HENRY W. TAYLOR, a prominent farmer of Brooklyn township, and an honored pioneer of the county, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in February, 1824, a son of Alexander and Betsey (Scott) Taylor, natives of Pennsylvania; the father died at the age of fifty-five years, and the mother died at the advanced age of eighty years, at Burlington, Iowa. The paternal grandfather, Matthew Taylor, was born in the north of Ireland, of English parents. He emigrated to the United States in 1772, and settled in Pennsylvania; he died in Huntingdon county, at the age of ninety-seven years. His wife, whose maiden name was McIlheny, was born in Ireland, of Scotch-Irish ancestors; she lived to be ninety-five years old. Alexander Taylor came to Ohio in 1810, and cleared a farm out of the heart of the forest. His wife, Betsey Scott, was a daughter of Nehemiah and Mary (Wick) Scott; her father was a native of Long Island, and was a descendant of Scotch ancestry, and the mother of Washington county, Pennsylvania; both died in Trumbull county, Ohio. The Taylor family have been prominent in the affairs of both church and State, possessing great intelligence and culture.

Henry W. Taylor received superior educational advantages, and at the age of nineteen years began teaching school; he followed this profession two years, and then took a course of law in a private school. After his graduation he engaged in practice, but in a short time the California gold fever swept this country, and he determined to go the Pacific coast. He made the journey overland with four yoke of oxen, and was on the way from the 1st of April until October 22. He remained four years, and was engaged in mining during that time.

After his marriage Mr. Taylor lived in Rushville township, and was engaged in operating a lumber yard and building a plank road until 1857, when he sold his entire possessions and removed to Brooklyn township. He developed a farm of 900 acres out of prairie and timber land, made many valuable improvements, and has one of the best places in the county. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is an Elder. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party, he gave his allegiance to that organization, and cast his suffrage for J. C. Fremont. He was Justice of the Peace for sixteen years, was Supervisor for two terms, and has served on the school board. In connection with his large agricultural interests, Mr. Taylor has carried on a mercantile business since before the war, purchasing his first stock in February, 1861. He makes a specialty of raising fine, blooded stock, and has done much to elevate the standard in this section. He is a self made man, and a citizen in whom Schuyler county takes just pride.