Individual Details

"William Taylor was a large land-owner in Duplin County, North Carolina. A few years after the close of the war in 1776, he was murdered by one of his own slaves, named Darby. Darby was arrested, tried and condemned to be burned, which sentence was duly executed in the public square at the county seat." So wrote 82 year old Pauline Craig Hughes in 1908 when she recorded what she knew of her family history. This tantalizing tidbit of information sparked my curiosity, was it true? What kind of person was William Taylor to be killed in this way? Since no personal letters exist to give one an insight on William's personality, it can only be theorized from his name's numerous appearances in historical documents as being similar to the men of his time period and class.

The earliest known record of this William Taylor appears on a land warrant for 200 acres recorded in 1747 in New Hanover County. "At a Council held at Newton 5th March 1746[1747] ... Warrants ... Jonathan Taylor 200 N. Hanover ..." "At a council held at New Bern 23d March, 1747... Read the Petitions of the following Persons for Warrants for Land Vizt ... Wm Taylor 200 New Hanover, Jonathan Taylor 200 New Hanover ... Joseph Taler 300 Johnston ... Granted." (Linder).

Other but similar early dates are claimed for deeds to William Taylor for land that eventually became the site of a Baptist Church. On the north side of Goshen on both sides of Bear Marsh, a large tract in excess of 1,000 acres was granted to William Taylor in 1745. Bear Marsh Baptist Church was built on this tract in 1763, and became the mother church of the Missionary Baptist Churches in North Duplin. William Taylor was granted 100 acres in 1754, and 560 acres in 1762. (Moore, 1991)

Further land transactions in New Hanover County for Jonathan and William Taylor occurred in March 1747/48 when Jonathan Taylor entered for another 200 acres on Bear Marsh and William Taylor also entered for 200 acres three days later on Goshen Swamp near Jonathan Taylor's line (Linder). In a 1749 transaction Jonathan Taylor Sr states that he received 20 pounds from William Taylor for about 300 acres on the north side of Goshen Swamp. "To all to whom these Presents shall come Greeting, know ye that I Jonathan Taylor, Senr. of New Hanover County ...Planter for & in Consideration of the sum of Twenty Pounds Procl. Money... paid by William Taylor of the County...afsd. Planter...have ...sold...unto him the sd. William Taylor ... one Messuage or Tract of Land taken up and Patented by Jonathan Taylor, Senr... April 29th...1745 it being the sd Land where sd. Jona. Taylor now liveth on, Beginning at a Pine... Containing by Estimation Three Hundred Acres it being the uppermost part ... In Witness whereof I the sd. Jonathan Taylor have hereunto set my had & seal this Eighteenth Day of August ... 1749. Witness: Edwd. Rawlins, Lewis Powell.

Since colonial law required men to be 21 before owning land, William's birth must have occurred before 1726. Research by Fletcher Freeman says it's likely he was born about 1722/25, probably in Bertie County, North Carolina. The land acquisitions of Jonathan and William alongside each other and at the same dates suggests that William and Jonathan are related but does not provide direct proof of what kind. Bill Linder had speculated in his research paper that since William Taylor and Jonathan Taylor, [Sr.], are connected in many land purchases that they were brothers. But Freeman's research into Jonathan Senior's earlier land transactions in Perquimans and Bertie Counties shows that his birth was circa 1690. Jonathan Taylor Sr. had moved from Bertie to what would become Duplin in the early 1740's, while it was still a part of New Hanover County, settling on Goshen Swamp. This age difference supports a father son relationship rather than brothers. Though it must be stated that Jonathan was used in succession many times in the Taylor family and there does appear to have also been a brother of William with the name Jonathan. Brother Jonathan moved to Dobbs Co in 1776 according to a deed (Freeman).

