Taylor and Madison Descendants Visit the Courthouse Tavern Museum

The Tavern Museum was delighted to receive a visit from 10 guests descended from the Taylor and Madison families who resided in King and Queen County in the late 1600s and early 1700s. They traveled from California, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Virginia, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Australia. Steve Taylor arranged the June visit through Jack Spain.

Of particular interest to the group was the exhibit of the 1715 Sundial from the Upper Church of St. Stephens’s Parish, locally called Apple Tree Church. It was originally given to the Anglican Church by Colonel James Taylor, and restored in 2011 through a joint effort of the Tavern Museum, Immanuel Episcopal Church, and Steve Taylor.

Nancy Herman-Thompson distributed copies of a modern map with James Taylor patents of 1686 and 1689 superimposed. These King and Queen County patents adjoined and were located between current day St. Stephens Church and Walkerton.

Jack Spain led the group into the King and Queen Old Courthouse Building (now the Circuit Courtroom) where they could view the plaque memorializing several prominent members of the Taylor family, including Presidents James Madison and Zachary Taylor.