Collection Title: Bayard Taylor and Family Collection
Collection Number: 237
Dates of Collection: 1840 – 1925, Bulk dates 1840-1875
Box Numbers: 1 – 4
Repositiory: Chester County Historical Society
Project Archivist: Jasmine Smith, Librarian
The West Chester Daily Local News published a lengthy obituary of Bayard Taylor on December 20, 1878. Excerpts from this article capture briefly the life and work of Bayard Taylor: “Bayard Taylor is far better known as an extensive traveler and fascinating writer than as a diplomat, although his career as Secretary of Legation, and afterwards Charge d’ Affaires at St. Petersburg in 1862 and 1863 gave him experience in the duties which his position as Minister to Germany required. The latter position he has held but a short time. His appointment by President Hayes, on February 15th, the present year, is yet fresh in memory … Bayard Taylor was born at Kennett Square, Chester County, Pa., January 11th, 1825. In 1842 he became an apprentice in the printing office of the Village Record, of West Chester, Pa., and availing himself of the opportunities afforded by his business of cultivating a taste for literature, he soon acquired local fame as a poet, and began contributing poems to other newspapers and to the magazines…He had looked forward to a tour through Europe with longing, when he heard that a relative was about to make the journey, and then he began to cast about him to find means with which to go at once.”
Taylor reprinted his poems in a small volume called Ximena, or the Battle of Sierra Morena, and other Poems in order to raise some money for the trip. In addition, “Mr. S. D. Patterson, of the Saturday Evening Post, and Mr. Joseph R. Chandler of the United Gazette, each gave him fifty dollars for twelve letters to be written to their respective publications. With this money and about forty dollars he had previously collected, he started his two years’ tour of Europe. His letters proved so entertaining and popular that he was invited to continue them and received remittances from Messrs. Chandler and Patterson that enabled him greatly to extend his tour…On his return he republished, in 1846, his letters from Europe under the title of Views Afoot, or Europe Seen with Knapsack and Staff.”
Taylor continued to find success as a travel writer and poet through the 1870s. He began his diplomatic work in 1862. Taylor was married twice, briefly to Mary Agnew in 1850 before her death from consumption, and again in 1859 to Marie Hansen. Taylor died December 19, 1878 in Berlin while traveling for his post as the American Minister to Germany. Even after finding fame, Taylor spent significant time in Kennett Square, Chester County, in his Cedarcroft home, and he is buried in Longwood Cemetery.
Resources Used: “Bayard Taylor” (Obituary), December 20, 1878. West Chester Daily Local News. Taylor, Bayard – 1878-1879 (2): Newspaper Clippings Collection. Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, PA.
This collection includes letters to and from Bayard Taylor as he traveled Europe, 1844 – 1846. He primarily corresponded with his mother, Rebecca Way Taylor. Additional letters document his later life. The collection includes letters to and from his first and second wives, his brothers, and his professional contacts. Some Taylor family materials document Bayard Taylor’s brother’s service in the American Civil War. The collection also includes numerous manuscripts and musical scores written by Bayard Taylor. Box 2 includes publications and ephemera produced by fan and study organizations devoted to Bayard Taylor and his work.
Items are grouped by type and then arranged in chronological order when dates are known.
Taylor family and Bayard Taylor materials are available in the CCHS family files. Bayard Taylor’s published books are included in the Chester County Authors book collection and pamphlet files. The CCHS newspaper clippings provide ample coverage of Bayard Taylor and the Taylor family.
Box 1: Bayard Taylor Letters
Folder 1, Letters: 1840s, except 1844 – 1846
To Bayard Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor, fragment, undated
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor, West Chester to Unionville, January 26, 1840
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Unionville , February 17, 1840
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Unionville , March 18, 1840
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Unionville , April 7, 1840
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Unionville , April 24, 1840
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, West Chester, PA, May 7, 1841
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, West Chester, NY, May 28, 1843
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Catskills, NY, May 30, 1843
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, West Chester, PA, September 12, 1843
To Taylor from James Russell Lowell, Elmwood , May 11, 1849
Folder 2, Letters: February – June 1844
To Taylor from William Darlington, West Chester, February 21, 1844
To Taylor from Eliza Leslie, Philadelphia, February 26, 1844
To Taylor from Ann Preston, West Grove, June 21, 1844
From Taylor to J.M. Darlington, Heidelberg, June 24, 1844
To Taylor (and Franklin T.) from L.M.H. (Kennett), June 25, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, New York , June 30, 1844
Folder 3, Letters: July – December 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Liverpool, July 10, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Edinburgh , August 7, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Heidelberg, September 2, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Heidelberg, September 8, 1844
To Taylor from Rebecca Taylor and family, September 8, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, October 16, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, includes poem, October 30, 1844
From Taylor to Hannah M. Taylor, Frankfurt, November 3, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, letter dated by postal service in Boston, December 2, 1844
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, December 20, 1844
Folder 4, Letters: January – April 1845
