William Taylor: Difference between revisions
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{{stub}}[[Image:20090910-Taylor William-Q1B.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Historic Marker on Monticello Avenue. Similar to others on Fontaine and the 250 Bypass.]] | {{stub}}[[Image:20090910-Taylor William-Q1B.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Historic Marker on Monticello Avenue. Similar to others on Fontaine and the 250 Bypass.]] | ||
[[William Taylor]] received a patent from the British Crown for 1,200 acres<ref name=roadesschilling>[http://blog.schillingshow.com/2009/09/03/guest-editorial-ridge-cherrys-non-mystery-history/ Guest Editorial: Ridge-Cherry’s non-mystery history], [[Antoinette W. Roades]], The Schilling Show Blog, 3 Sep 2009 retrieved 13 Sep 2009. </ref> in what is now downtown Charlottesville in 1737.<ref>"Charlottesville History." Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. Web. 10 Sept. 2009. <http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/schwartz/cville/cville.history.html></ref><ref>Virginia Historic Marker Q-1B. 10 Sept. 2009. Raw data. Monticello Avenue, Charlottesville, VA.</ref>, | [[William Taylor]] was a Scotsman who received a patent from the British Crown for 1,200 acres<ref name=roadesschilling>[http://blog.schillingshow.com/2009/09/03/guest-editorial-ridge-cherrys-non-mystery-history/ Guest Editorial: Ridge-Cherry’s non-mystery history], [[Antoinette W. Roades]], The Schilling Show Blog, 3 Sep 2009 retrieved 13 Sep 2009. </ref> in what is now downtown Charlottesville in 1737.<ref>"Charlottesville History." Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. Web. 10 Sept. 2009. <http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/schwartz/cville/cville.history.html></ref><ref>Virginia Historic Marker Q-1B. 10 Sept. 2009. Raw data. Monticello Avenue, Charlottesville, VA.</ref> Colonial Richard Randolph of Henrico later acquired 1000 acres of land, which is now believe to be Taylor's, and conveyed it in trust to Dr. Thomas Walker in 1762 to be sold to Albemarle County to establish a courthouse and county seat.<ref name=woods> ''Albemarle County in Virginia''. Rev. Edgar Woods. Originally published in 1900. Republished in 1964 by C.J. Carrier Company. Pages 6, 302.</ref> One year later in 1763, Walker sold the first town lots for the average price of one acre per pound sterling.<ref name=jarvis> ''A Sociological Study of the Privileged Groups of Albemarle County, The City of Charlottesville, and The University of Virginia.'' Hilda Price Jarvis. A thesis presented to the faculty of The University of Virginia in 1935 for Masters of Science.</ref> The county selected Charlottesville as the new county seat because it was "the center of the population of the county" as opposed to then county seat [[Scottsville]] <ref name=jarvis/>. | ||
Beyond the 1737 patent, Taylor | There has been some controversy surrounding who owned the land that is now downtown [[Charlottesville]]. The Magazine of Albemarle County History wrote in 1947 that "it is not possible to determine definitely from whom Col. Randolph had obtained this land, but it must have been from either [[Nicholas Lewis]] or William Taylor, both of whom owned land in the immediate vicinity of Charlottesville."<ref name=MACH> ''Papers of the Albemarle County Historical Society.'' The Magazine of Albemarle County History. Volume VIII 1947-1948.</ref> However, the Magazine would go on to conclude that "it would seem that this tract of Taylor's more nearly approximated the location of the town than did that of Lewis" considering the adjacent land owners to downtown Charlottesville after its establishment in 1762 were the same as that of Taylor's land in the years prior.<ref name=MACH/> Furthermore, there is no record of what happened to the rest of Taylor's land while Lewis would later transfer a large portion of his tract to his daughter, supporting the claim that downtown Charlottesville stands on Taylor's former property.<ref name=MACH/>. | ||
Beyond the 1737 patent, Taylor sparsely appears in local histories. The only additional appearance of a William Taylor in local deed books records the sale in 1768 of 30 acres in [[North Garden]]. Taylor is described in that document as a planter in that still-rural area.<ref name=roadesschilling/> | |||
