Notes

https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2009/06/ann-savage-taylor.html

Wife Of Declaration Of Independence Signer: George Taylor
Image: George Taylor

And his signature on the Declaration of Independence the Declaration of Independence

Ann Savage was born in Ireland in 1718. Ann’s grandfather came to Pennsylvania from Wiltshire, England in 1684, and became Surveyor General of Chester County, which then accounted for about one-third of the colony. Later, her father served as Chester’s Deputy Surveyor General. Ann’s family belonged to the Society of Friends or Quakers, but she was disowned as a Quaker in 1733 for marrying Samuel Savage, a non-Quaker.

George Taylor was born in Ireland, and came to America in 1716, when he was about twenty years of age, landing in Philadelphia in 1736. He was the son of a respectable clergyman, who gave to his son a better education than other young men received at that time. At his father’s suggestion, George began to study medicine, but the subject didn’t suit him, and he soon set sail for America.

Taylor became the indentured servant of Samuel Savage, who owned Warwick Furnace, an iron foundry outside Philadelphia. An indentured servant was a person who couldn’t pay for their passage to America. The trip was paid by a colonist already living here, and in exchange, the servant worked without pay for five to seven years for the person who paid their way. While some indentured servants were treated like slaves, most were treated like members of the family, and were taught a useful trade.

George started as a laborer, throwing coal into the furnace, but when Savage discovered that George could read and write, he made him a clerk in the counting room of his foundry. Within three years, George rose to bookkeeper-manager of nearby Coventry Forge, which was also owned by Savage.

Samuel Savage died in 1742, and later that year, George Taylor married widow Ann Savage, and took over the entire iron business. In a few years, Taylor’s fortune had considerably increased, and he purchased a large piece of land in Northampton County, where he built a spacious home, and took up his permanent residence there. George and Ann had two children together: a daughter Ann, who died sometime during childhood, and a son James, who was born at Warwick Furnace in 1746.

colonial home
Image: George Taylor House

During this period, George Taylor purchased 331 acres at Biery’s Port, near Allentown, PA. Employing Philadelphia tradesmen, he built an impressive two-story Georgian stone mansion on the east bank of the Lehigh River, about 15 miles west of Easton. The house was completed in 1768, but shortly after the Taylors moved in, Ann fell ill.

Ann Savage Taylor died in 1768, at age 50.

George Taylor continued living in his new house for the next several years, and for a time, leased half of the property for farming. For years, he carried on an affair with his housekeeper Naomi Smith, and they had five children out of wedlock.