Zachary Taylor Papers, 1774-1850

Author

Staff

Title

Zachary Taylor Papers

Date

1774-1850

Repository

Kentucky Historical Society. Special Collections & Archives. Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-1931

Conditions Governing Access note

Access at KHS only. Use microfilm, transcriptions or images when available.

For microfilmed copies see Clift number(s): 961

Preferred Citation Note

[Identification of item], Zachary Taylor Papers, 1774-1850, 98SC105,Library Special Collections and Archives, Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort.

Extent

13 items, .5 c.f.

Biography/History

Zachary Taylor, twelfth president of the U.S., was born in Orange County, Virginia, in 1784. His family moved to a plantation called "Springfield" in Jefferson County, Kentucky, in the spring of 1785. Taylor was commissioned a first lieutenant in the 7th Infantry in 1808 and saw active service in the War of 1812. He was later stationed at various frontier outposts, participated in the Black Hawk War in 1832 and commanded forces in a campaign against the Seminole Indians of Florida in 1837. During the Mexican War (1845-1847), he won acclaim as the victorious commander of the Army of the Rio Grande. After the war, he was elected president as a Whig candidate and was inaugurated in 1849. Taylor died in office on July 9, 1850, and was buried in Washington, D.C., but was reburied at his family graveyard at Springfield, which is now part of the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of the letters, deeds, and survey, dated 1774-1850, of Zachary Taylor. His letters to Col. James Johnson, William Taylor, Gov. William Owlsey, James Taylor, and Orlando Brown include discussions of his nomination for the presidency, Kentucky politics, financing of the Missouri Expedition, Orlando Brown's resignation from his post as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, business, and personal matters. The deeds transferred land in Woodford and Jefferson Counties, Kentucky, from Taylor to John G. Finnie, Jr. and to William Taylor. The survey for Zachary Taylor (Taylor's uncle), dated 1774, is of land in Kentucky, and was signed by William Preston.

Arrangement: Chronological

Subjects

• Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850 -Correspondence
• Brown, Orlando -Correspondence
• Johnson, James, 1785-1850 -Correspondence
• Owsley, William -Correspondence
• Taylor, William Berry, 1768-1836 -Correspondence
• Presidents -- United States -- 19th century -Correspondence
• Statesmen -- Kentucky -- 19th century -Correspondence
• Politics -- Kentucky -- 19th century
• Deeds -- Kentucky -- Jefferson County -- 19th century
• Deeds -- Kentucky -- Woodford County -- 19th century
• Kentucky --Surveys -- 18th century