Louis Denison Taylor (1857 - 1946)

Born 22 Jul 1857 in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Annie Louise (Pierce) Taylor — married 26 May 1892 (to May 1917) in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Husband of Alice Helena (Miller) Berry — married 8 Jun 1916 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Died 4 Jun 1946 at age 88 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Biography

Louis Taylor is/was a significant British Columbian.

Louis Taylor is Notable.

L.D. Taylor was the 14th Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia. He served eight terms as mayor^[1], serving eleven years in total. During his time in office, he supported women's suffrage, the "single tax" (related to property and development), the labour/blue collar working class, supported the amalgamation of Vancouver with South Vancouver and Point Grey; saw the creation of the Greater Vancouver Water District Board, as well as the establishment of an airport.

Family

L.D, son of Gustavus Taylor^[2] and Amy Denison, was born in Michigan on 22 Jul 1857^[3] Almost nothing is known of his father, and from correspondence, it seems that he was close to his mother.

In 1860, their family was living at 1st Ward of City of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan.^[4]

Louis (age 34) married Annie L. Pierce (age 24) on 26 May 1892 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.^[5]

In 1901, Louis (age 36), Annie (age 29) and their son, Theodore (age 4) were living in Vancouver, Burrard, British Columbia.^[6]

In 1911, Louis (age 46) was a lodger in Vancouver, North Vancouver and South Vancouver, British Columbia; he was working as a "mayor & editor".^[7]

Louis (48 and divorced) married Alice Helena (Miller) Berry (40 and a widow) in Vancouver, British Columbia on 8 June 1916.^[2][8]

Career

In Michigan, he "went to work at the library at the University of Michigan. Later, in the mid-1880's, still living in Ann Arbor, he appears in the city directory as a teller at the First National Bank. Around that time he was a partner in a bicycle sales business and a truss company. ... in 1891, L.D. moved from Ann Arbor to Chicago to work for the Wabash Railroad ... as assistant to the auditor. ... A year after arriving in Chicago, on May 26, 1892, he married Annie Louise Pierce,^[5] the daughter of a successful architect, Osborne Pierce, and his wife Caroline. Annie was twenty-five years old, ten years younger than Louis. The marriage was not a happy one."^[9].

Louis Taylor arrived in Vancouver, on Sunday, September 8, 1896. He left his home in Chicago several days before, travelling by train via St. Paul, Winnipeg and the Canadian West, heading for Seattle. ... Back in Chicago, L.D. was wanted by the courts. A business venture had turned sour and he stood accused of embezzlement.^[10]

L.D. decided to stay in Vancouver and became involved in the newspaper business, first in sales and then later owning The Vancouver Daily World newspaper, from 1905-1915, which he ran with Alice Berry.

Taylor began his foray into BC politics as the license commissioner, in 1902, and ran for alderman in 1904 and again in 1905. He ran in 1909 for mayor of Vancouver, and lost to Charles Douglas, but was successful the following year, as terms were only 1 year until 1927.

He lost the 1912 election to James Findlay, a retired mine superintendent who previously had served three terms as a city license commissioner.^[11], but was re-elected as mayor on January 14, 1915.

It was at this time, that he lost the World newspaper due to financial issues but launched a new one, "The Daily Globe" with his business partner, Alice Berry. This paper failed. By this time, he had been living with Alice Berry about four years, but he was still married to his first wife. Annie had previously come to Vancouver with their son and tried to live a quiet family life with Taylor, but she hated the fledgling city and everything about it. The marriage was not working as Taylor had been away from her longer than he had been with her, and so she moved to California. While she did not want a divorce, but acquiesced and was on "May 16, 1916, the Superior Court of California in the County of Los Angeles issued a final decree of divorce. As usual with such decrees, the divorce only became final after a year had passed. Therefore L.D. remained married to Annie until May 1917. Nonetheless, on June 8, 1916, he married Alice [Helena] Berry.^[2] In other words, for eleven months he was a bigamist. ... He must have calculated that no one in Vancouver would know of his situation."^[12]

L.D. withdrew from politics to spend time with family and try his hand at publishing again. This was not successful. Alice died on November 23, 1919 at the age of 48. L.D. rejoined politics running for mayor in 1922, and was finally re-elected in 1925.