William's beginnings established him in the landed colonial class. His status as a wealthy planter can be surmised by his numerous land transactions. Following the first one in 1747, in the early Duplin deeds, preserved in Sampson Co., we find that on May 14, 1752, William Taylor sold for 7 pds. to John Rogers 73 acres on Goshen Swamp at the mouth of "Bear Guarding" Branch (2:160, witnessed by William Goodman, James Blount). On March 11, 1756 he sold for 12 pds. to William Rogers 127 acres on Goshen Swamp (2:381, witnessed by Samuel Bennett, John Rogers). William sold another 100 acres on Goshen at the head of Bearskin Branch to William Rogers Jr. on Feb 7, 1767 (1:241, witnessed by William Goodman, Jr., John Rodgers), but had patented other land in the area in the meantime. On Sept. 28, 1754 he received a grant of 100 acres on the north side of Goshen Swamp joining John Rogers (Land Grants, 15:64). On Sept 1, 1759 he received a grant of 200 acres there (16:316), and on Oct. 22, 1762 he obtained a grant of 560 acres on the north side of Goshen, joining his own line, Denis Foley and Jonathan Taylor (15:430). Jonathan Taylor, Sr. had sold the other part of his grant of Dennis Foley, and on Feb. 19, 1773 Richard Blackledge, a merchant of Craven County sold for 73 pds. to William Taylor 300 acres on Goshen Swamp, beginning at William's line, being a part of the tract granted to Jonathan Taylor in 1745 (3:447) (Freeman).

Sometime circa 1750 William wed Catherine Barfield. They had a daughter named "Tebeth" before 1754 as both Catherine and Tebeth Taylor are mentioned in the 1754 will of Richard Barfield, "I leave my Darter Cathren Taler Seven shillings...I leave to my Grand Daughter Tebeth Taler One yeo." Daughter Mary must have been born shortly after this date as she is not mentioned in the will. "Tebeth", Mary and Elizabeth are the only names that have been found in Duplin records, if they had any other children they must not have lived. It has been said that Tebeth is a variation of Elizabeth and therefore the Elizabeth that married John Rhodes in 1786 is the same woman. If true, Elizabeth was age 32 when she married. This seems old to me for a first marriage of a well-off young lady of that time period.

Mary was married about 1772 to James McCulloh. James was a large landowner near William on the south side of Goshen Swamp on Bear Swamp. The Sampson County Deed Records (Deed Book 6, p. 183) has a deed dated January 28, 1773 in which William Taylor of Duplin gives four slaves, Dinah, Hanna, Peggy and Peter to his son-in-law James McCulloh and wife Mary, for the benefit of their children. He also recorded a Deed of Gift to James McCulloh, Mary's husband, on 28 Jan 1776. William Taylor to James McCulloh his "loving son in law"...four slaves " ---h Milley (?) old Peggy and Peter." William Taylor witnessed in September 1778 when his son-in-law James McCulloh made a deed of gift of these same slaves to his children, Penelope, Catherine and Henry, of his beloved wife Mary.

Three different William Taylor's are found in North Carolina military records during the American Revolution. Two were younger men, about nineteen and 36, who served as minute men on the continental line. The William Taylor married to Catherine Barfield was an older man in his early fifties who served as a captain in the North Carolina Militia (Tew). Since this William was an older, prominent land owner, it is possible that he was the William Taylor who served on committees that governed his district and formed a constitution.
---------------------
ORDINANCES OF CONVENTION, 1776
An Ordinance for appointing Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, and Constables for the several Counties of this State, for erecting County Courts for the purposes of holding Sessions of the Peace and putting into execution the laws relative to Orphans, Guardians and highways until provisions shall be made by the General Assembly of this State for the same. . . . John Sampson, William Houston, Thomas Rutledge, Richard Clinton, James Kenan, William Ball, William Dixon, Thomas Hix, Robert Dickson, Richard Herring, William Taylor, and James Lockhart, Esquires for the County of Duplin; . . . (Walter Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, Vol. XXIII, Page 993.)

The delegates to Halifax, 12th November, 1776, which formed our Constitution, James Kenan, Thomas Gray, William Dickson, William Taylor and James Gillaspie.
-----------------------

William's wealth and political position made him a target during the war. Pauline Craig Hughes recounts a family story of Catherine Taylor having to deal with marauding soldiers. "During the Revolutionary War some British soldiers, accompanied by a gang of Tories, made a raid on the Taylor plantation. As her husband William was some miles away watching his valuable horses which he had hidden in a dense swamp, Catherine had no one to defend her against the insolence of the soldiers, and they pillaged to their hearts' content. One soldier attempted to take some bedclothes, but Catherine clung to them and told him that he should not have them as they were needed for the comfort of her grandchildren who were then sick with measles. The soldier drew his sword to intimidate her, but she resolutely held on until an officer ordered the soldier to desist. During the fracas Catherine's mother, who was very old and feeble, became so frightened that she shook as with an ague. Before taking their leave the soldiers collected the large flock of sheep belonging to the plantation, intending to take them all away, but on Catherine's remonstrating and proposing to give one sheep to each officer and soldier, the officer in command agreed to her proposition, and selecting a sheep apiece they retired. One soldier, however, took a lamb extra." The grandchildren in the story must have been the three children of daughter Mary; Penelope, Catherine and Henry McCulloh, as Elizabeth had not yet married. Pauline Hughes also commented of James McCulloh that, "His first wife Mary died when their children were quite young, they were raised by her mother, Catherine Taylor." Possibly the grandchildren were living at the Taylor plantation by that time. This account also says that Catherine's mother was still alive and living with the Taylor family. No mention of her was made in her husband Richard Barfield's will of 1754, and it was assumed she had died before that date.

