Elizabeth "Betsey" Taylor

The parentage of Elizabeth Gentry has been determined from the family tree #3009 of the World Family Trees. The earliest records concerning her can be found in the minutes of Hind's Creek Primitive Baptist Church in the early 1800's, naming her as a member of that Church. After her marriage to Ezekiel Taylor she and Ezekiel were among a group that left Hind's Creek and formed a new church called Mt. Hebron Primitive Baptist Church not too far distant from the area she raised her family after the death of her husband in 1834. According to the 1850 census of Anderson County, Tennessee Elizabeth and her youngest daughter, Sarah, were living in the household of her youngest son and his wife and family, Edmond William Taylor. Her age was listed on that census as fifty four years. Prior to moving into the household of Edmond W. Taylor, Elizabeth had sold land in the Bryam's Fork area to Ezekiel Taylor and his wife, Nancy. This Ezekiel was thirty-one years of age in 1850, and it is firmly believed that he was also the son of the elder Ezekiel and Elizabeth Taylor.

Sometime after 1850 and most likely around 1857, all of the living children of Elizabeth Taylor with the exception of the younger Ezekiel and his family, migrated from Anderson County, Tennessee to Benton County, Arkansas, finally settling near the town of present day Garfield. This fact can be established by the minutes of Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church located south of Pea Ridge, Arkansas near the town of Little Flock. In 1868 a new church was formed south of Garfield called Providence Primitive Baptist Church. The name of Elizabeth can be found as one of the earliest members of this new church. The 1860 census of Benton County, Arkansas makes no listing for any of the Taylor family that was known to have been there prior to the taking of the census and it is the feeling of this author the census taker just missed the households of those early day settlers.

Final documentation of Elizabeth Taylor having migrated to Arkansas from Tennessee can be found in the minutes of Providence Church. A notation in those minutes state she departed this life on August 30, 1872. When Providence Church was established, the first church building was located at the Snodderly Cemetery. This cemetery contains two parts, an older one with many unmarked graves and many broken headstones. The newer part is in much better condition. At the time of her death, Elizabeth had already lost one son in 1865, Garlant, who is buried at Walnut Hill Cemetery, not too far distant from Snodderly Cemetery. At Walnut Hill cemetery immediately south of the grave of Garlant H. Taylor is a grave marked only by a flat rock. In the row of graves immediately to the west the other son of Elizabeth, Edmond and his wife are buried. It would seem reasonable to assume that she would have been laid to rest in the same place as that of her son's and their families, however, her grave can not be definitely established in either cemetery.

The minutes of both Hind's Creek and Mt. Hebron Primitive Baptist Churches make many notations of the surname of Gentry. Issac Gentry was ordained in Hind's Creek and years later was called to pastor Mt. Hebron Church.

James N. Taylor