A scandal during Taylor's time was the charge that "members of the police force were receiving bribes from underworld figures." There was a hearing headed by a city appointed lawyer, Robert Scott Lennie K.C.. This affected Taylor's re-election efforts.

"Two months after L.D.'s 1928 election defeat, his first wife died in an accident in Hollywood."^[13]

In 1929, he went on a round-the-world excursion, returning to Vancouver after a brief visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His final term as mayor began in the Depression.

The bribery scandal was the basis for Gerry McGeer's 1934 electoral campaign, which obliterated Taylor's political career with the largest electoral defeat Vancouver had ever seen. McGeer was an old adversary of Taylor, having been the lead attorney prosecuting the 1928 police inquiry, and claimed in his campaign that he would eliminate the crime and corruption that flourished under Taylor's civic administration. Taylor unsuccessfully contested several more elections, but spent the rest of his life bitter about the 1934 election. He died in poverty. Taylor Manor, a senior citizens' home in East Vancouver, was named for him in 1946.^[14]

Death

Louis died (age 88) on 4 June 1946 in Vancouver, British Columbia.^{[3][15][16][17]} He was buried in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Research Notes

Birth:

1860 census: age 3, birth year estimate 1857

Marriage1 (26 May 1892): age 34, birth year estimate 1857

1901 census: 22 July 1864

1911 census: July 1864

Marriage2 (8 June 1916): age 48, birth year estimate 1867

Death certificate: 22 Jul 1857.

Parents:

Marriage2 certificate: Gustavus Adolphus Taylor & Amy Taylor

Death certificate: Adolfus Gustav Taylor & Unknown Denison.

Sources

1. ↑ Francis, Daniel. "L.D. : Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver." 2004. Arsenal Pulp Press. page 10.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Marriage2: "British Columbia Marriage Registrations," online database with images. Entry for Louis Denison Taylor (48, Divorced) and Alice Helena Berry (40, Widow); Registration: 1916-09-084568, 1916-06-08, Vancouver, Groom's parents: Gustavus Adolphus Taylor & Amy Taylor, Bride's parents: Jonathon Miller & Margaret Springer Miller. Marriage certificate Royal British Columbia Museum: BC Archives (search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 19 Dec 2023).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Death: "British Columbia Death Registrations," online database with images. Entry for Louis Denison Taylor; Registration: 1946-09-008520, 1946-06-04, Vancouver, Age at Death: 88, Birth: 22 Jul 1857, Michigan, United States of America, Occupation: Journalist (Newspaper), Marital Status: Widowed, Spouse: Annie Louise Pierce, Parents: Adolfus Gustav Taylor & Unknown Denison. Death certificate Royal British Columbia Museum: BC Archives (search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 19 Dec 2023).
4. ↑ 1860 Census: "United States Census, 1860," database with images, (FamilySearch Record: MWDD-KD9 : accessed 19 December 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GBS3-93LG, Louis Tailor (3) at 1st Ward of City of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States. Born in Michigan; citing Page: 30; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: M653; Digital film/folder number: 005170143; FHL microfilm: 803563; Image number: 538; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N01741-4.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Marriage: "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968," database with images, (FamilySearch Record: N7XY-Q5Q : accessed 19 December 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6PMC-3Q6, Louis D Taylor (34) marriage to Annie L. Pierce (24) on 26 May 1892 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois; citing Digital film/folder number: 004227485; FHL microfilm: 1030214; Image number: 453; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: M02585-7.
6. ↑ 1901 Census: "Canada Census, 1901," database with images, (FamilySearch Record: KHVJ-2G4 : accessed 19 December 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSS1-L68L, Louis Taylor (36), married head of household in Vancouver City, Burrard, British Columbia, Canada. Born 22 July 1864 in U S; Year of Immigration: 1899; citing Page: 10; Digital film/folder number: 101692780; Image number: 654.
7. ↑ 1911 Census: "Census of Canada, 1911," database, (Library and Archives Canada : accessed 19 December 2023), Louis D Taylor (46), married lodger, in Vancouver, North Vancouver and South Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Born July 1864 in United States; Occupation: mayor & editor; citing Reference: RG31 - Statistics Canada; Page: 36; Family number: 272; Microfilm reel number: T-20338; Image number: e001942843; Item ID number: 6765297.
8. ↑ Marriage2: "Canada, British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938," database with images, (FamilySearch Record: JDZL-617 : accessed 19 December 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DKGS-MTP, Louis Dennison Taylor (48) marriage to Alice Helena Berry (40) on 8 Jun 1916 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; citing Digital film/folder number: 004400862; FHL microfilm: 1983707; Image number: 2110; Packet letter: A.
9. ↑ Francis, Daniel. "L.D. : Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver." 2004. Arsenal Pulp Press. page 17-18.
10. ↑ Francis, Daniel. "L.D. : Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver." 2004. Arsenal Pulp Press. page 15.
11. ↑ Francis, Daniel. "L.D. : Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver." 2004. Arsenal Pulp Press. page 86.
12. ↑ Francis, Daniel. "L.D. : Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver." 2004. Arsenal Pulp Press. page 115-116.
13. ↑ Francis, Daniel. "L.D. : Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver." 2004. Arsenal Pulp Press. page 158.
14. ↑ Wikipedia: L. D. Taylor
15. ↑ Death: "Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993," database, (FamilySearch Record: FL2R-1LD : accessed 19 December 2023), Louis Denison Taylor death 4 Jun 1946 (born 22 Jul 1857), son of Adolfus Gustav Taylor & Denison, husband of Annie Louise Pierce, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; citing Affiliate Film Number: B13190; Digital film/folder number: 004437670; FHL microfilm: 2032422; Record number: 2562; Packet letter: A.
16. ↑ Obituary. The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. 5 June 1946, page 9. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-obituary-for-louis-denison/129683822/ Accessed 8 Aug 2023.
17. ↑ News Clipping. "Picturesque Civic Career Closed with Death of Ex-Mayor L.D. Taylor." The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. 5 June 1946, page 7. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province/129684867/ Accessed 8 Aug 2023.