By 1779 , it appears that Elizabeth was his only living child as William Taylor began to leave large bequests only to her. To his unmarried daughter Elizabeth he made deeds of gift, intrusted to him, of all his slaves and land, the land consisting of 600 acres on the north side of Goshen, 100 acres on the north side of Goshen and 360 acres on Goshen and Bearskin Swamp (Duplin 1A:469). She soon thereafter married John Rhodes, and this is the same land on which John Rhodes gave a lifetime lease to widow Catherine Taylor on April 23, 1787 (1A:407, witnessed by Samuel Bowden, Frans. Oliver).

William made one last purchase, when on Nov 1, 1784 Baker Bowden (Bourden) of New Hanover sold for 12 pds. to William Taylor of Duplin 500 acres on the north side of Goshen Swamp and Bear Marsh joining Jesse Barfield and Thomas Taylor (1A: 237, witnessed by Samuel Bowden, James Standley).

William Taylor's life was ended on March 13, 1787 by an axe blow to the head. The reaction to this deed was swift. Two days later, on the 15th, a special court was held for the trial of two of Taylor's slaves, Darby and Peter, for his murder. The court, all "owners of Slaves & unexceptional according to Law" sentenced the two for punishment the following day.
"The said Negro, Darby, did confess that he did on the 13th day of Inst. March feloniously & maliciously & wilfully murder William Taylor by striking him on the head with an ax into his Brain, of which wound his said Master instantly died; Court Ordered Darby immediately committed to Goal under a good guard & on tomorrow between one & four o'clock in the afternoon he be taken out & tied to a stake on the Court House lott & there burned to death & to ashes & ashes strewd upon the ground.
Said Peter, age about 14, did confess that he was present when his Master, the said William Taylor, was murdered & that he did aid & assist his brother, Darby, in commiting said Murder; Court having taken into consideration the youth of said Peter & considering him under the influence of his older brother, Darby, passed the following sentence; said Peter be committted to Goal & remain under good guard till tomorrow & then between one & four o'clock be taken out & tied to a post on the Court House Lott & there to have 1/2 of each of his ears cut off & be branded on each check with the letter M & receive 100 lashed on his bare back."

Harsh as this punishment sounds by today's standards, in colonial America the death penalty was used less extensively than in England, the country its laws were modeled after. Lacking long-term prisons and relying heavily on its available labor force, colonists made use of fines and mutilations instead of death in sentencing some crimes ( Levinson, 153). Peter's youth and usefulness as a laborer thus spared him the fate of his brother.

Duplin County Estate Records 1779 - 1930 reflect an estate for William Taylor in 1787 naming John Rhodes in right of his wife and James McCulloh in right of his wife and a widow, Kathrain Taylor, who is administrator with John Rhodes. In the William Taylor File for 1798 there is an indication that the lands are to be divided between John Rhodes and Henry McCulloh's heirs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following are deed abstracts for this William Taylor:

Excerpts from Colony of North Carolina Land Patents -

Crown to: (William Tryon, Royal Governor) Patent Book 20

(p 197)
2592 pg. 591 John Gibbs 11 December 1770 100 acres in Duplin on the N, side of Goshen Swamp and on both sides of Cowhole Swamp, joining WILLIAM TAYLOR, Uriah Blanchard, John Rogers, and Burches Line at the Calfhole

Crown to: (Josiah Martin, Royal Governor) Patent Book 22

(p 347)
4608 pg. 263 Stephen Herring 24 May 1773 350 acres in Duplin on the S. side of Goshen Swamp, joining the head of Gravelly branch, Herring's own land, a pond, Samuel Ward, Henry Cannon, WILLIAM TAYLOR, John Stuckey, the dividing branch, William Dickson, and John Wright

