The Taylors settled in Lampasas County, Texas near the present day community
of Kempner. Kempner is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 190 and Ranch Road
2313 on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway and the Lampasas River in
southeastern Lampasas County, D. W. Taylor's explanation for abandoning the newspaper business in Tennessee
is not known. Perhaps it was for the lure of land grants that were being awarded by the
State of Texas during this period. Also there was the possibility of economic prosperity
by raising and driving cattle to the north, based upon supply and demand. One must
remember that the in-laws, the Shanklins, were already in Texas. And lastly he stated the
following in his proposal letter of 1849; In a few days I leave to seek a new home where
I hope to do better than here."'! Whatever the reason, a new adventure on the Texas
frontier was waiting for the D. W. Taylor family.
This writer has no information as to the details of their trip to Texas. Texas
author, Maurene Walpole Liles, in her book, "Rebecca of Blossom Prairie", writes about
her ancestors from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and their trip in an ox-drawn covered wagon
to Texas in the year 1851. They traveled in a caravan of about 17 wagons along the old
Natchez Trace headed to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. One could surmise that the
Taylor family of that same time frame experienced similar conditions.
The wagon master advised Rebecca, who was traveling alone with her children
since her husband had died, that the trip would be at least 700 miles across extremely
rough country before reaching the Red River. They were warned about the many dangers
along the trail such as storms, Indians, broken wagon wheels, robberies, and illness. Yet
in spite of the warnings, Rebecca, as well as so many other pioneers were determined to
The Taylors settled in Lampasas County, Texas near the present day community
of Kempner. Kempner is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 190 and Ranch Road
2313 on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway and the Lampasas River in
southeastern Lampasas County,
D. W. Taylor's explanation for abandoning the newspaper business in Tennessee
is not known. Perhaps it was for the lure of land grants that were being awarded by the
State of Texas during this period. Also there was the possibility of economic prosperity
by raising and driving cattle to the north, based upon supply and demand. One must
remember that the in-laws, the Shanklins, were already in Texas. And lastly he stated the
following in his proposal letter of 1849; "In a few days I leave to seek a new home where
I hope to do better than here."! Whatever the reason, a new adventure on the Texas
frontier was waiting for the D. W. Taylor family.
This writer has no information as to the details of their trip to Texas. Texas
author, Maurene Walpole Liles, in her book, "Rebecca of Blossom Prairie", writes about
her ancestors from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and their trip in an ox-drawn covered wagon
to Texas in the year 1851. They traveled in a caravan of about 17 wagons along the old
Natchez Trace headed to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. One could surmise that the
Taylor family of that same time frame experienced similar conditions.
The wagon master advised Rebecca, who was traveling alone with her children
since her husband had died, that the trip would be at least 700 miles across extremely
reaching the Red River. They were warned about the many dangers
n wheels, robberies, and illness. Yet
mod to
The Taylors settled in Lampasas County, Texas near the present day community
of Kempner. Kempner is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 190 and Ranch Road
2313 on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway and the Lampasas River in
southeastern Lampasas County, 1°
D. W. Taylor's explanation for abandoning the newspaper business in Tennessee
is not known. Perhaps it was for the lure of land grants that were being awarded by the
State of Texas during this period. Also there was the possibility of economic prosperity
by raising and driving cattle to the north, based upon supply and demand. One must
remember that the in-laws, the Shanklins, were already in Texas. And lastly he stated the
following in his proposal letter of 1849; "In a few days I leave to seek a new home where
I hope to do better than here?"! Whatever the reason, a new adventure on the Texas
frontier was waiting for the D. W. Taylor family.
This writer has no information as to the details of their trip to Texas. Texas
author, Maurene Walpole Liles, in her book, "Rebecca of Blossom Prairie", writes about
her ancestors from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and their trip in an ox-drawn covered wagon
to Texas in the year 1851. They traveled in a caravan of about 17 wagons along the old
Natchez Trace headed to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. One could surmise that the
Taylor family of that same time frame experienced similar conditions.