See Also:

• 1870 Census: "1870 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1870; Census Place: Ann Arbor Ward 1, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: M593_707; Page: 27B
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7163 #27531464 (accessed 8 August 2023)
  Lewis Taylor (12), At School, in Ann Arbor Ward 1, Washtenaw, Michigan. Born in Michigan.

• 1880 Census: "1880 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1880; Census Place: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: 608; Page: 32D; Enumeration District: 223
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 6742 #22831129 (accessed 8 August 2023)
  Louis Taylor (22), single son, Bookkeeper, in household of Amy Taylor (58) in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA. Born in Michigan.

• 1911 Census: "1911 Census of Canada"
  Year: 1911; Census Place: 76 - Vancouver City, Vancouver, British Columbia; Page: 36; Family No: 272
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8947 #574686 (accessed 8 August 2023)
  Louis D Taylor (46), married lodger, Mayor Editor, in household of Oscar Harman (36) in Gromath Holen, British Columbia. Born in USA.

• 1931 Census: "1931 Census of Canada"
  Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Seventh Census of Canada, 1931; Folder Number: T-27368; Census Place: Vancouver Centre, British Columbia, Canada; Page Number: m
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 62640 #6982281 (accessed 8 August 2023)
  Louis D Taylor (71), widowed head of household in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

• Memorial: "Find a Grave," database with images, (Find A Grave: Memorial #84339714 : accessed 19 December 2023), Memorial page for Louis Denison “L. D.” Taylor (22 Jul 1857-4 Jun 1946), citing Forest Hill Cemetery, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA (plot: Block 54 Lot 11 - (cremation) no marker but cemetery records confirm burial here with mother Amy and sister Florence Taylor.); Maintained by J. Colin Clark (contributor 47094715).

• Wikipedia: L. D. Taylor

• Wikidata: Item Q1666897