(p 348)
4616 pg. 265 WILLIAM TAYLOR 24 May 1773 90 acres in Duplin on the N. side of Goshen Swamp, joining Taylor's own line, John Gibbs, John Rogers, and Bear Marsh

Crown to: (Josiah Martin, Royal Governor) Patent Book 26

(p 633)
8373 pg. 19 Jesse Brock 22 July 1774 100 acres in Duplin on the N. side of Goshen Swamp on the Mill branch, joining WILLIAM TAYLOR and William Parker


Excerpts from Duplin Deeds, Book 1A -

(p. 12)
p. 141 Frederick Glisson to Jesse Brock, both planters of Duplin Co., 6 Dec 1783, for 20 pds. 100A on the NS of Goshen Swamp on the Mill Branch, beg. at a black gum by the run in sd. branch, to a stake on WILLIAM TAYLOR'S line, to a pine on William Parker's line. Wit: John Swinson, John Rogers, Apr. Ct. 1785

Duplin County, NC - Deed & Land Records
1A p. 237 BAKER (B) BOWDEN (BOURDEN) of New Hanover Co., planter, to WILLIAM TAYLOR, planter of Duplin Co., 7 Nov 1784, for 12 pds. specie 500A on the NS of Goshen Swamp & on the head of Bear MARSH Branch, beg. at 3 pines on JOHN WHITEHEAD'S line & sd. TAYLOR'S corner, to a bay in the Huckleberry Pond on WESTEN'S line, to a pine in the head of Bear Marsh Branch, with BURREL BRANCH'S line, to JESSE BARFIELD'S corner, to a stake on THOMAS TAYLOR'S line, to a pine on JOHN WHITEHEAD'S line. Wit: SAMUEL BOWDEN (BOURDEN), JAMES STANDLEY. Jan. Ct. 1786.


(p. 30)
p. 334 WM. (WILLIAM) TAYLOR of Duplin Co., planter, to his dau. ELIZABETH TAYLOR of Duplin co., 3 June 1779, for "natural love & affection" all that messuage or tenements, tract or tracts of land, with all houses, out houses, lands & c. Wit: William Goodman, John Gibbs, Henry goodman. Apr. Ct. 1787.

p. 335 WM. (WILLIAM) TAYLOR of Duplin Co. to his dau. ELIZABETH TAYLOR of Duplin Co., 3 June 1779 , the following slaves, goods, & chattels: one negro man named Arthur, one named Darby, one mulatto girl Ama, one negro girl Silva, one named Geaney, & one half of stock of every kind & one half of household goods & working tools. Wit: William Goodman, John Gibbs, Hery Goodman. Apr. Ct. 1787

(p 33)
p. 372 Reuben Weston, planter, to Samuel Bowden (Bourden), taylor, both of Duplin Co., 4 Apr 1785, for 50 pds. specie 320A on the NS of Goshen Swamp & on the ES of Bear Marsh Branch, joining & between the lines of Moses Tyler, John Winders, Henry Holley, & Thomas Bradley, being part of a tract of 520A granted to the sd. Weston 28 Feb. 1775. Wit: WM. TAYLOR, Joshua Chamblee. Apr. Ct. 1787.

(p 42)
p. 459 WILLIAM TAYLOR, planter, to his dau. ELIZABETH TAYLOR, both of Duplin Co., 14 Jan 1779, for 100 pds. proc. 1,060A in 3 tracts: (1) 600A on the NS of Goshen Swamp; (2) 100A on the NS of Goshen Swamp, beg. at a black oak John Roger's corner; (3) 360A NS of Goshen Swamp joining other lines of sd. WM. TAYLOR, beg. at a white oak on Goshen Swamp near Rogers' corner, to Bearskin Branch, to the head of Poley Bridge Baranch, with sd. TAYLOR'S other line, to a pine in the side of Goshen Swamp. Wit: William Goodman, John Gibbs, Oct. Ct. 1787

p. 462 "Duplin County. Be it remembered that the sd. WILLIAM TAYLOR is to be ever intrusted with the two deeds of gift from him to his daughter for land and negroes, goods & chattels & that the intent of the said deeds is to invest a proper and lawful right to hur of the land negroes goods & chattels, at or after his death, no wise debaring the said WILLIAM TAYLOR of using or altering ye the deed or deeds at his will and pleasure or selling or giving any part or all of ye premises mentioned in the deeds aforesaid, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this"
Wit: Willm. Goodman
John Gibbs ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Henry Goodman



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
The following are deed abstracts that probably belong to other William Taylor's, not this one.
Note the mention of a William Taylor, Jr. and another William Taylor deceased by 1775 -

Excerpts from Colony of North Carolina Land Patents.

