An American Family History

David Taylor was born on March 18, 1816 in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. His parents were David Taylor and Anna Bolen.

He moved to Shelby County, Ohio with his family when he was a young man and his father died in 1834.

According to the Shelby County, Ohio Probate Court guardianship records, David was nineteen years old on August 24, 1835.  Abraham Taylor was chosen as his guardian and the guardian of his brother Jacob. John Taylor and Reuben Staley were securities.

David married Bethany Winget on December 28, 1848 in Clark County, Ohio. Bethany was born on January 25, 1828 in Mad River Township, Clark County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Caleb Winget and Nancy Shellabarger. Her sister Lucretia married David's brother Richard and her brother Martin married David's sister, Margaret.

David and Bethany's children were Albert Taylor (1850), Mary Jane Taylor Ridgway (1852, married George Ridgeway), Ambrose Taylor (1853, married Clarinda Ridgway), Nancy A. Taylor Larkin (1855), Martha Taylor (1857), George Taylor (1860), Emma Taylor (1862), Frank Taylor (October 22, 1865 to October 5, 1839) and Ida Mae Taylor (1869).

The family appeared in the 1850 census of Mad River Township. The family consisted of  David age 24, Bethany age 22 and Albert who was 8 months. Her mother Nancy Winget age 53, brother Caleb age 19, and Francis M. age 12 were also members of the household. David operated a stage coach station.

By 1860 they were in Knox Township, Jay County, Indiana. They were in Pennville. David was 44, Bethany was 32, Albert was 11, Mary J. was 9, Ambrose was 7, Nancy A. was 5, Martha was 3 and George was 5 months.

Greg Schutz wrote

. . .several years ago, I drove to northern Wisconsin in the dead of winter and sat down with my Uncle, George Taylor Schutz. As he told it to me, Dave Taylor was hauling eggs from Indiana to Pennsylvania when the stage coach flipped over, breaking most, if not all, the eggs. Henceforth, he was known as "Eggy Dave".

Since family legends evolve over time perhaps he was taking eggs from the farm to Pennville since taking eggs to Pennsylvania would have been unlikely.

They were still there in 1870 and 1880. In 1870 the household consisted of David age 54, Bethany age 43, Albert age 21, Mary J. age 18, Ambrose age 17,  Nancy A. age 15 , Martha age 13, George age 10, Emma age 8, Frank age 5, Ida May age 1, and Nancy Winget age 74. The post office was Pennville.

In 1880 the family consisted of David age 63, Bethany age 52, Ambrose age 25, George age 20, Emma age 17, Frank age 14, and Ida M. age 10.

Two of David's children married into the Elihu Ridgway family .

According to Greg Schutz in 1969 his father said

Over ninety years ago my grandfather [George Taylor] was a boyish early settler in St. Croix County [northern Wisconsin]. He left Indiana as a fugitive. He had been playing baseball on Sunday and the law came out to take him into custody on Monday. Grandad was helping to shingle a roof and when the sheriff asked him to come down, he asked if he could get his jacket on the other side of the roof. With the Sheriff's permission he went across the roof, jumped off, ran through a cornfield and joined a group going to Wisconsin. George Taylor, about 14 [probably older since he appeared in the 1880 census with his family], walked and drove a team of horses or oxen, carrying all his belongings to northwestern Wisconsin where he settled and later [June, 1882] married a girl from that same group.

David died on January 14, 1882 in Knox Township, Jay County, Indiana. Bethany died on July 23, 1895. They are buried in what was Quaker Cemetery in Jay County, Indiana. It is now known as the Hillside cemetery, having evolved from the Quaker to the Hillside Quaker to Hillside

Blessed in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

Bethany Winget, daughter of Caleb and Nancy Winget, was born January 25, 1828 and died July 3, 1895, aged 65 years, 5 months and 28 days. Funeral services were held at the M.E. [Methodist Episcopal] church in Camden [N. B. later renamed as Pennville] by Rev. Reed of the U.B. church [United Brethern], after which the remains were interred in the Camden cemetery [N.B. Hillside].

She was married to David Taylor, Dec. 28, 1848, and in December, 1852, they came to Jay county, Indiana, and settled near the farm on which she has since resided. She bore with Christian fortitude the trials and privations incident to a pioneer life and was at all times a helpmeet and comfort to her husband and by their mutual efforts they succeeded in hewing a comfortable home out of what was an unbroken wilderness.  She leaves one sister, two brothers, seven children and one great grandchild to mourn their loss.

Since the death of her husband which occurred Jan. 14, 1882, she has lived only for her children and since the death of her daughter Ida, which occurred March 17, 1894 she has seemed to think her work was done and she only awaited the summons to come up higher. In her early childhood she joined the M.E. and was converted to God."  Rest was unreadable. (obituary from Greg Schutz)

Elihu Ridgway, was descended from one of three brothers who came from England to America and were colonial settlers in Pennsylvania. Elihu Ridgway was born in AVest Virginia, or in what is now the State of West Virginia, June 6, 1799. He married there Nancy Cornwell, a native of East Virginia In 1835 they came to Henry County, Indiana, and made their home in that county about ten years and then went to Jay County. Elihu Ridgway died in 1873. (Indiana and Indianans, Volume 4 by Jacob Piatt Dunn, General William Harrison Kemper)