Obituary: Portage County, Wisconsin: Ralph Wilcox TAYLOR Stevens Point Daily Journal February 27, 1899 Ralph Wilcox Taylor Ralph Wilcox Taylor died at his home at 211 Brawley street at five minutes to 2 o'clock Sunday morning, after an illness of three weeks with paralysis. Mr. Taylor was born at Black Rock, Erie county, New York, within hearing of Niagara Falls, on June 6, 1825. He father was a prominent citizen of that section and for a great many years held the office of sheriff. He decided to educate his boy and start him in law. With this end in view Ralph was sent to an institute at Buffalo, ten miles distant, similar to our present normal schools, designed for the preparation of teachers. One day when Ralph was sixteen years old, a sailing vessel dropped anchor in Buffalo harbor and began enrolling young men to go to the south seas after whales. Eighteen of the young men at the school, including Ralph Taylor, heard of the offer and their desire for adventure led them to run away from school. They went on board the old schooner and shortly after found themselves sailing down around Cape Horn and up the western coast of South America to Callao, Peru, where a landing was effected. Here young Taylor and several of his companions, tiring of the whaling expedition, ran away and hid in a sweet potato patch for four days, while the crew of the vessel was hunting for them. When they saw the schooner sail out of the harbor, they crept back to town and succeeded in enlisting on the United States schooner Shark. Later he also served on the Ohio. In all he served three years and nine months in the American navy during the Mexican war. For two years he was a ship mate of A. Stevens of Almond on the shark. The boat was wrecked at the mouth of the Columbia river in 1846. They parted at Monterey in 1847 and did not see each other again until 1894, although both had at that time been residents of this county about twenty-two years. After he was mustered out of the service he returned north and began sailing the lakes. He was captain of several lake craft, including the William Wallace, Ottawa, Ryerson Roberts and others. After he left home his parents removed to Walworth county this state. When at leisure he spent his time at home and while there met and won the daughter of a neighbor, Miss Laura A. Dayton. They were married at Lyons on December 6, 1854. They moved to Chicago, where they lived three years and then went back to Lyons again on account of Mrs. Taylor's health. Mr. Taylor entlisted in Company D of the Twentieth Wisconsin on February 2, 1863. He went south and, having been recommended as an able seaman, was ordered to report at Galveston, Texas, where he was placed in charge of General Granger's private yachte engagedin carrying the mails and dispatches around the gulf. Having served out his time in the Twentieth Wisconsin, he re-enlisted in Company C of the Thirty-fifth and served until discharged in the spring of 1866, arriving home on April 2. While on General Granger's yacht he had a very desirable position, with good food, good treatment, many adventures and a general good time. While serving in the Thirty fifth, the soldiers were allowed a great deal of leisure and Mr. Taylor made considerable money running a steamer on the Rio Grande. It was in reconstruction days and the discipline was not rigid. Many of the soldiers were engaged in private enterprise. He again returned north and began traveling as a lightning rod agent, which he continued for six years, living at Manitowoc and Green Bay. In 1872, the Wisconsin Central began to push up into northern Wisconsin and Mr. Taylor accepted a position as a foreman of construction. He began work near Amherst, and remained with the crew until it reached "89," now Phillips. He was very popular with the men and could get more and better work out of his crew than any other foreman on the job. At the time of the big strike he held his men for two months after the others quit work. He moved his family her in 1872. After severing his connection with the railroad he was employed for three years in Van Dusen's mill at Dorchester. He then returned to this city and accepted a position in Brown Bros., planing mill, which he held for eighteen years up to last August, when he was retired on account of age and failing health. When Brown Bros. sold out to the John Week Lumber Company, Mr. Taylor went with the mill and didn't lose even a day's work on account of the transfer. He learned a good deal about the lumber business while sailing the lakes, several of his crafts being lumber schooners. He was one of the most competent mill en that ever handled a scaling rod in this section. Since August he has been running a meat market on Strongs avenue, which he boasted was the only American market in the city. He was stricken with paralysis on Sunday, February 6, and although he had always been a remarkably strong and robust man, he failed rapidly, being unconscious or dazed most of the time. During the last 36 hours of his life he slept continously and was unable to partake of any nourishment. He slept into eternity without any perceptible change other than the cessation of a rather labored breathing. Mr. Taylor leaves a wife and two daughters, Miss Flora I. of Chippewa Falls and Mrs. Alma E., wife of Edwin Martin of this city. He also has two sisters and three brothers, Mrs. E.c. Royston of Thomas, Mrs. A.c. Walton of Omro, James of Nashua, Iowa, J.L. of Hartley, Iowa, and O.J. of Minneapolis. All are old and feeble and will be enable [sic] to attend the funeral. Mr. Taylor comes from a longlived race, several of his ancestors living to be over 90 and at least one over 100. He has a number of cousins in Milwaukee very wealthy and influential. The funeral will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock from the house, Rev. J.H. Tippett of St. Paul's church officiating. The Grand Army, of which he was a member, will attend in a body. He will be interred in the Union cemetery ************************************************************************ Submitted by Kathy Grace, June 2004 © All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************************************