The wagon master advised Rebecca, who was traveling alone with her children
since her husband had died, that the trip would be at least 700 miles across extremely
rough country before reaching the Red River. They were warned about the many dangers
along the trail such as storms, Indians, broken wagon wheels, robberies, and illness. Yet
in spite of the warnings, Rebecca, as well as so many other pioneers were determined to
go to Texas, hoping to find a better life. Many provisions would be needed such as
flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, coffee, smoked hams and bacon, medicines, a cow,
quilts, lye soap, and of course, a large wagon and oxen
At some time after D. W. Taylor arrived in Texas, he acquired a substantial herd
of cattle and sent herds to market at Abilene, Kansas. According to the Lampasas
County, Texas 1860 Census, D. W. Taylor was 38 years of age. His occupation was
stock raising and the value of his real estate was one $1,000. Because of the large
number of cowhands he hired, it became necessary for him to establish a general
merchandise store on TAYLOR CREEK at Kempner; thus called the TAYLOR CREEK
STORE. The first post office in the community was also in the Taylor Creek Store.
Another landmark in the area was TAYLOR MOUNTAIN, now changed to Cheyenne
Mountain with the passage of time. However, the older citizens of the community still
refer to the mountain as the "Taylor Mountain."
In order to provide enough grass for his cattle, D. W. Taylor purchased numerous
parcels of land. On October 6, 1858, he purchased one hundred and seventy-seven acres
in Lampasas County, Texas from Francis Zellner, Milam County, Texas, for the sum of
$77.
On June 30, 1859, Taylor purchased one hundred seventy-seven acres in
Lampasas County, Texas for the sum of $177. from James, Reese A, Mary, and Robert
C. Myers of Lampasas County. This tract of land was granted by the Republic of Texas
to Charles Myers on July 31, 1845.4
Lampasas County was organized in 1856, and D. W. Taylor served two terms as
Chief Justice from 1860 - 1864. His portrait hangs in the present day Lampasas County
Courthouse. ' In 1873, a fire at the Lampasas County Court House destroyed county and
court house records.
During D. W. Taylor's tenure as Chief Justice of Lampasas County, there were
many Indian raids. During the Eighth Legislature of the State of Texas, "Extra Session",
the Legislature approved an act on February 7, 1861, to provide for the protection of the
Texas Frontier." Lampasas was one of the counties included in this act. On September
2, 1861, the Company of Lampasas Minute Men was organized. D. W. Taylor served as
a private under Captain Williamson Jones. Each member of the Minute Men was asked
to have a good horse, a revolver, plenty of ammunition, ten days of provisions, and to be
ready at a moment when called upon!
On September 20, 1861, while Chief Justice of Lampasas County, D. W. Taylor
sent a report to the Governor of Texas, Edward Clark, regarding the Indian depredations
in the area and stated that the call for extra men was necessary for the protection of the
citizens in the county.
On April 14, 1862, Chief Justice D. W. Taylor sent a report to the Adjutant
General of Texas, J. Y. Dashiell, regarding the accountability of weapons issued to men
in Lampasas County during the Civil War. Taylor asked for advice regarding the men
who did not account for their weapons. The arms mentioned were Six-Shooters,
Mississippi Rifles, and Flint Muskets.? According to the 1860 census, there were 604,
215 people living in Texas with an adult population of about 120,000 men. Texas sent a
very large contingent of soldiers in support of the Confederacy and many volunteers
were at home protecting the coast, the Mexican border and repelling Indian raids."
A story handed down by the family is that D. W. Taylor and son, Harry Taylor,
were out looking for hogs and ran into some Indians hiding in the brush. The Indians
shot D. W. Taylor in the hand and shot the horse that his son, Harry, was riding. Taylor
was able to grab his son off the horse and both returned home safely."
