| Description | Papers apparently collected together by John Taylor (1825-1904), comprising his private papers and correspondence in addition to papers relating to his family, including his wife Catherine Anne (d. 1895) and his children Francis James Taylor, Alfred Taylor, Christopher William Taylor, and Arthur George Taylor. Also includes correspondence, and papers relating to the settlement of the estate of his uncle John Taylor, London publisher (1781-1864). |
| Administrative History | John Taylor was born on 23rd September 1825, elder son of James Taylor of Bakewell (d. 1863). He was educated at Bakewell Grammar School and later, privately in London. Intended for the profession of solicitor he was articled to Mr W. F. Hoyle of Rotheram. He was admitted as a solicitor and commenced his practice at Bakewell in August 1849. In 1872 he took up residence at Darley Dale. He retired from business in 1879 and removed to Ilkley. On the death of his wife in 1895, he moved to Harrogate, where he died on 20 Jul 1904.
Amongst his civic duties, John Taylor was appointed Clerk to the Justices of the Peace of the Bakewell Division in 1857, a position he held until his death. He helped to found and became a member of the Bakewell Local Board, and on the comencement of the Volunteer Force he supported the formation of a company at Bakewell. In politics, John Taylor conducted the 1868 campaign for Lord George Cavendish. He subsequently organised the Liberal Party in North Derbyshire, and conducted the contest when Lord Edward Cavendish and Mr Cheetham were returned. In 1886 he became the Honorary Secretary for the Liberal Unionist Association for that division. John Taylor became a member of the Moravian Church, and his retirement years were devoted to this cause.
John Taylor was married in October 1850, to Catherine Anne Parker, daughter of Mr Francis Parker of Ickles, near Rotheram, by whom he had seven sons and five daughters: Jane Edith (b. 1851), Francis James (1852-1915), Alfred Hunt (1854-1873), Herbert Brooke (1855-1923), Arthur George (1857-1923), Catherine Anne (b. 1858), Mary Gertrude (1859-1863), Wilson Major (1860-1864), Alice Judith (1862-1946), Florence Parker (1864-1866), John Archibald (1865-1932) and Christopher William (1867-1938). |