Taylor's great-great-grandson Jefferson C. Randolph Taylor at one time owned the Lego property, which was established by Thomas Jefferson as one of his original "quarter farms" along with Tufton and Monticello.<ref name=mead>''Historic Homes of the Southwest Mountains of Virginia.'' Edward C. Mead. Copyright 1898 J.B. Lippincott Co. Published in 1978 by C.J. Carrier Company.</ref>[http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Lego] | |||
==William Taylor Plaza== | ==William Taylor Plaza== | ||
Revision as of 14:15, 18 September 2009
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William Taylor was a Scotsman who received a patent from the British Crown for 1,200 acres[1] in what is now downtown Charlottesville in 1737.[2][3] Colonial Richard Randolph of Henrico later acquired 1000 acres of land, which is now believe to be Taylor's, and conveyed it in trust to Dr. Thomas Walker in 1762 to be sold to Albemarle County to establish a courthouse and county seat.[4] One year later in 1763, Walker sold the first town lots for the average price of one acre per pound sterling.[5] The county selected Charlottesville as the new county seat because it was "the center of the population of the county" as opposed to then county seat Scottsville [5].
There has been some controversy surrounding who owned the land that is now downtown Charlottesville. The Magazine of Albemarle County History wrote in 1947 that "it is not possible to determine definitely from whom Col. Randolph had obtained this land, but it must have been from either Nicholas Lewis or William Taylor, both of whom owned land in the immediate vicinity of Charlottesville."[6] However, the Magazine would go on to conclude that "it would seem that this tract of Taylor's more nearly approximated the location of the town than did that of Lewis" considering the adjacent land owners to downtown Charlottesville after its establishment in 1762 were the same as that of Taylor's land in the years prior.[6] Furthermore, there is no record of what happened to the rest of Taylor's land while Lewis would later transfer a large portion of his tract to his daughter, supporting the claim that downtown Charlottesville stands on Taylor's former property.[6].
Beyond the 1737 patent, Taylor sparsely appears in local histories. The only additional appearance of a William Taylor in local deed books records the sale in 1768 of 30 acres in North Garden. Taylor is described in that document as a planter in that still-rural area.[1]
Taylor's great-great-grandson Jefferson C. Randolph Taylor at one time owned the Lego property, which was established by Thomas Jefferson as one of his original "quarter farms" along with Tufton and Monticello.[7][1]
William Taylor Plaza
- Main article: William Taylor Plaza
William Taylor Plaza is a proposed development named in his honor on Ridge Street and Cherry Avenue.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Guest Editorial: Ridge-Cherry’s non-mystery history, Antoinette W. Roades, The Schilling Show Blog, 3 Sep 2009 retrieved 13 Sep 2009.
- ↑ "Charlottesville History." Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. Web. 10 Sept. 2009. <http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/schwartz/cville/cville.history.html>
- ↑ Virginia Historic Marker Q-1B. 10 Sept. 2009. Raw data. Monticello Avenue, Charlottesville, VA.
- ↑ Albemarle County in Virginia. Rev. Edgar Woods. Originally published in 1900. Republished in 1964 by C.J. Carrier Company. Pages 6, 302.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Sociological Study of the Privileged Groups of Albemarle County, The City of Charlottesville, and The University of Virginia. Hilda Price Jarvis. A thesis presented to the faculty of The University of Virginia in 1935 for Masters of Science.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Papers of the Albemarle County Historical Society. The Magazine of Albemarle County History. Volume VIII 1947-1948.
- ↑ Historic Homes of the Southwest Mountains of Virginia. Edward C. Mead. Copyright 1898 J.B. Lippincott Co. Published in 1978 by C.J. Carrier Company.