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Parker-Taylor - Georgiana Emma Parker Taylor - Brief bio

By Melody Hooper Woods, Great-Great Granddaughter of Georgiana Emma Parker

Georgiana Emma Parker, born in Limestone County, Texas, on 25 February 1855, was the daughter of John Berry Parker and Sarah Jane (Frost) Parker.¹ She was the third of nine children born to the couple: Ransom Berry Parker (b. 4 February 1849, d. 22 May 1929); Emmett Parker (b. abt. 1854, d. unknown); Georgiana Emma Parker (b. 25 February 1855, d. 26 June 1955); Calvin Parker (b. abt. May 1860, d. unknown); John Parker Jr (b. abt. 1864, d. unknown); William Parker (b. April 1866, d. unknown); Joseph Parker (b. December 1869, d. unknown); and two daughters who did not live past childhood and whose names are unknown.² Emma’s first cousins, William M. Slaughter (b. abt. 1841, d. unknown), John Slaughter (b. abt. 1843, d. 9 December 1863), and Joseph G. T. Slaughter (b. abt. 1845, d. unknown), the sons of George T. Slaughter and Sarah Jane’s sister, Julia Ann (Frost) Slaughter Stibbens, were raised in the Parker household after the Anderson County Probate Court appointed John Parker guardian of the three orphaned Slaughter boys.³

The Parker family lived on the old Springfield Road in Limestone County near Fort Parker where Emma’s maternal grandfather, Samuel M. Frost, and her maternal uncle, Robert Brooks Frost, an early Texas Ranger, were killed on 19 May 1836 in the Fort Parker Indian raid.⁴ On 12 March 1862, Emma’s father, John, mustered into service in the Confederate States Army’s Fifteenth Texas Cavalry Regiment, Company F. Emma knitted socks and sewed clothing for the Confederate soldiers at Fort Sill, spinning the thread and weaving the cloth used to make the uniforms. Said to stand four feet, five inches tall, she was so small as a child that the front leg of the spinning wheel was sunk into the floor so that she could reach up to thread it. Ninety years after the Civil War ended, Emma still claimed to dislike “Yankees.”⁵

About 1865, the family moved close to Eutaw in Limestone County. Emma later said this ranch was where she saw her “best days.” The girls from town rode their ponies out to the Parker ranch where they chased wild turkeys out of the timber for sport. Once, her quick-thinking father rescued Emma before a charging bull could knock her off her Indian pony leaving the only injury to her torn riding skirt. Emma worked the ranch with her father and brothers and cousins, but also helped her mother spin thread, weave cloth, and sew clothing, wash and iron, garden, and cook, which was done over a fireplace; Emma was fourteen years old when she saw a stove for the first time.⁶

On 24 October 1875, Emma married Sylvester Taylor, an Alabama native who migrated to Illinois then to Texas. They had eight children: Emmett Orlando Taylor (b. 15 July 1876, d. 1 June 1960); Henry Otis Taylor (b. 7 December 1880, d. 3 November 1932); Wyoma Taylor (b. 27 September 1884, d. 27 May 1929); Cornol William Taylor (b. 6 March 1886, d. 28 July 1968); William Slaughter Taylor (b. 13 September 1890, d. January 1968); Leeoma Taylor (b. 22 February 1894, d. unknown); and two children whose identities are unknown and likely died young.⁷ The Taylor family farmed near Chico in Wise County until the 1890s when the entire family moved to Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). According to Emma, in the 1890s the Taylors were “show people who decided to quit show business and settle down” though it is unclear if they were farmers and “show people.”⁸

The Taylor family lived in several Oklahoma towns, including Center (where they opened a restaurant, a furniture store, and a brick-plant; in 1899, Sylvester was awarded Patent No. 620,809 for a brick press he invented), Sasakwa (where they lived in 1907 when the Indian and Oklahoma Territories were combined to form the state of Oklahoma), Brown Township (where in 1910 they farmed), Ada, Okemah, and Okmulgee (where in 1920 Sylvester and Emma owned a grocery store, and in 1929, their daughter Wyoma (Taylor) Marshall died at their home). Sylvester and Emma retired in Holdenville where Sylvester died on 11 June 1932 at the age of eighty-four.⁹

Emma celebrated her 100th birthday on 25 February 1955 with a large party attended by many family and friends. KTEN television out of Ada and the newspaper, Seminole Producer, interviewed her, and she claimed to have received a telegram from President Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulating her on her 100th birthday.¹⁰ About 20 April 1955, Emma suffered a stroke, but recovered to live until 26 June 1955. She is buried beside her husband, Sylvester, and her son, Henry Otis, in the Holdenville Cemetery located in Holdenville, Oklahoma.¹¹

Sources

1. Oklahoma State Department of Health, death certificate no. 011459 (1955), Emma Taylor; Vital Records Division, Oklahoma City. Emma’s grandchildren claimed that her full name was Emma Georgiana Priscilla Parker Taylor, but the name Priscilla has not been found on any documents. She was called “George Ann” and “Georgi A” in the 1860 and 1870 censuses, “Georgie Ann” in her marriage record, and Emma in all other records.

