
6. Elizabeth Ann Taylor
7. Sarah Kendrick Best Taylor
8. Joseph Taylor
9. Pleasant Green Taylor
10 William Warren Taylor
11 Levi Taylor
12 Nancy Jane Taylor
13 Amanda Melvina Taylor
14 James Caldwell Taylor

ELIZABETH PATRICK TAYLOR
By: Lella Marler Hogan
January l933

Elizabeth Patrick Taylor was born in Virginia on 9 December 1793, daughter of John Patrick & Elizabeth Kindrick. The family was of Irish descent & is thought to be of the line of the old American family of Patrick. Elizabeth was a large, robust woman with a sandy complexion & was very strong & fearless. She had two sisters, Nancy & Polly, & eight brothers. The family moved from Virginia to Kentucky & it was at Bowling Green, Warren County, KY that she was married to William W. Taylor. She bore him 14 children, seven sons & seven daughters. Their names were as follows: John, Allen, Julia Ann, Mary Ann, Louise, Elizabeth Ann, Sarah Kindrick Best, Joseph, Pleasant Green, William Warren, Levi, Nancy Jane, Amanda Malvina & James Caldwell. In 1830, the family moved to Monroe County, Missouri, which was an unbroken land of wild animals & savage Indians, but she fearlessly accepted the hardships of the frontier and helped to subdue it. The family was introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spring of 1834. After their baptisms, they became devoted workers in the cause. Through all of the persecutions that the Church endured, Elizabeth stood steadfast. She gave up one home after the other, sacrificing the comforts and blessings of her hearth & fireside in order to be with the Saints. She found joy in making her home a pleasant place to live. Through her thrift & ingenuity, she was able to surround her family with many home comforts & to prepare nourishing and appetizing meals for them. Her skilled fingers spun the yarn from which she made suits of clothing for her husband & sons. At one time, they were forced to leave their home hurriedly, under stress of mob violence, and, cutting the cloth from her loom, she carried it with her never seeing the loom again. At another time, in their travels, they met an old couple who were grieved because their best horse had died leaving them stranded. Without hesitation she asked her husband to unhitch her favorite mare and give it to the old couple so that they could continue on their way. During the Winter of 1836, while the Saints were camped in the streets of Farr West, more than once Elizabeth prepared food & carried it to the Prophet's friends who were held captive in prison. Some of the men from the mob came and tried to persuade her daughters to run away with them, telling the girls that they would be destroyed if they stayed with the Saints. Elizabeth took a long stick from the fire and in no uncertain manner quickly drove the men from her camp. They did not return.
Elizabeth and William had always lived in harmony until his sudden death in 1839. This was the hardest trial she had to endure in those early days. Her faithful and devoted husband had worked and sacrificed with her through many long years. He died in September 1839 while they were journeying from Missouri to Illinois, having been expelled from their home in Missouri. They had been driven out and robbed so many times that they were in destitute circumstances. Some of the older children helped her with the support of the family. But, even though times were perilous, she had no fear. She was ready to take up the burden where he had laid it down. A short time after her husband's death, a Mr. Gillum came and offered Elizabeth forty acres of good land if she would stay in Missouri at the time the Saints were driven out. This offer was no temptation to her. She scorned the offer and journeyed with the Saints to Nauvoo, Hancock County, Ill. The family was in destitute circumstances. President Joseph Smith gave them a city lot and they built a log house on it. All of the children, who were at home, worked together for the support of the family. With her strong character she held the family together notwithstanding the great hardships they endured and they all remained with the Church and came to Utah with the Saints except for Sarah who remained in Iowa. Elizabeth Taylor was in Nauvoo when the Prophet went to Carthage to his doom. After the tragedy, she and a son and a daughter went to Carthage Jail and saw the Prophet's blood staining the floor. She was present at the meeting when the "mantle of Joseph" fell upon Brigham Young and, like the others, she thought that Joseph had been resurrected and had returned to lead his people. On 26 Jan 1846 she and three of her children were permitted to go into the Nauvoo Temple and receive their endowments. It was a great trial for the Saints to have to give up their sacred temple, their homes so dear to them and their beautiful city of Nauvoo, but, when the governor ordered them to leave, Elizabeth was one of the first to begin the long trek across the western plains. She drove her own ox-team, going as far as Council Bluffs that year, and in May 1849 she went on into the Salt Lake Valley. She made her first home in Kaysville. Her boys were good farmers and made a nice home for her. She took part in all the pioneer tasks so essential in those days ie. spinning, weaving, knitting, sewing, cooking, cleaning and many other labors great and small. During the last years of her life she lived with her son, Pleasant Green Taylor, in Harrisville. On 25 Oct 1880, she passed on to her well-earned rest at the age of 87 years and 10 months. To the end of her life she was true to the memory of her loving husband and to the faith that had proved to be a staff for her hand and a light to her path.