Talk:Nathaniel Green Taylor

slavery

I presume Taylor was a slaveholder, and think that his views concerning slavery, as well as Native American rights should be mentioned here, but don't have the time to do the necessary research. I added info to indicate this Taylor's apparent relation to two politically powerful and slaveholding Virginia families, the Taylors (the most famous of which was Whig, General and President Zachary Taylor--from a branch which moved to Kentucky) and the Carters. Also, although the congressional bio and some others list only this Taylor's two political sons, I included the much larger family suggested in Findagrave, although its reliability isn't the greatest.Jweaver28 (talk) 21:14, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Go easy on the genealogy site references. They tend to be error-prone. Bms4880 (talk) 22:07, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but if Mary Carter was born in 1799, how is she the daughter of Landon Carter (who died in 1778)? Bms4880 (talk) 22:21, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

She absolutely isn't the daughter of that Landon Carter. That's one of the reasons why Wikipedia should not rely on genealogy websites. I've commented about this on Jweaver28's talk page. --Orlady (talk) 22:31, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Correct. It's a different Landon Carter, one born later. I've corrected it. Bms4880 (talk) 22:33, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick corrections. She's presumably the daughter of the Landon Carter for whom Carter County Tennessee is named, and who operated iron works in the Watauga valley, but the Sabine Hill/Hall link remains so I presume there's some link to the more famous slaveholder Landon Carter who spent considerable time at Williamsburg, Virginia, hence presumably the architectural link mentioned in the HABS. Frankly, Virginians' recycling of names does drive me and lots of others batty. Nonetheless, I'd prefer to mention the links and be corrected than keep the connections unmade.

That said, and my internet access strangely enough restored, for what its worth, one genealogy page shows four Taylor brothers settling in the Watauga valley, but doesn't go into this generation, which is why I relied on findagrave, merely transforming an external link into a ref.

Anyhow, my time in Virginia has taught me about the importance of political and family links among the landed aristocracy of that region and era, to which this Taylor belonged. In particular, the First Families of Virginia were very influential in a certain type of politics, which often reinforced their attitudes concerning the inferiority of Native Americans and African Americans. The same families often "forgot" members who did not agree with their proclivities, like Edward Coles and Robert Carter III. I don't know on which side the elder Nathaniel K. Taylor fell, but he died with 20 slaves according to the Sabine Hall entry, which didn't seem to mention the ironworks link I was interested in.

Given this Taylor's apparent importance in pushing Indians into reservations in the southwest, I'd be interested in his perception of his grandfather's and Gen. Zachary Taylors' service in the War of 1812, Blackhawk War, etc. Perhaps Gen. Taylor died of natural causes back home in 1816, but he also may have died in the Indian Wars (which pushed Native Americans from this area and Kentucky and Illinois across the Mississippi), and that page hasn't yet been written (nor do I have time to write it).

Moreover, the family's Sabine Hill plantation was clearly affected by slavery's end, with Taylors moving out of the main structure some time after the war according to the HABS. Because the surrounding fields were let out to tenant farmers or sharecroppers, reconstruction politics must've influenced this Taylor, which the political vote-counting current status of this entry doesn't come near touching, hence this lengthy note.Jweaver28 (talk) 23:34, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Interesting speculation, but I feel the need to remind you about the Wikipedia core policy on no original research. Wikipedia contributors should not be trying to make inferences about connections between facts found in disparate sources -- our articles should report only what someone else reliable has stated in published form. Also, be mindful of WP:Verifiability -- we shouldn't publish questionable content from unreliable sources, as its inclusion in Wikipedia may transform it into "fact" for our readers. (It's scary how often I run a web search on an old unsourced statement in an article here, to see if I can find a source -- only to discover that seemingly credible publications are now disseminating the fact as reality, explicitly based on its inclusion in Wikipedia. We need to be careful not to contribute to the creation of more misinformation.) Finally, I have no objection to your being interested in genealogical details, but Wikipedia is not a genealogical website; in general, lineages are not appropriate content. There are myriad other places to publish that sort of content. --Orlady (talk) 03:43, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

I know about the no original research policy, which is why I put the speculation on the talk page, along with suggestions to consult the genealogy resources published by the Virginia Historical Society, some of which are online directly or through the Library of Virginia. Unfortunately, they too can have errors (as I've found trying to correct pages concerning the Brent and Carter families, though I recently was grateful for the explication done by the University of Virginia concerning the Cabell family). Despite my adding genealogy to this entry, it is not anywhere near my favorite area or addition, and I'm more likely to put it towards the end of a wikipedia article than the beginning as seemed to be Virginia practice. But with respect to this article, the Congressional Bio relied on by the prior version also seems to have reliability problems, probably because of its focus on political figures. For example, Alfred seems to actually have been the second son, not the eldest--not that it makes a huge difference in the article, but family size and length of lives do affect politics as well as lives. Another part of the problem with this article is the poor article on Landon Carter of Williamsburg, which again I don't have time to revise.Jweaver28 (talk) 07:01, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

K

What's the source of the "K" in General Nathaniel Taylor's name? It's not in any reliable source I saw while working on Sabine Hill. Is it another thing you pulled off somebody's amateur genealogy site? --Orlady (talk) 22:45, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

If you can find the Virginia Historical Society archives or a geneology library with the blue volumes, maybe they'll tell his parentage. I put the Rockbridge link so others could follow it; ditto with the obviously quick reference to the Carter County Tennessee history in that genealogy page. I think it's a shame that no one has yet put together wikipedia pages about Gen. Taylor nor his wife. Unfortunately, I don't have the time, hence these long notes.Jweaver28 (talk)

I'm not finding the "K", even in the sketchy 19th-century bios. Bms4880 (talk) 02:10, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

It's hinted at in the Cox book cited in the Sabine Hill article (ref 8). But I got it from the Speer book, Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans at p.565 even though it says the General was breveted at the battle of New Orleans contrary to the Sabine Hill article, and seems mainly concerned with distinguishing him from a lawyer Nathaniel M. Taylor born in 1825. See Google books http://books.google.com/books?id=UsVGPmfzJRYC&pg=PA565&lpg=PA565&dq. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I trust this talk page is doing better history than the Elizabethtown Star, of 7/23/12 that called the War of 1812 general Nathaniel Greene Taylor.http://www.starhq.com/tennessee-heritage-nathaniel-greene-taylor-was-war-of-1812-general/. Oops--or another reason for someone to put together the general's wikipedia page.Jweaver28 (talk) 07:43, 7 February 2014 (UTC)