Crown to: (William Tryon, Royal Governor) Patent Book 18

(p 22)
271 pg. 183 James Moore 28 October 1765 300 acres in Mecklenbugh on the waters of the S. fork of fishing Creek on the Crabtree Branch - including a large Meadow on the Waggon road, joining WM. TAYLOR

Crown to: (Josiah Martin, Royal Governor) Patent Book 20

(p 253)
3343 pg. 718 Thomas Brown 18 November 1771 50 acres in Bladen on the S.W. side of Ashpole or Tadpole Swamp, joining WM. TAYLOR and Charles Banfield

(p 262)
3461 pg. 738 WILLIAM TAYLOR 22 November 1771 200 acres in Dobbs on the S. side of Trent river and (on the) N. side of Beaver Dam Swamp, joining John Williams, Wm. Cole, and Joseph Taylor

Crown to: (Josiah Martin, Royal Governor) Patent Book 22

(p 404)
5372 pg 416 James Campbell and WILLIAM TAYLOR 22 July 1774 580 acres in Cumberland (on the) lower side of upper little River, joining Stewarts Creek, William West, Robert Smith, John Trewit, Martin Trantham, Daniel Clark, and Archibald McDougald

Crown to: (William Tryon, Royal Governor) Patent Book 23

(p 441)
5872 pg 83 WILLIAM TAYLOR, JR. 24 October 1767 200 acres in Pitt county on the S.W. side of Creeping swamp, joining the side of the sd. swamp above the great branch

(p 446)
5937 pg. 95 Isam Lane 26 October 1767 500 acres in Dobbs county between great Contentny and Nuce river at the head of the E. prong of Bair creek, joining WM. TAYLOR, (a point) near marks old path, William Ham, and Wm. Brierly

(p 536-537)
7143 pg. 352 WILLIAM TAYLOR 22 December 1768 640 acres in Dobbs on both sides of S. W. Creek, joining Humphrey Williams, the mouth of great horse Branch, and the head of a Meadow on Deep run

Crown to: (Josiah Martin, Royal Governor) Patent Book 25

(p 569)
7546 pg. 96 James McKeithan 4 March 1775 50 acres in Cumberland, joinig the River bank, Land patented by James Trotter (now possessed by the Widow of WILLIAM TAYLOR decd.), and McKeithan's line (of land) patented by Forbes

(p 596)
7913 pg. 221 WILLIAM TAYLOR 11 March 1775 100 acres in Bladen, joining the Top of a hill near the Persimmon Ford on the N. E. side of Archd. McKissacks Mill Branch of Tadpole or Ashpole

7914 pg. 221 WILLIAM TAYLOR 11 March 1775 100 acres in Bladen on Mill branch S. of Ashpole or Tadpole Swamp, joining a small branch above the Mill

(p 614)

8168 pg. 308 John Coart 11 March 1775 200 acres in Dobbs, joining JOHN TAYLOR, George Harper, and WILLIAM TAYLOR

Crown to: (Josiah Martin, Royal Governor) Patent Book 26

(p 647)
8591 pg. 79 WILLIAM TAYLOR and Archibald McNair 25 July 1774 500 arcres in Cumberland on the Branches of Black Mingo, joining the flat branch, Joseph Dickson, Stoney Run, and Duncan Campbell above the main road

(p 664)
8845 pg. 150 WILLIAM TAYLOR 25 July 1774 400 acres in Bladen on Messur's Branch W. of Pugh's Little marsh

(Census and Tax list notes sent by Dee Thompson, April, 2000)
There is not a William Taylor in the 1790 or 1800 census of Bladen, nor the 1763 Tax List. There is a deed (#4), of a William Taylor purchasing 50 acres in Bladen from Thomas Brown in 1771. The deed does not specify where Taylor was from, although it does say that Brown is "of Bladen" (usually this deed book says "both of Bladen" or " of same"). In # 10, there is a Wm. Taylor in Bladen in 1784, but none in Duplin. In 1790, as I said, there is no William Taylor in Bladen, but there is one in Duplin and also one in Dobbs in 1780 (none in Pitts) In other words, the three William Taylors were not in the same county at the same time. (At least as taxpayers).

