 Mrs. Susan Taylor was born July 6, 1803, daughter of "Fields,"
a half-breed of Scotch descent. Her mother was a Miss Brown,
sister of Judge Brown, prominent in Cherokee history. Susan
Taylor was educated at the Moravian Mission, Spring Place,
Georgia, and moved with the emigration to the Indian Territory in 1839. Her husband,
Richard Taylor, held many prominent positions in the nation, and was second chief when he died, in 1853. The subject of our sketch settled in Tahlequah before there was a residence in that place, and in 1849 built a fine brick residence, one of the first brick buildings in the nation. The building is still in good repair, and is at present known as the National Hotel. Mrs. Taylor left a large family, three of whom are living—Mrs. Anne Daniels, Mrs. Eliza Thompson and Mrs. Francis Butler. Mrs. Taylor was a most remarkable woman, possessing qualities of generosity, charity and benevolence to such an extent that she was beloved and admired by all. She died at the age of sixty-nine years, in 1872, mourned by the entire nation. |