This is part 5 of the paper Betty Hamby West presented to the North Alabama Conference Historical Society.
William, Isaac, and Harris Taylor presumably were all licensed local preachers, although I could only confirm this for Harris. Anson West writes, "He was a local preacher and associated with the Talladega Circuit until his death in 1852" (475). All three brothers settled in an area where they preached and ministered. William Sweet, in discussing early Methodist Circuit Riders, says: "When a preacher married, it was usually necessary for him to locate, that is, he stopped traveling a circuit and settled down on a farm...and although most of them continued their interest in the church and preached frequently in their vicinity, their names disappeared from the list of active preachers in the 'Minutes' and they then had the status of local preachers" (145). This explains why I could find no Taylors listed in the journals of the Mississippi or Alabama Conferences. The North Alabama area was a part of each of these conferences at different times during the span of their ministry.
The fact that the Taylors settled and remained in one general area during their active years explains the deep affection and reverence their parishioners felt for them. Anson West closes his discussion of their lives and ministry with the following: "Beyond doubt the four sons of George Taylor were men of extraordinary gifts and power, and it is equally certain that God's ear was attent unto the prayers which the Rev. James Axley made for them at their baptism, and in answer to that prayer the Lord God remembered them for good, and upon them put His blessing forever, and with the gifts of the Holy Spirit they were endowed, and extraordinary manifestations attended them (292). Marion Lazenby, extolling the Taylors writes: "No man can estimate the good George Taylor and his wife did, in their own right, and in bringing into the world so useful a family. It was of their kind that Jesus spoke when he said, 'Ye are the salt of the earth' " (141).
As I pondered these tributes to the pioneer George Taylor family, I could visualize a great host of their descendants, both lay people and ministers, all over the North Alabama Conference. One of George and Nancy Taylor's daughters, Catherine, married Elijah Self, who also joined Shiloh Church the year it was organized. He was class leader and local preacher there. Their son, Nathaniel, was an itinerate preacher. He was admitted to the Alabama conference in 1855 while two of his uncles, William and Isaac, were still active (Lazenby 299). Nathaniel died in 1894 (NAC Journal 47). That same year Will Hamby, a great grandson of Isaac Taylor, was licensed to preach in what had become the North Alabama Conference (Lazenby 920). In 1908 he was followed into the ministry by his younger brother and my father, Charles P. Hamby (543). In 1934 while Will and Charlie Hamby were both active in the conference, their nephew, Gene Malcolm Hamby, a great great-grandson of Isaac Taylor, became a member of the conference (757). In 1950, while their first cousin Gene Malcolm was still active in the conference, Charles P. Hamby, Jr. and Warren Candler Hamby were admitted on trial (931). In 1959 Edwin Self, who is a great-great grandson of Elijah Self and Catherine Taylor, was admitted to the conference and is still active in retirement. In 1961, Gordon Ware, also a great-great grandson of Elijah and Catherine, was admitted to the conference where he served faithfully until his death. Warren Hamby, who is still a member of this conference, has been blessed to see his nephew, Stephen Pierce West, ordained; and later his daughter, Jan Hamby Piper, assigned as a student local pastor. Both Steve and Jan are great-greatgreat grandchildren of Isaac Taylor. In researching these dates I discovered that from 1820, when William Taylor was licensed to preach, until the present time, 2002, for 182 consecutive years there has been one or more of the descendants of George and Nancy Taylor among the clergy of the area that is now the North Alabama Conference. There have been thirteen ministerial descendants in all. Praise God for the devotion of these pioneer Methodist ancestors. As Lazenby said, "It was of their kind that Jesus spoke when he said 'Ye are the salt of the earth' " (141).
WORKS CITED
Bryant, Cindy. Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church History. Chalkville, 1983.
Davenport, G.M. "Obituaries: Charles P. Hamby." Alabama Christian
Advocate. February 26, 1952.
Goodwin, Glenda. Interview. 2002.
Hamby, Gene Malcolm. Taped interview. Decatur: 1980.
Joiner, Harry M. Alabama's History the Past and Present. Athens: Southern Textbook Publishers, 1980.
Lazenby, Marion Elias. History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida.
Parthenon Press: 1960.
Self, Hartford T. History of Clay United Methodist Church. Clay, Alabama. Clay UMC: 1993.
Self, Hartford T. Interview. 2002.
Summersell, Charles Grayson. Alabama History for Schools. Montgomery: Viewpoint Publications, Inc., 1970.
Sweet, William Warren. Methodism in American History. New York: The Methodist Book Concern, 1933.
West, Anson. A History of Methodism in Alabama. Nashville: Publishing
House Methodist Episcopal Church South, 1893.
Since Mom died, I have found out more. Actually, Rev. Isaac Taylor was ordained an elder after his name was cleared from the false accusation. This is confirmed in John G. Jones' history of Methodism in Mississippi, who tells of Isaac Taylor barely passing ordination because of his unsophisticated nature. In the 1840's, Isaac Taylor served three charges in Mississippi, which is confirmed by records at the national archives of the UMC. One of these, Brandon UMC in Brandon, MS, is now a thriving, large church. I have confirmed that his name is listed as their pastor in their historical records. In the late 1840's, he then "located" and continued to preach locally in Jefferson County, Alabama.
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