William Taylor, Tuscarora Indian??
By Fletcher Freeman
Our William Taylor, father of Elizabeth Taylor McCulloh may be the William Taylor who signed several deeds as a member and chief of the Tuscarora Tribe.
In 1717, the NC Council created the Indian Woods Reservation for the Tuscarora in a Treaty with Chief Tom Blount.  It consisted of “all the land lying between Mr. Jones’ lower land on  the North side of the Moratoc River (Roanoke) to Quitsana Swamp”  Two towns were created, one of which was “Resootska” or King Blounts’s Town.  This reservation was approximately 60,000 acres.  It was not specifically defined until 1748 at which time it was delineated from Quitsana Swamp north to Rocquist Swamp, west to Falling Run Creek/Deep Creek and south to the Roanoke River and back to Quitsana.
William Taylor was the son of Jonathan Taylor and wife Catherine.  He is thought to have been born around 1722/25 in Bertie County, NC. Jonathan Taylor was listed on the 1718 & 1719 Perquimans Tithables with only 1 tax.  This means he was at least 16 at that time but had no other 16 year old males in his household. Jonathan purchased 300 acres on the East side of Quitzna Swamp and north of the Roanoke River in 1721 from James Williamson who was listed 2 persons below Jonathan on the 1718 Tithables list so they must have been neighbors in Perquimans.  If you look at the Mosely Map of 1733, this land would have been adjacent to the Tuscarora Indian Town named “Resootikeh.”  This was also close to the home of James Castellaw. In fact James Castellaw witnessed a Power of Attorney for Jonathan Taylor in 1728.  One of James’ children, John Castellaw, married a Tuscarora Woman named Martha Butler.  Another child, Sara Castellaw, married Jesse Barfield and was the mother of Lewis Barfield who married William Taylor’s granddaughter, Katherine McCulloh.
Before moving to Bertie County, Jonathan and Catherine lived on Indian Creek, a tributary of the Yeopim River in Perquimans County, just east of the Chowan River. According to maps showing the earliest Indian Towns dating to the 1500’s and early 1600’s, this was the location of an Indian Town called “Mascoming.” Hence it would appear that Jonathan Taylor moved from the site of one ancient Indian Town to an Indian Reservation.
James Castellaw purchased land on the south side of Cashy River in 1721 from William & Mary Jones and land on the north side of Roquist swamp from John Williams.  James Castellaw was married to a Sara Williams.  Sarah Williams Castellaw had an Uncle named William Williams and a cousin, born in 1704, named William Williams.
On Feb 1, 1737 Jonathan Taylor sold land on the north side of Morratuck River, adjacent to Edward Mosely.  This deed was witnessed by Thomas Whitmell.
In 1739 Chief Tom Blount, Head Chief of the Tuscarora died and was replaced by a James Blount. In 1769 a James Blount acquired 150 acres in the Mt. Olive quadrant of Duplin County, according to the Byrd map of Duplin land holdings.  In fact, a James Blount witnessed a Duplin County deed from William Taylor to John Rogers in 1752.  All 3 of these names appear on the 1765 lease by the Tuscarora mentioned below.
In 1742 Jonathan Taylor, legatee of George Clark Glover, sold land on the south side of Rocquis Creek to Thomas Blount and Thomas Whitmell.
In 1745, Jonathan Taylor moved to New Hanover County, NC in a part that later became Duplin County.  William Taylor apparently moved with him and there is a deed in the Duplin records from Jonathan Taylor to William Taylor.
Also in 1745 a William Williams purchased 640 aces in New Hanover County.  This land was near William Taylor, according to the Byrd map of Duplin land holdings.
In 1748, a Thomas Castellaw purchased 200 acres in New Hanover County, (currently the Mt Olive quadrant of Duplin) and then in 1764 he purchased another 70 acres and another 188 acres.  Sarah Castellaw Barfield had a brother Thomas Castellaw.  Their sister in law was Martha Butler, a known Tuscarora woman.
The Mosely Map of 1733 shows Quitzna, Roquist Swamp and Roanoke River and their relation to the Tuscarora Indian Town.  Another Map shows the Indian Town and the location of the Taylor Family.
Algonkian Villages in 1733
1. Poteskeet – Currituck County; 2. Yeopim (Weapemeaoc) – Pasquotank (now Camden) County; 3. Chowan – Chowan (now Gates) County; 4. Mattamuskeet – Hyde County; 5. Hatteras (Croatan) – Currituck (now Dare) County.
