General James Taylor Home

Text

Historical Marker #121 in Newport commemorates the General James Taylor home.

James Taylor, Jr. was born to James, Sr. and Anne Hubbard in 1769. While the family resided in Caroline County, Virginia, James Taylor, Sr. received land for his military service in the Revolutionary War in what is now northern Kentucky. At the time, the Bluegrass State was still considered a county of Virginia. Lured by his father's vast estate, James, Jr. left Virginia in the early 1790s to settle his father’s distant lands.

Upon his arrival, Taylor founded the city of Newport. He married Keturah Moss Leitch in 1795, which tied him into one of the most prominent families in the area. Their union made the Taylor family the most connected in town. The couple had eleven children, of whom only four survived to adulthood. Through his family connections and dabbling in real estate, finance, and manufacturing, Taylor accumulated significant wealth during his lifetime.

During the nineteenth century, Newport grew in population and became a town of culture and trade. In the 1840s, Taylor's grandson developed an area where many of the wealthiest families in the city lived. The area became known as the East Row, and is today the second largest historic district in the state. The Taylor house, built on top of a hill overlooking the Ohio River, is the oldest house in the district.

James Taylor died on November 7, 1848, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate.