Early Years in The Pennsylvania Colony
Born in Ireland, Taylor immigrated to the American colonies at age 20, landing in Philadelphia in 1736. According to early 18th century biographies of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, he was the son of a Protestant clergyman. To pay for his passage, Taylor was indentured to Samuel Savage, Jr., ironmaster at Warwick Furnace and Coventry Forge. He started as a laborer, but it is believed that when Savage discovered Taylor had a certain degree of education, he promoted him to bookkeeper.
In 1742, Savage died, and later that year, Taylor married his widow, Ann. Over the next 10 years, Taylor managed the two ironworks. When the Savages’ son Samuel III reached legal age in 1752, the son assumed ownership of the mills under the terms of his father’s will.
The Taylors continued to live at Warwick Furnace until 1755, when Taylor formed a partnership to lease the Durham Furnace in Upper Bucks County. The ironworks, built in 1727, was started by a group of investors who were among Pennsylvania’s wealthiest and most influential men, including James Logan, proprietor of the colony for the Penn family, and William Allen, later Chief Justice of Pennsylvania and founder of Allentown (then Northampton Town).
Read more about this topic: George Taylor (delegate)
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