(Note, the above map and legends are courtesy http://www.ncgenweb.us/hyde/ethnic/algonqin/moseley.htm)
In 1748 a William Williams, Thomas Pugh, Willie Jones, Simon Turner and Zedekiah Stone were appointed “commissioners” for the Tuscarora. (Could Williams be related to Sarah Williams Castellaw, wife of James Castellaw?)
September 20, 1750 a Thomas Pugh sold 150 acres in Duplin County to a William Taylor. The Byrd maps of Duplin County land transactions show a 150 acre tract acquired by our William Taylor in 1754. It is surrounded by lands later acquired by Lewis Barfield, his grandson in law.
March 29, 1753 at a Council Meeting held at New Bern, Thomas Whitmell, John Hill, and William Taylor were appointed by the NC Government to investigate a Tuscarora complaint about a questionable land deal involving Humphrey Bates. (New Bern is located at the confluence of the Neuse River and the Trent River just northeast of New Hanover County and far south from Bertie County.) The land deal involved 300 acres on the Indian Woods Reservation supposedly given to William Charlton by Chief Tom Blount and then sold by Charlton to Bates. As you will see below, Jonathan Taylor, father of William Taylor, knew and had business dealings with William Charlton and Henry Bate as well as Whitmell and Pugh.
November 23, 1763, Sarah Hunter, John Hill and Wm. Williams, executors of the Estate of Henry Hunter in Bertie County pay money to William Taylor and collect money from a Mr. Whitmell.  (Henry Hunter was married to Sarah Whitmell, daughter of Thomas Whitmell II.  Sarah Whitmell Hunter was sister to Thomas Whitmell III, born 1713, died 1779.  Another Whitmell sister married Col George Pollock, another married Henry Bate, and another married Francis Pugh.  Henry Hunter and Jonathan Taylor were involved together in the division of the Estate of John Coward in 1737. Jonathan Taylor also witnessed a deed for John Coward in 1737 involving land adjacent to William Charlton, interpreter for Chief Tom Blount)
1766, a William Taylor was named as a Tuscarora Indian in a lease of 8,000 acres to a William Williams and Thomas Pugh and Willie Jones. This leased land was part of the Indian Woods Reservation. Also named as a tribal member was a John Rogers.  Our William Taylor lived next door to a man named John Rogers in Duplin County. In fact, our William Taylor sold land to John Rogers in 1752 in a deed witnessed by a James Blount.
On January 11, 1769 the English Government approved the lease signed by William Taylor, Thomas Blount, John Rogers and other chiefs of the Tuscarora Tribe to William Williams, Thomas Pugh, and Robert Jones.
Thomas Whitmell was an Indian trader who also acquired Tuscarora Indian lands in a later deed.  According to his will, he lived on the “Kesia” river.  This is probably the same as the “Cashy” near where James Castellaw lived and where Jonathan and William Taylor lived.  According to the Livingston book on the Tuscarora (1752 date), Thomas Whitmell was one of the richest Tuscarora Indians.  In 1733, a Thomas Whitmell witnessed a deed from Jonathan Taylor selling land on the north side of the Roanoke River, probably on or near the Tuscarora reservation.
The Barfields were related to the Taylors.  William Taylor married the daughter of Richard Barfield.  Richard’s grandson Frederick (son of Jesse Barfield and Sara Castellow) married a Susannah Williams in 1779.  Susannah was the daughter of a William Williams.  Furthermore, their daughter, Susan Barfield, married a Needham Bryan around 1800.  The 1761 Bertie county Deed records reference land next to a Capt. Needham Bryan, the Tuscarora Indian, Roquist Pocoson.  It appears that the Bryan Family had Tuscarora blood and that the Barfields married into it.  They may have had other Tuscarora blood – Williams, Taylor, etc. In addition, Sara Castellaw was related to the Williams and one of her brothers married a Tuscarora woman, Martha Butler.
There is a 1724 reference to Barfields Landing along the Meherrin River leading into the Chowan River.  This was originally Cotton’s Landing and is now known as Tuscarora Beach.  Another coincidence????  It is also close to the original site of the Chief Village of the Chowan Indian Tribe, Chowanoke.  The Chowan Tribe was later merged into the Tuscarora.
