Lieutenant Charles D. Parker Succeeded by Harrison Ludington | Political party Democratic Name William Taylor | |
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Preceded by Cadwallader C. Washburn Full Name William Robert Taylor Born July 10, 1820
Woodbury, Connecticut ( 1820-07-10 ) Died March 17, 1909(1909-03-17) (aged 88)
Burke, Wisconsin Resting place Hillside Cemetery
Columbus, Wisconsin | ||
William Robert Taylor (July 10, 1820 – March 17, 1909) was an American politician and the 12th Governor of Wisconsin from 1874 to 1876.
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Early life
Taylor was born in Woodbury, Connecticut. He was orphaned at age 6 when his father's ship was lost at sea; his mother had died when he was an infant. Cared for by his neighbors, he then moved with his guardians to Jefferson County, New York.
Career
Taylor moved to Ohio, where he taught school, studied medicine and served in the local militia. He served as president of the Dane County Agricultural Society and the State Agricultural Society after he moved in 1848 to a farm in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. There he was involved with lumbering as well as farming. He was a member of both the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1855 and the Wisconsin State Senate 1859-1860. He was chairman of the city and served as a member of the Dane County Board, County Superintendent of Schools, and County Superintendent of the Poor. He was trustee of the State Hospital for the Insane in Mendota from 1860 to 1874.
Although he was a Democrat, he supported the North during the Civil war and was elected to one term as Wisconsin's governor at the head of the "Reform" or "People's Reform" Party, a short-lived coalition of Democrats, reform and Liberal Republicans, and Grangers. He served as governor from January 5, 1874 to January 3, 1876 paying for his own inauguration and refusing free railroad passes and telegrams.
Death
Impoverished, Taylor died in the Gisholt Home for the Aged in Burke, Wisconsin, on March 17, 1909 (age 88 years, 250 days). He is interred at Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin. Taylor County, Wisconsin is named for him.
Family life
Son of Robert and Mary (Coleman) Taylor, he was orphaned at age six when his father was lost at sea, and was cared for by neighbors. He married Catherine Hurd in 1842 and they had three children; and he married Viola Lee in 1886 and they had one son.