Col. William Tayloe (1645-1710)
J.P., of the "Old House" on Tayloe's Quarter in Old Rappahannock, Virginia
He was born "William Taylor" in Gloucestershire in England to unknown parents, but he was the grandson of Thomas Taylor of Hadleigh, Suffolk. In 1655, he inherited property in Virginia from his uncle (and namesake) and arrived in the new colony with two brothers. He was Sheriff of Rappahannock (1687), a Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and one of the first Justices of Richmond County before his appointment as Colonel and commanding officer of the county militia. He built the 20-room "Old House" which burned down circa 1760 when his grandson, John Tayloe II, replaced it with Mount Airy that still stands today. In 1685, he married Ann, daughter of Henry Corbin, of Buckingham House, Middlesex Co., Virginia, and they had three children. After her death he was married to another Anne and had two further daughters.