Another coincidence is the fact that our William Taylor had an uncle named Thomas Taylor, brother to Jonathan Taylor, who was named in a Bertie County Will dated 1724.  He also had a brother named Thomas who was later shown as living next to William in Duplin on Goshen Swamp in the 1750′s. This is important because there was a Chief Tom Taylor who lived in New Bern when Baron Von Graffenreid established his settlement there.  Chief Taylor was run off by Von Graffenreid in 1717 prior to the beginning of the Tuscarora War and disappeared from history.  Could William’s Uncle Tom have been Chief Tom Taylor of New Bern?  When run off from New Bern, did he return to Bertie County and the Indian woods Reservation near his brother Jonathan and nephew William?
A final coincidence is the fact that William Taylor was appointed Commissioner to the Tuscarora in 1753 by a man named James Murray, who was a member of the North Carolina Commission.  James Murray received his appointment to the Commission due to the influence of Henry McCulloh.  This is important because the Grandson of Henry McCulloh, a James McCulloh, married the daughter of our William Taylor.
TIME LINE
1703 Richard Barfield acquires land in Chowan/Bertie/Hertford probably at present day Winton where Barfields, Barfield Landing and Tuscarora Beach are located.
This is also near the site of an original Chowan Indian town—Chowanoke or Ohanoke.
1711-1713 Tuscarora War principally along Neuse and Trent Rivers near New Bern, 60 miles S of Bertie County and 60 miles north of Duplin where William Taylor later settles.
1720 Jonathan Taylor buys 300 acres on E side of Quittsnie Swamp on the Roanoke River.  Prior to this time he was living on Indian Creek in Perquimans County.  This was on or near the site of an ancient Indian Town—Mascoming.
1722/1725 William Taylor born
1723 53,000 acre reservation created for Chowan and Tuscarora tribes along Roanoke River near Quitsnie
1723 Richard Barfield I buys land on Ahotskey Marsh from Henry Baker
1728 Richard Barfield I dies and names daughter Catherine Taylor and granddaughter Elizabeth Taylor in his will
1733 Jonathan Taylor sells 640 acres to George Pollock (son in law of Thomas Whitmell,II)
1737 Thomas Whitmell witnessed deed for Johnathan Taylor at Quitzna swamp & Roanoke River
1741 Jonathan Taylor conveys land to Thomas Blount and Thomas Whitmell located on Rocquis Creek (they were brother’s in law or father/son in law)
1744 Richard Barfield II moves to Duplin County
1745 William Taylor moves to Duplin County with his father Jonathan Taylor
1753 William Taylor, John Hill and Thomas Whitmell appointed Commissioners to Tuscarora Indians.  Hill & Whitmell were brothers in law and grandsons of Henry Hunter.
1753 James Murray was a member of the Council at New Bern which appointed William Taylor a commissioner to the Tuscaroras.  Murray was an associate of Henry McCulloh whose grandson James married our William Taylor’s daughter.
1766 Sale of 8000 acres at Indian Woods to Jones, Pugh & Williams
1787 William Taylor murdered in Duplin County
NOTE:
Thomas Whitmell, II of Bertie County, NC and his wife ? Hunter had a son Thomas Whitmell III.  They also had a daughter Elizabeth who married first George Pollock, possible son of former Gov. Thomas Pollock who was Governor of NC at time of Tuscarora War.  Second she married Thomas Blount, possibly related to Chief Tom Blount of the Tuscaroras.  Third she married William Williams who may have been the man who acquired the 8000 acres from the Tuscaroras.
Another daughter married John Hill and still another daughter married Francis Pugh.

• 

Birth	Bet 1722 and 1725	probably, Bertie, North Carolina, British America
Marriage	Abt 1750	North Carolina, British America - Catherine Barfield
Military	Bet 1775 and 1783	North Carolina, United States
Census	Bet 1784 and 1787	North Carolina, United States
Death	13 Mar 1787	from an axe blow to the head - Duplin, North Carolina, United States
Probate	Jul 1787 - 1791	Duplin, North Carolina, United States

Spouse	Catherine Barfield (1729 - 1801)
Child	"Tebeth" Taylor (1754 - )
Child	Mary Taylor (1754 - 1779)
Child	Elizabeth (Sarah) Taylor (1758 - 1801)

Father	Jonathan Taylor (1690 - 1750)
Mother	Catherine ( - )
Sibling	Mary Taylor (1718 - )
Sibling	Thomas Taylor (1720 - )
Sibling	Jonathan Taylor (1717 - )

Notes