Rheumatoid

Rheumatoid

Richard Taylor (general) – Early life

Richard Taylor was born at the "Springfield" family estate near Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his grandfather, Richard Lee Taylor, a Virginian who had served in the American Revolution. He had five siblings, named Ann Mackall Taylor, Sarah Knox Taylor, Octavia Pannill Taylor, Mary.

Richard Taylor was born at the "Springfield" family estate near Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his grandfather, Richard Lee Taylor, a Virginian who had served in the American Revolution. He had five siblings, named Ann Mackall Taylor, Sarah Knox Taylor, Octavia Pannill Taylor, Mary Smith Taylor and Mary Elizabeth Bliss. Much of his early life was spent on the American frontier with his father Zachary, a United States Army officer. As a young man, he attended private schools in Kentucky and Massachusetts. Although starting his college studies at Harvard University, he graduated from Yale in 1845. He received no scholastic honors, but spent the majority of his time reading books on classical and military history. During the Mexican-American War, Taylor served as the military secretary to his father.

His father sent Taylor away during the war because of his rheumatoid arthritis. He agreed to manage the family cotton plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi, and, in 1850, he persuaded his father (now President Taylor by virtue of his election in 1848) to purchase ''Fashion'', a large sugar plantation in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.

On February 10, 1851, Richard Taylor married Louise Marie Myrthe Bringier (d. 1875), a native of Louisiana, daughter of a wealthy French creole matriarch Aglae Bringier, who would soon help them out financially after the freeze of 1856. Taylor and Marie Bringier would go on to have five children, two sons and three daughters; Richard, Zachary, Louise, Elizabeth, and Myrthe. His two sons, Richard and Zachary, both died during the war after contracting scarlet fever, the loss of which hurt the elder Richard Taylor deeply.

After Zachary Taylor's untimely death in July 1850, Taylor inherited ''Fashion''. Steadily he increased its area, improved its sugar works (at considerable expense), and expanded its labor force to nearly 200 slaves, making him one of the richest men in Louisiana. But the freeze of 1856 ruined his crop, forcing him into heavy debt with a large mortgage on the plantation.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Richard Taylor (general), under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki