Robert was born in 1822, likely in the Stony Battery region of Newberry County, near the current town of Prosperity.  Robert married a Mary Ann while still in Newberry Co. We don't for certain know her surname, but we think it is Harris since her mother went by the name of Sarah Harris in 1850.

Robert had 12 children:

1. William Taylor (b.Abt 1843)

2. Sarah E Taylor (b.1844)

3. Jane Taylor (b.Abt 1847)

4. James Stanhope Taylor (b.Sep 1846;d.1908)

5. Alonzo M Taylor (b.Abt 1849)

6. Noah Taylor (b.Abt 1852)

7. Nancy Taylor (b.Abt 1853)

8. Thomas Carter Taylor (b.10 Feb 1859;d.25 Apr 1932)

9. Jackson H Taylor (b.Abt 1858)

10. Mary M Taylor (b.1856;d.20 Oct 1922)

11. Rufus Taylor (b.Abt 1862)

12. Joseph Taylor (b.Abt 1866)

Printable Book of Descendants

Bloody Lane History of Robert in the  Civil War

In 1850, two years after his father's death, Robert and his family were farming in Newberry Co., SC. He lived next to his brother James, also farming. Robert and his family moved to Columbia Co., FL. Census records would indicate the move was between 1852 and 1856, but pension records indicate 1858. His brother James also moved to a nearby farm in Columbia Co. His eighth child, Thomas Carter Taylor, was the first of his children born in FL.

Robert enlisted in the Confederate Army in the Civil war as a paid substitute, when he was 41. He was in the 5th Florida Infantry Regiment and fought at the 2nd battle of Manassas (Bull Run), at Harper’s Ferry, and at Sharpsburg (Antietam). He was shot in the ankle at Sharpsburg, Md., shattering his ankle. He was captured by federal troops and was imprisoned at a hospital in Baltimore. He came back as part of a prisoner exchange, and was eventually sent to Lake City. FL., his home, to recover. He spent the rest of the war there. He was crippled for the rest of his life from the war wound.

The censuses show him as being a farmer, which was his usual occupation. Many of his children were house painters. Later in life he ran a gristmill at a town called Keno (sp?) in an area that is now Oleano State Park. Based on census entries and other information, Robert stayed in Columbia Co. for the remainder of his life.

Robert Taylor Confederate Pension Applications

Mary died sometime before 1880. On 9 feb 1892, he married Permelia Nobles. He died on the 1st of January in 1897  in Columbia Co. Permelia survived him. We have been unable to locate graves or probate records of Robert or Mary. Permelia is buried in the cemetery of Pleasant Grove Methodist Church south of Lake City in Columbia County. Lake City became the center for the descendants of Robert.

Sometime prior to 1874, James, son of Robert Taylor moved from Columbia Co., FL to Crockett Co., TN (Next to Dyer Co.). He married Fannie C. (Dollie) Roberson (Robertson?) and had two children, Thomas and Rosa. Dolly's mother was a daughter of Peter W. Hawkins and sister-in-law to Isabella, Noah, and Israel. In about 1879-1881 James returned to FL and had more children. In 1900 he can be found in the census with his large family in Columbia Co. His descendants are spread now through various parts of Florida including: Ocala, Winter Haven, and Miami.

Mary M. Taylor married John W. Boatright and farmed at Lake City. Around 1900, John and Mary settled near Arcadia, FL. They began raising oranges for a living. That has been carried in the family until recently. We are in contact with Fred Boatwright, a living descendants of Mary, in Arcadia.

In the late 1880's Thomas Carter Taylor, son of Robert Taylor, moved from Columbia Co., FL to Dyer Co., TN to live with a relative, probably his cousin Fletcher Taylor, Israel's son. While there, he met Susie Barnes and they were married 22 Aug 1893, settling on a farm in Dyer County adjacent to the farm of Susie's parents. Thomas and Susie were my grandparents.