2. “Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909,” Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/1/223074585 : accessed 19 June 2021), entry for Taylor, Emma; claim no. 39454, 29 August 1907; citing pages 3, 7, 10, publication no. M1104.

- Murrelle Mahoney, “Old Timers at Center’s Homecoming Recall Happenings of Fifty Years Ago,” Ada Weekly News (Ada, Oklahoma), 10 June 1954, p. 1, col. 1; Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=News-OK-AD_WE_NE&h=500377601&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt : accessed 24 July 2021), Newspapers and Periodicals.

- 1850 U.S. census, Anderson County, Texas, population schedule, p. 17A, dwelling 108, family 108, John B Parker; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DRF3-5NT?i=12 : accessed 24 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 908.

- 1860 U.S. census, Limestone County, Texas, population schedule, Springfield PO, p. 59 (penned), p. 34 (stamped), dwelling 459, family 400, John Parker; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSX-GM7?i=16 : accessed 24 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1300.

- 1870 U.S. census, Limestone County, Texas, population schedule, Eutaw PO, p. 41-42 (penned), p. 169 (stamped), dwelling 293, family 302, Jno D Parker; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DYQ9-NRJ?i=40 : accessed 24 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1596.

- Further research is needed to resolve conflicting evidence for the sons of John and Sarah Parker, specifically 1) the number of sons, 2) the identity of "Unnamed Parker," three-month-old male, born about May 1860, found in the household of John Parker in the 1860 census, and 3) information about Calvin Parker. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 federal censuses support the number of six sons; this includes the unnamed male infant born about May 1860 and found in the 1860 census. On page four of her 1907 Eastern Cherokee Application, daughter Georgiana Emma Parker Taylor lists the names of six brothers: "Ransom Berry Parker, Emmitt Parker, Calvin Parker, Johnnie Parker, Willie Parker, Joseph Parker”; this is the same birth order found on the three census records, including "Calvin," who falls in the proper birth order to be the unnamed male infant born in 1860. The one piece of conflicting evidence is found in the newspaper article, Bill Casto, “100-Year-Old Area Resident Will Host Many Friends Today,” Seminole Producer (Seminole, Oklahoma), 27 February 1955, p. 2, col. 1; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/591876996 : accessed 27 July 2021).; the article states "she [Emma Taylor] had seven brothers" (and that “she was the only one of three daughters born to her parents who survived past childhood”). It is possible that Casto misreported the number of Parker sons as seven instead of six, or that Emma Taylor misremembered the number of brothers in her interview, which was given when she was one hundred years old. Because the 1907 Eastern Cherokee Application, which Emma filled out when she was fifty-two years old, and the census records are more reliable sources than Casto’s newspaper interview, the information for Calvin Parker and the 1860 census's "Unnamed Parker" male infant have been combined into one son, Calvin Parker, and John and Sarah are said to have six sons.

3. "Texas Probate Records, 1800-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QS-24D?cc=2016287&wc=M4FQ-X23%3A337781301%2C340219701 : 28 July 2021); Anderson County, Probate case files 1846-1899 no 682-759, R-S; images 1031-1048 of 1519; J. B. Parker as guardian for Slaughter minor children; county courthouses, Texas.

- 1850 U.S. census, Anderson Co., Texas, pop. sch., p. 17A, dwell. 108, fam. 108, John B Parker.

- 1860 U.S. census, Limestone Co., Texas, pop. sch., Springfield PO, p. 59 (penned), p. 34 (stamped), dwell. 459, fam. 400, John Parker.

4. Mahoney, “Old Timers at Center’s Homecoming Recall Happenings of Fifty Years Ago”.

- Louis Gelert, editor, The Fort Parker Comanche Raid & Its Aftermath, Texas, 1836 (n.p.: Leonaur, 2016), 9, 17, 21, 48, 80, 199.

- “Texas General Land Office, Land Grants,” PDF, Texas General Land Office (https://s3.glo.texas.gov/ncu/SCANDOCS/archives_webfiles/arcmaps/webfiles/efns/B-171.pdf : accessed 26 July 2021), entry for Robert Brooks Frost, Limestone County, English field notes, file no. SC 000035:60; Texas General land Office, Austin.

- “Republic Claims,” image, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (https://www.tsl.texas.gov/apps/arc/repclaims/storage/republic_media/imgs/33/view_03300534.jpg : accessed 26 July 2021), entry for Frost, Robert B., claim no. 7786, reel no. 33, image 534 of 531-534; Texas State Library and Archives, Austin.

- At this time, there is no documentary or DNA evidence that links the John Berry Parker family to the Elder John Parker family.

