Octavia Taylor

Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784, on a plantation in Orange County, Virginia, to a family of plantation owners of English ancestry. His birthplace is believed to be either Hare Forest Farm or Montebello, both estates in Orange County. He was the third of five surviving sons and had three younger sisters. His mother was Sarah Dabney (née Strother) Taylor, and his father was Richard Taylor, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the American Revolution.

Taylor was a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, a Pilgrim leader and signer of the Mayflower Compact, as well as Isaac Allerton Jr., a colonial merchant and colonel. His family was connected to prominent Virginia families, including the Lee family, and he was a second cousin once removed of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and related to James Madison, the fourth president.

In his youth, Taylor's family moved westward from Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky, where he grew up. His childhood included witnessing Native American hostilities during the Northwest Indian War. His family owned extensive land holdings, totaling approximately 10,000 acres across Kentucky, along with 26 slaves tending to his family's plantation operations.

Taylor's formal education was limited and inconsistent during his early years, but he learned reading and writing from his mother and attended local schools in Kentucky. His early letters reflected weaknesses in spelling and handwriting, though these skills improved over time.

He married Margaret Mackall Smith on June 21, 1810. Margaret was from a Maryland family with Revolutionary War roots. Together, they had six children: Ann Mackall Taylor, John Taylor Wood, Sarah Knox Taylor, Octavia Pannell Taylor, Margaret Smith Taylor, and Richard Taylor. Several of their children married into prominent families; notably, Sarah Knox married Jefferson Davis, future president of the Confederate States.

After their marriage, Taylor’s family purchased a house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he engaged in land investments that included properties along the Mississippi River and in Louisiana and Mississippi. He was also a slaveholder, owning significant property, including the Cypress Grove Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi, which he acquired in 1842 along with 81 slaves for $95,000.

Taylor’s military career began in 1808 when he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army. He served as a captain during the War of 1812 and gained recognition for his service in establishing forts along the Mississippi River. He rose through the ranks, entering the Black Hawk War as a colonel in 1832, and earned the nickname "Old Rough and Ready" due to his performance during the Second Seminole War.

During the Mexican–American War, beginning in 1846, Taylor distinguished himself through a series of successful battles, including those at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, which drove Mexican forces out of Texas. He also defeated General Pedro de Ampudia at Monterrey and repelled Santa Anna’s forces at Buena Vista, despite being outnumbered.

In the 1848 presidential election, the Whig Party nominated Taylor for president, despite his limited political experience and unclear ideology. He defeated Democratic candidates Lewis Cass and William O. Butler, as well as third-party candidates from the Free Soil Party and others. Taylor was the first U.S. president elected without prior political office experience.

As president, Taylor prioritized the preservation of the Union and maintained a cautious approach amid partisan tensions, especially concerning the expansion of slavery into territory acquired from Mexico. He suggested bypassing territorial stages for California and New Mexico to draft state constitutions, laying groundwork for the 1850 Compromise.

Taylor's presidency was brief; he died on July 9, 1850, from a stomach disease after serving approximately 16 months—making his term the third-shortest in U.S. history. Following his death, Vice President Millard Fillmore assumed the presidency. Historians generally rank Taylor in the lower quartile of U.S. presidents, citing his short period in office and limited political achievements.