Harris Taylor (1807-1852)

This is part 3 of the paper Betty Hamby West presented to the North Alabama Conference Historical Society.

Harris Taylor, the youngest of the three brothers, was the first class leader at Shiloh when he was only twenty years old. He was licensed to preach by the quarterly conference of the Jones Valley Circuit upon recommendation of the society at Shiloh in 1829. Sometime in the interval between 1829 and 1833 Harris changed his residence from Clay, Alabama, to either Talladega or Benton (now Calhoun) county. He was listed as present at the first quarterly conference of the Talladega Mission, later to be known as the Talladega Circuit, in 1833. This was the first quarterly conference ever held on the eastern side of the Coosa River. He is named as one of the leading and active men in the Talladega Circuit between 1833-1845. Described as among its most efficient men, he was associated with this circuit until his death in 1852 (West 463-476). I was puzzled as to why Harris Taylor left the Clay area until research revealed that Francis Self, whose daughter, Nancy, was married to Harris, had purchased land in Benton County (Calhoun) in 1834 and was taxed there in 1844 for 300 acres of land and four slaves. This eastern portion of Creek territory was not ceded to the United States government until 1832. Evidently both Harris Taylor and his father in law both moved into the territory to acquire large tracts of land.

Harris was embroiled in the raging debate over separation that created a crisis in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1844. The General Conference held in New York City that year debated this issue for six weeks, finally asking Bishop Andrew, who owned slaves, to resign his office. This drew much protest from the southern portion of the church. Resolutions were made at quarterly conferences all over Alabama. The quarterly conference for the Jacksonville Circuit, in session at Alexandria Campground, appointed a committee chaired by Harris Taylor to draft a resolution expressing the sense of that conference on the subject of the division of the church north and south. On July 15, 1844, the report of this committee was received and adopted (West 647). The general content of these Alabama resolutions is summarized by W. W. Sweet as follows: "The resolutions ... denounced abolitionism as a 'foul spirit of the pit whose mildew breath' would blast the church of God. Most were violent in their denunciation of the foes and fulsome in their praise of friends. All this found remorse and resentment in the north and the gulf of misunderstanding was thereby made wider" (251).

The final result was that in a called convention of southerners in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 17, 1845, the Methodist Episcopal Church South was created (Sweet 251). The Taylors were probably all involved in this controversy, although Harris is the only one whose involvement is recorded.

Anson West describes Harris Taylor as being "exceedingly popular through Benton and Talladega Counties" (291). The following inscription is found on a large marble slab placed by his friends on his grave:

Rev. Harris Taylor died August 22, 1852, in his 46th year. As a

minister of the gospel he was one of the most faithful and talented

members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Bold in preaching

Bible truths, able in its defense, yet humble in mind, meek and quiet in

spirit; a worthy citizen, a good neighbor, an affectionate husband, a

kind father, a humane master, and a faithful friend; one who practiced

religion in life, and enjoyed its happy effects in death. All that knew

him reverenced and loved him.

The epitaph on this marble slab, surviving 150 years of weathering, may be read today in the old Methodist cemetery in Alexandria, Alabama. Locating this grave of my great great uncle and reading his epitaph was an exciting and inspirational moment for me personally.

The most impressive incident from the biography of Harris Taylor concerns his funeral. This story has been repeated through the generations in my family. Rev. Walter Houston McDaniel preached the funeral at a campground near Alexandria. In eulogizing Taylor, he said:

As far as the eagle, which sits on the summit of the mountain and soars

above the clouds excels the wren which sits on the housetop, so far did

Taylor excel in greatness, wisdom, and oratory Webster, Clay, and

Calhoun. Taylor lived on earth and communed with men and

communed with God, he lived on earth and had a house in heaven.

At that point in the eulogy, according to Anson West, "The audience broke out in a wild burst of shouting, and a singular light broke forth above the altar (p 291). Intrigued by the use of the word "singular" to describe the light, I referred to the New Century Dictionary. Singular is defined there as "being the only one of the kind, unparalleled, or unique, extraordinary, or remarkable." In the oral tradition of my family, this light on the altar at Harris Taylor's funeral has always been understood to be a miraculous manifestation.

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