Alice (Thornton) Taylor (abt. 1708 - abt. 1739)

Born about 1708 in Essex County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Wife of Lawrence Catlett — married 1724 in Rapidan, Culpeper County, Colony of Virginia

Wife of James Taylor III — married 25 Mar 1727 (to after 1739) in Rapidan, Culpeper County, Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1739 at about age 31 in Orange, Orange County, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Herbert Wolfe [send private message]

Biography

Alice Thornton, the daughter of Francis Thornton and Mary Taliaferro was born in Essex, Virginia about 1708. The Thorntons were one of Virginia's many distinguished Colonial families and the Taliaferros were one of the most ancient in Europe. The Taliaferro family of Tuscany, Italy, is said to have migrated to Normandy in the year 868, and whose descendant—a Taliaferro—was "among those present" when William the Conqueror successfully invaded Saxon England on Christmas Day, 1066. She was also a 2nd cousin of President George Washington. Her father, Col Francis Thornton II was a Justice, a Burgess 1744-45, and Lt. Colonel of his Majesty's Militia for Spotsylvania County.

Alice became part of the Catlett family when she married Lawrence Catlett in 1724. ^[1] He died two years later in 1726. In 1727 she married James Taylor III, the son of Col. James Taylor II who was one of the first settlers of Orange County, Virginia, and one of the first Surveyor Generals of Virginia. He was a respected and prominent landowner who owned over 15,000 acres in Caroline, Orange, and King & Queen Counties. He was also one of the members of Governor Spotswood's "Golden Horseshoe Expedition.

Alice had two sisters Elizabeth and Mildred who had married into the Meriwether family.

Two of her husband, James III's siblings became the grandparent of a United States President. His sister, Frances Taylor, and her husband Ambrose Madison were the grandparents of 4th President James Madison. His brother Zachary Taylor was the grandfather of the 12 President Zachary Taylor.

Children of Alice Thornton and James Taylor II include:

1. Elizabeth Taylor
2. Alice Taylor
3. Francis Taylor
4. James Taylor

When Alice was in her very early thirties, she died at the Bloomsbury Estate in Orange, Orange, Virginia in 1739, She was buried at the Taylor-Quarles Family Cemetery in Orange, Orange, Virginia. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Alice Thornton in the Essex County, Virginia, Marriage Index, 1655-1900. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 1999 Detail Book: Box 105,; Page: H.
2. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64929166/alice-taylor

See also:

• BLOOMSBURY.