Nancy Savage Taylor

History has been unfair to Nancy Savage, wife of George Taylor - signer of the Declaration of Independence. Most of what is known about her is because of her relationship to her first husband, Mr. Savage, and her second husband, Mr. Taylor. We know that Nancy was a lot younger than Mr. Savage and that they had no children. We also know that Nancy had a son and a daughter with Taylor. She was the grandmother of five children born to her son James, a lawyer, and his wife Elizabeth Gordon. Nancy's daughter died without being married or having children.

Nancy's first husband, Mr. Savage leased the Durham iron works a "short distances below Easton." Nancy's second husband, George Taylor, was born in 1716 in Ireland; there he received a good education. His father, a clergyman, wanted him to study medicine; George did not like that idea. He left his father's home and sailed for America as a "redemptioner" at age 20. Because of his status of redemptioner, the shipmaster had the right to sell the services of the young man when they arrived in America in order to pay for his passage. Mr. Savage paid young Taylor's redemption money, and Taylor committed himself to work for Savage for a certain number of years to repay his debt.

Taylor was young, large for his age, strong and sturdy, and Mr. Savage assigned him to "work as a `filler,' shoveling coal into the furnace when in blast." Mr. Savage soon learned that Taylor "was not bred to manual labour" and was much more educated than the other workers. In addition, Taylor was "trustworthy and industrious" so Savage "transferred him to his business office." Taylor mastered the business details and continued to work for Mr. Savage after repaying his debt to him, even until Mr. Savage died in 1738.

Mrs. Savage knew little about the business, which Taylor continued to manage. About a year after the death of Mr. Savage, his widow married Taylor. Taylor continued working and living in Durham until 1764 and accumulated "a handsome property." He then purchased an estate in Northumberland County on the Lehigh River. There he built "a large stone house, and started another iron works."

Soon after moving to Northumberland County in 1764, Taylor was elected to the Provincial Assembly and later became a delegate to Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was active in public affairs from that time until his death in 1781.

Taylor returned to Durham ten years later. With a partner named Galloway, he leased the same furnace as previously and began a business of making stoves from his own design. The company made "vast amounts of shot and other munitions of war" after the Revolutionary War started in 1775.

Taylor died in 1781 at his home in Easton, and both George and Nancy were buried in Easton.

Facts and quotes are from Wives of the Signers: The women behind the Declaration of Independence, pp. 202-205.

George Taylor

George Taylor, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Ireland; he came to America in 1716. His father was a clergyman, but his religion is not known. George was rich in education but poor in material goods when he arrived in America. He at first "performed menial service for a livelihood," but he later became a clerk for Mr. Savage in his iron establishment in Durham, Pennsylvania. About a year after Mr. Savage's death, George married his widow and became owner of "considerable property and a thriving business."

He worked at the Durham business for some time and acquired "a handsome fortune" before he purchased an estate on the Lehigh River in Northumberland county. There he erected another iron works. He soon gained the "esteem and confidence of the people" because of his "wealth, education, and business talents" as well as his "urbanity of manner." He was elected as a delegate to the Colonial Assembly in 1764 where he "soon became a distinguished actor" and a member of a committee with the responsibility to write "the instructions for the delegates from that Province." It is said that he wrote the instructions with his own pen and that they were filled with "wisdom and sound judgment."

Taylor continued as a delegate to the Provincial Assembly for five straight years before declining further service in order to care for his private interests. He was again elected to the Provincial Congress in 1775 and was appointed to the committee with instructions to write the instructions for the delegates to the General Congress scheduled to meet in May of that year. The instructions did not receive Assembly approval until November 1775, but they included a clause that strictly prohibited "the delegates from concurring in any proposition for political independence" because of a hope for reconciliation with England. The prohibition was removed in June 1776 after "public feeling" changed, and the delegates were given permission "to act according to their own discretion." Some of the delegates were still anxious for reconciliation and were replaced with Taylor being one of the replacements. Because he came to the Assembly late, Taylor was not present when the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, but he arrived in time to sign it on August 2, 1776.

George continued as a member of Congress for one year before retiring from public life and settling in Easton. He died at age 65 on February 23, 1781.

Facts and quotes are from Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, pp. 123-125.