Johnson County KS Archives Biographies.....Taggart, David 1843 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 10, 2008, 11:44 pm

Author: Ed Blair (1915)

  David Taggart, a prominent Johnson county farmer, and veteran of the Civil
war, has for over fifty years been a factor in the development of Johnson
county. He was born at Cannonsburg, Pa., February 12, 1843, and is a son of John
and Jane M. (McCool) Taggart, the former a native of County Antrim, Ireland, and
the latter of Washington county, Pa. The father was a weaver, but also was
interested in farming to some extent. Both he and his wife died at Cannonsburg,
Pa. They were the parents of the following children: Alexander McCool, who came
to Johnson county in 1865, but later returned to Pennsylvania where he died;
James died at Cannonsburg, Pa.; Samuel B. was a Presbyterian preacher, and died
at Alton, Ill.; John, died at Beaver Falls, Pa.; Moses R., a Civil war veteran,
resides at Wilkinsburg, Pa.; Rachael married Henry McKee, of Indiana, and is now
a widow, residing in Olathe, and David, the subject of this sketch. David
Taggart was reared to manhood in Cannonsburg, Pa., and received his education in
the public schools there. When the Civil war broke out, he was still under age,
but on August 13, 1862, he enlisted at Cannonsburg, Pa., in Company G, One
Hundred and Fortieth regiment, Pennsylvania infantry, which was attached to the
first brigade, first division, second army corps. Army of the Potomac. Mr.
Taggart's company first went to Camp Curtain, near Harrisburg, and for a time
guarded the railroads in Maryland. Mr. Taggart was with his regiment in the
following engagements: Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristow Station, Pine Run,
Tod's Tavern, Wilderness, Corbin's Bridge, Po River, Spottsylvania, North Anne,
Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Strawberry Plains, Deep I>ottom, Rheims Station,
Hatch's Run, Southerland Station, Sailor's Creek, Cumberland Church, Farmsville
and Appomattox. Mr. Taggart was never wounded, but his fortunate escape was not
the result of any undue caution, for he was in the thick of many of the hardest
fought battles of the Civil war, and never shirked from danger or exposure to
the enemy's fire. At Spottsylvania, for instance, after three color bearers had
been shot down, he took the colors and carried them through the fight and for
this gallantry and reckless regard for his own life, in the storm of leaden
hail, he was promoted to color sergeant, and as a relic of former days of
gallantry, he has in his possession a star from the old battle flag which he
carried at Appomattox, and in the review of the Grand Army of the Republic that
followed at Washington. At the close of the war he was mustered out and
honorably discharged at Pittsburgh, Pa., June 3, 1865. He returned to his
Cannonsburg home, and remained there until the following spring, when he came
west and on March 28, 1865, reached Johnson county. Like many others, he
"squatted" on the Black Bob reservation, the title of which, as is well known,
was between the Government and the Indians. Mr. Taggart took up 200 acres of
land here and for fourteen years during the negotiations he had the use of this
place without even paying any taxes. Later he added 280 acres to his original
holdings, and he and his son Frank now have a fine farm of 480 acres in one body
located in the townships of Aubry, Oxford and Olathe. After Frank reached
manhood, his father took him into partnership, and they operated together for a
number of years, and for several years past Frank has practically conducted the
business himself. They are among the most extensive stock and grain raisers in
Johnson county. In 1914 they raised 4,000 bushels of wheat and an equal
proposition of oats, besides large quantities of hogs and cattle Air. Taggart
was married in September, 1S68, in Olathe township, to Miss Mary Susanna
Thompson, born in Coulterville, Ill., April 19, 1840. She is a daughter of
Andrew M. and Margaret (Day) Thompson, the former a native of Adams county,
Ohio, and the latter of Cadis, Ohio. The Thompson family removed to Illinois at
an early day, and in 1864 came to Kansas, and located near Lenexa, Johnson
county. The father bought land from the Shawnee Indians there and followed
farming throughout the remainder of his life. He served in the Kansas militia
during the Civil war, and as a result of the border conflict, met with
considerable property loss. He died in Johnson county, November 9, 1899, in his
seventy-ninth year. He became one of the prosperous farmers of Johnson county.
His first wife and mother of Mrs. Taggart, died in Illinois in 1853. To Mr. and
Mrs. Taggart have been born two children, Frank Thompson, a farmer of Olathe
township, and Mary, married Joshua Cantrell, of Olathe. Mr. Taggart is a
Republican, and has frequently been a delegate to county conventions and has
taken a keen interest in politics as a citizen but not as a politician. He has
never aspired to hold political office, but as he expresses it "finds it to be
more congenial and profitable to attend to his own business." Mrs. Taggart is a
pioneer school teacher of Johnson county, teaching her first school in 1864, and
followed that vocation for four years. She is a member of the United
Presbyterian church and Mr. Taggart is a Covenanter.

Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas
BY
ED BLAIR

AUTHOR OF
Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches

IN ONE VOLUME

ILLUSTRATED
STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
1915


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