5. “Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations, compiled 1903 – 1927,” Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/8493451 : accessed 25 July 2021), John Parker (Co. F, 15th Tex. Cav.); citing Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas; M323 (Washington, D.C. : National Archives [1903 -1927]), roll 88.

- Casto, “100-Year-Old Area Resident Will Host Many Friends Today.”

- Lissa Bush, “Mrs. E. Taylor Spends Happy Hours at 100th Birthday Party,” Seminole Producer (Seminole, Oklahoma), 03 March 1955, p. 9, cols. 3, 4; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/591877742/ : accessed 25 July 2021).

6. 1870 U.S. census, Limestone Co., Texas, pop. sch., Eutaw PO, p. 41-42 (penned), p. 169 (stamped), dwell. 293, fam. 302, Jno D Parker.

- Bill Casto, “100-Year-Old Woman Ready To Meet Old Friends Today,” Seminole Producer (Seminole, Oklahoma), 27 February 1955, p. 1, col. 6; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/591876967 : accessed 25 July 2021). Casto, “100-Year-Old Area Resident Will Host Many Friends Today.”

7. “Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965,” FamilySearch.org, Limestone County, Texas, Sylvester Taylor to Georgie Ann Parker, 24 October 1875.

- Casto, “100-Year-Old Area Resident Will Host Many Friends Today.”

- 1900 U.S. census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, population schedule, p. 22 (penned), p. 22 (stamped), dwelling 402, family 402, Sylvester Taylor; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DBR3-WYM?i=42 : accessed 24 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1846. Leeoma Taylor’s name is spelled Leeoma, Leoma, and Leona.

- Sylvester Taylor’s marriage to Emma Parker was his second marriage. Sylvester’s children from his first marriage were Irvin Taylor, Nathan Taylor, and Lonie Taylor (Nathan and Irvin may be the same son alternately using his first and middle names). It appears that Sylvester’s children from his first marriage joined his second family in Oklahoma because Sylvester and Emma’s two sons, Emmett Orlando and Henry Otis, name Lonie and Nathan as their siblings on page five of their 1907 Eastern Cherokee Applications. Irvin is named in the newspaper article, Mahoney, “Old Timers at Center’s Homecoming Recall Happenings of Fifty Years Ago,” as one of Sylvester’s sons who was a skilled violinist.

8. 1880 U.S. census, Wise County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct 7, p. 18 (penned), dwelling 155, family 159, Silvester Taylor; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBV-94XD?i=10 : accessed 24 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1333.

- Mahoney, “Old Timers at Center’s Homecoming Recall Happenings of Fifty Years Ago.” Casto, “100-Year-Old Area Resident Will Host Many Friends Today.”

9. Mahoney, “Old Timers at Center’s Homecoming Recall Happenings of Fifty Years Ago.” United States. Patent Office. (18721971). Official gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 86, 1899. [Washington]: The Office. (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858029577701&view=1up&seq=1615 : accessed 17 June 2021), Sylvester Taylor, brick-press, patent file no. 620,809 (7 March 1899).

- “Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909,” Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/1/223074582 : accessed 25 July 2021), entry for Taylor, Emma; claim no. 39454, 23 August 1907; citing page 9, publication no. M1104.

- 1910 U.S. census, Seminole County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Brown township, p. 13B (penned), dwelling 140, family 140, Sylvester Taylor; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RKQ-7F6?i=15 : accessed 24 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 1274.

- 1920 U.S. census, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Okmulgee, p. 5B (penned), dwelling 112, family 127, Sylvester Taylor; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RXD-9HX?i=9 : accessed 26 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1476.

- Mrs. Wyoma Marshall obituary, “Deaths and Funerals,” Okmulgee Daily Times (Okmulgee, Oklahoma), 29 May 1929, p. 2, col. 1; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/707787506/ : accessed 26 July 2021).

- 1930 U.S. census, Hughes County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Holdenville, p. 15A (penned), p. 98 (stamped), dwelling 327, family 351, N.S. Taylor; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR48-SQF?i=28 : accessed 26 July 2021); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1906.

10. Bush, “Mrs. E. Taylor Spends Happy Hours at 100th Birthday Party.” Casto, “100-Year-Old Area Resident Will Host Many Friends Today.”

11. Lissa Bush, “Mrs. Taylor Reported To Be ‘Improved’,” Seminole Producer (Seminole, Oklahoma), 22 April 1955, p. 3, col. 3; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/591885463 : accessed 26 July 2021).

- Oklahoma death cert. no. 011459 (1955), Emma Taylor.

- Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38356610/emma-georginna_priscilla-taylor : accessed 26 July 2021), memorial 38356610, Emma Georginna Priscilla Parker Taylor (1855-1955), Holdenville Cemetery, Holdenville, Hughes County, Oklahoma; headstone photograph by Danny Chancellor, maintained by Danny Chancellor (contributor 46824961).

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