Kathy Taylor Mills, Annie Taylor Catherman, Pat Kinsella Herdeg, Sue Kinsella, Charlie Hawkes
Mom was sent the flag by Tom and Joan Doran, son of
Florence Taylor Doran, sister to the twins, Floyd and Lloyd. Family lore has it
that our Taylor family created this large flag not long after the Revolutionary
War ended—either in Westport, CT (where three generations of Taylor men fought—Josiah,
Gamaliel and Thomas—see blog story), or
in Wolcott, VT where Thomas Taylor and his wife Mary and children snow shoed in
as the first inhabitants of the area in 1789 (see story here).
So, this flag COULD date back to about 1790.
Our
flag stands out because of its thirteen stars and the fact that the white
stripe tops the flag. Most flags begin with the red stripe.
We have had a textile specialist from the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, NY look at our flag and she says, “I feel the flag dates to 1825 or earlier.” She identified the fiber of all the fabrics in the flag as cotton, and all the stitching as hand stitching. Exciting!
Thomas's son, Gideon Taylor, moved to
"Woodlawn" (Taylor ancestral home outside Batavia, NY) in the later
part of the 1820’s. We do know that the US Census of 1830 has Gideon Taylor in
New York. We also have an 1830 letter mailed to Gideon’s wife Phebe in Batavia,
NY from her sister in Vermont. The flag has traveled with Gideon and his
family.
Note
Flag Hanging on the left-hand side of the House
West
Bethany, NY--4th of July picnic, 1908-1910? LtoR--standing--Emma Jane Carson
Taylor, Jane Livingston Carson (married to William) seated, back row--Edward
Carson, George Carson, Jennie Carson, Floyd Taylor Bertha Carson (married to
Ed), Clara Taylor, Bryant W. Taylor, Blanche Carson?, William Carson, Lloyd
Taylor Seated--front row--Clayton Carson, Ruth Carson, William Carson (son of
Ed), Florence Taylor, Irene Carson
In a 1908 Carson family photograph of a 4th of July picnic, the Taylor Flag is shown proudly hanging from the porch (Emma Carson married Bryant Waller Taylor, son of Gideon). When B.W. died, my grandfather Lloyd inherited the flag. His sister borrowed it, and now Lucille Taylor Kinsella has it. We’ll let you know when we find a home for our Taylor Flag, preferably where it can be preserved and seen by many for its uniqueness and rarity. (Very few post-Revolutionary War Flags from the 1700’s exist.)
Taylor Flag in 1958, Lloyd and Ethel Taylor (top) and in 1968 (bottom picture)
But, for now, we are bringing together
the cousins—to laugh, to tell stories, to eat good food and perhaps see some
fireworks (of all kinds!)—just the kind of celebrations this flag is used
to presiding over. If only flags could talk! Perhaps two hundred and
twenty-five years have passed since it was hand-sewn by people who had just
lived through a cataclysmic war. And, in the years since, it has hung for many
a proud Fourth of July. May it have many more!