The children of D. W. Taylor and Mary Jane Shanklin Taylor were: Charlie,
Harry, Lucie, Gordon, Mary, Fannie, and John Taylor.23
According to an article in the Lampasas Record, Judge Taylor and his family as
well as many other early settlers of the county suffered many hardships and encounters
with Indians. They lived simply, and their homes were not elaborate. Judge Taylor's
home was a log cabin for many years.4
At the age of 35 years, Mary Jane Shanklin Taylor, wife of D. W. Taylor, died on
September 17, 1866. She was buried next to her parents and one brother in the South
Belton, Cemetery in Bell County, Texas."
In 1867, D. W. Taylor married his second wife, Mrs. Margaret Agnes Barker
Porter. Three more children were born to this union; Betty Taylor, Daniel Webster
Taylor II, and Robert Buford Taylor.26
The 1870 Lampasas County, Texas Census lists D. W. Taylor as a stock raiser
and real value as $2,000.
The second son of D. W. and Mary Jane Shanklin Taylor, Harry Morgan Taylor,
and great grandfather of this writer, was born on May 9, 1851, in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee? He lived with his parents at their Kempner home in Lampasas County
where he worked alongside his father in the cattle business.
On January 1, 1872, at Topsey, Coryell County, Texas, Harry Morgan Taylor married
Clara Melinda Arnold. Clara Arnold came to Texas with her parents, W. F. and
Elizabeth Arnold, from Alabama in 1867. W. F. and Elizabeth Arnold were granted a
Preemption Land Grant of 160 acres from the State of Texas on March 24, 1871.
Beginning in 1869, they lived three years on the land and made improvements as required
by this type of grant? The Arnolds settled at the present community of Topsey about ½
mile south on FM 1113. After W. F. and Elizabeth Arnold died, the house and land
belonged to Clara and Harry Taylor.
Harry Taylor's life as a cowboy and trail driver began in 1871 when he drove
herds of cattle to Colorado and Kansas by way of the Western and Chisholm Trails.
Atter the Civil War, there was a great demand for beef cattle in the north. The
thousands of longhorned cattle in Texas to meet this demand provided a source of income
to help the State of Texas to recover from the war. These longhorned cattle which ran
wild in South Texas were brought to America by the Spanish in the 16" and 17'
centuries. In Texas, a longhorn about four years old would be worth three or four dollars.
The same longhorn in the north might be worth about forty dollars. Due to no railroads
leading to Texas, the cattle had to be marched north on the trails which took about three
months to drive the cattle to shipping points in Kansas.?
The following letter written by Harry Taylor that was published in the Rocky Ford
Tribune, Rocky Ford, Colorado, verifies his cattle driving days. In the letter he
reminisced about his days on the trail and life as a cowboy. He stated: "When the writer
of this article was at Rocky Ford for the first time in the year 1871, there were only a
store and a post office. The post office was in connection with the store which was run
7
by a man named Russell. As I read a copy of the Tribune recently, I noticed the great
change that has taken place in 41 years. I was there in '71, '72, and '73, having driven
herds of cattle from Lampasas County, Texas to Southern Colorado. I, with other
cowboys, drove a herd of cattle there for Hill and McGinnis, leaving here on June 13,
1871, and arriving at Rocky Ford about the middle of September. We stayed there two or
three months. Four of us then drove 800 beef cattle over on the Platte River, about 50
miles east of Greeley, Colorado. I was then 18 years of age and enjoyed the life of a
cowboy. We crossed the Arkansas River at Hutchinson, and it was there that I roped
several buffalo calves. We had all the buffalo meat we wanted to eat. Also, I penned a
two-year old buffalo at Dr. Tuttle's Ranch north of Rocky Ford in 1873. Leaving
Hutchinson, the next place we passed was Fort Dodge. A gentleman by the name of Nick
Eaton and I wintered a herd of cattle on Horse Creek during our stay there. There have
been vast improvements and changes in the country since I was there, but no doubt I
could find some familiar spots should I go over the country again. My memory takes me
back to the days of my cowboy life over there. The names of Hopkins and Bingham are
familiar to me, they being ranchmen at that time near Rocky Ford." (Harry Taylor,
Copperas Cove, Texas.)
Mr. R. H. Bingham and Mr. W.B. Hopkins, mentioned in the above letter, were
ranchers and served as pallbearers for their well known rancher friend, Mr. W. S.
Mussett, a pioneer among stockmen of the Southwest.?!
Mr. Nick Eaton (1839 - 1895), also mentioned in Harry Taylor's letter to the
32
Rocky Ford Tribune, was a well known Panhandle rancher:
8
was named for a part-Cherokee trader, Jesse Chisholm, who drove his heavily laden
wagon of buffalo hides to Wichita, Kansas in the year 1866. Cattle drivers followed
these tracks and ruts for 800 miles from South Texas to Abilene, Kansas and to the
railhead of the Kansas Pacific Railway.34
When the Taylors reached Raymond, Rice County, Kansas, D. W. Taylor
became ill and died. D. W. Taylor's death while on the "trail" was just one example of
the hardships of cattle driving. Although the Rice County, Kansas Historical Society was
contacted as well as cemetery associations in the area, no information has been received
regarding his place of burial. A story handed down through the family is that D. W.
Taylor was buried in the area by the Masons. No one is certain. However, one thing for
certain that can be said is that D. W. Taylor "DIED WITH HIS BOOTS ON", working in
the cattle business, the profession he had chosen for his life's work.
On August 18, 1872, from Raymond, Kansas, Harry Taylor penned a letter to his
wife, Clara Taylor, verifying this cattle drive and the illness of his father. In Harry
Taylor's exact words and grammar, he wrote: "My dear wife, it is with pleasure for me
to drop you a few lines to let you know that I am well and in good health and getting
along very well. Clara, I am getting very anxious to hear from you. Darling, if I was just
with you today, I would be happy. Clara, I forgot to tell you that we was camped close to
the railroad. The cars is now passing. I wish that I was ready to get on them to start
home.
Clara, Pa is very sick. I am very sorry to have to tell you that he is sick. He is
having the chills. If he don't get any better, I will start out to sell myself. Clara, I expect
that we will ship some cattle next week some time. If we do I can send you some money.
10
Taylor's death, Laura and Albert Cowan and their two children, W. A. Cowan, Jr., and
Anna Laura Maurene Cowan moved in with Harry Taylor and cared for him.
Harry Taylor's step mother, Margaret Porter Taylor, and second wife to his
father, D. W. Taylor, was born on March 11, 1836. She died on November 25, 1922,
and was buried in the Kempner Cemetery, Lampasas County, Texas. 3 In 1934, a reunion was held in Lampasas, Texas for old-timers who had lived in the area for fifty years or more. Harry Taylor attended and spoke about his early day cattle drives.
Harry Taylor lived on his Topsey ranch and was active until his death on
September 3, 1935.45 According to his 1935 obituary, he had been out riding hard after
cattle during the morning. He came in about 10 o'clock, fell unconscious as he entered
the house and died shortly afterward. Great granddaughter, Maurene Cowan Edwards,
recalled the incident. She stated that Harry Taylor tied his horse to a large oak tree at the
back of the house and was then taken to his room and laid on his bed with the tall
headboard. Once again, like his father, it is fair to say that he "DIED WITH HIS BOOTS
ON", herding cattle on his ranch until the end. The obituary stated that he was an honest,
upright man, a friend to all who knew him, and was an active member of the Baptist
Church. 46
The Taylor home was located on the Copperas Cove Road south of Topsey.
Granddaughter, Clara Vardiman Wooten, said that travelers would often stop to rest at
the Taylor home under the shade of some large oak trees. Clara Taylor often took thick
slices of homemade bread and cold buttermilk to the travelers. She and Harry were
13