From Taylor to Lydia (for Frank), Frankfurt, January 9, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, January 17, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, January 19, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, February 22, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, February 24, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, March 10, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, March 11, 1845
To Taylor from Robert Lamborn, Kennett Square, March 12, 1845
From Taylor to a friend about his love for Mary Agnew, March 19, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt-a-M., March 19, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, March 30, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, April 27, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, includes Poem (“Upward”), April 29, 1845
Folder 5, Letters: June – December 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, June 18, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, June 22, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Heidelberg, June 23, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, July 12, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, July 20, 1845
From Taylor to H. (?) M. Darlington, Frankfurt-a-M., July 25, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Frankfurt, July 28, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, August 18, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, August 25-26, 1845
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Florence, September 1, 1845
To Taylor from C. F. Taylor, Rebecca Way Taylor, and others, September 16, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor, September 18, 1845, recd. In Florence
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, October 10, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family November 23- December 14, 1845
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, December 1, 1845
Folder 6, Letters: 1846
From Taylor to David C. Tandy, Rome, January 7, 1846
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Rome and Paris, January 9 – February 6, 1846
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, Undated, winter early 1846
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, January 11, 1846
From Bayard Taylor to Hannah M. Taylor, Paris, March 2, 1846
To Taylor from Rebecca Way Taylor and family, March 15-25, 1846
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, London, March 27, 1846
From Taylor to Rebecca Way Taylor, London, April 23, 1846
Folder 7, Letters: 1850s
From Taylor to Isabella Gibson, New York, April 18, 1851
From Taylor to ‘Sir,’ March 30, 1855
From Taylor to John Taylor, his brother (includes envelope), February 21, 1859
Folder 8, Letters: 1860s
From Taylor to ‘Sir,’ New York, January 16, 1860
From Taylor to ‘Sir,’ New York, January 3, 1861
From Taylor to contact in St. Petersburg, May 4, 1863
From Taylor to ‘Sir,’ Kennett Square, October 12, 1866
From Taylor to Edmund C. Stedman, Gotha, March 11, 1867
From Taylor to Richardson, Kennett Square, July 17, 1869
From Taylor to Henry Peterson, Saturday Evening Post, December 29, 1869
Folder 9, Letters: 1870s
From Taylor to unknown, Kennett Square, with poem “Fall of Alipius,” March 16, 1870
From Taylor to Piatt, New York, May 18, 1875
From Taylor to “Madam”, New York, January 7, 1876
From Taylor to “Sir”, New York , September 5, 1876
From Taylor to “Sir”, New York, January 15, 1877
From Taylor to Paul Hayne (with a poem on immortality), 1878
From Taylor to Mr. Polk, New York, February 21, 1878
From Taylor to Lord Chief Justice Coleridge of England, March 9, 1878
From Taylor to Haveu, London, April 25, 1878
From Taylor to Haveu, Berlin, May 5, 1878
From Taylor to Gutekunst, Philadelphia, May 30, 1878
From Taylor to Madam, Friedrichroda, August 20, 1878
Folder 10, Letters: Undated
From Taylor to unknown, sending proof, undated
To Taylor from Hannah and Rebecca Way Taylor, three pages, undated
From Taylor to sir, undated
Fragment from Taylor to Rebecca W. Taylor, undated
From Taylor to friend of his wife, undated, possibly Paul Hayne
Fragment from Taylor to unknown, undated
Box 2: Bayard Taylor Manuscripts, Travel Documents, and Legacy Materials
Bound: Bayard Taylor’s Passport, 1851 – 1852
Bound: Bayard Taylor’s Passport, 1856-1858
Folder 1, Bayard Taylor Writings
Poem for Phi Beta Kappa Society (2 copies), 1850
Poem written in Frankfurt, Oct. 12, 1844
Daybook with calendar cover, n.d.
Bayard Taylor’s travelogue, written June 11, 1846
List of Passengers on the packet ship Oxford with poem about the ocean on reverse, n.d.
Poem: “A June Morning,” 1851
Poem: “The Sleeper,” and letter, St. Petersburg, n.d.
“The Quaker Widow”, 1904 printing
Folder 2, Bayard Taylor Writings – “Lars”
Lars printed copy, Riverside Literature Series, 1886
Copied from Miss Deana’s Letter regarding “Lars,” n.d.
“Lars” manuscript
Folder 3, Bayard Taylor Signatures
Three mounted Bayard Taylor signatures
Signature, Jan 3, 1864
Signed American Legation seal from Berlin, November 4, 1878
Folder 4, Musical Materials
Book of German song scores, ca. 1846
La Damnation de Faust, composed by Berlioz, includes three songs translated by Bayard Taylor, copyright 1880
Folder 5, Bayard Taylor Legacy Manuscripts
Handwritten “Life of Bayard Taylor”, author unknown, n.d.
Manuscript of “The Story of Kennett” as given at Longwood, Jan. 22 and 23, 1925
Folder 6, Bayard Taylor Legacy Ephemera
Social Basket Pic-nic ticket, in Bayard Taylor’s Grove, July 27, 1871
Flowers Family Magazine, includes Bayard Taylor article, January 1880
Programme of the Taylor Literary Society, May 16, 1883
4 commemorative programs/pamphlets
Burial Ode for Bayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor Sermon by Rev. Russell H. Conwell, 1924
Box 3: Taylor Family Materials
Folder 1, East Marlborough Twp. Deeds, four historic deeds for Hazeldel property, location of Bayard Taylor’s home
Folder 1A, East Marlborough Twp. Deeds, two historic deeds from East Marlborough Twp.
Folder 2, Rebecca and Ann Way school materials, five poems copied for friends at Brandywine Boarding School, 1818
Folder 3, Rebecca W. Taylor and Joseph Taylor Golden Wedding Book, 1868
Folder 4, Taylor Family Civil War Materials
From Charles Biddle to headquarters regarding Evan P. Dixon, Oct. 23, 1861
From Charles Biddle to (unknown) Division regarding Evan P. Dixon, Nov. 4, 1861
From Frederick Taylor to Evan P. Dixon, Nov. 24, 1861
Regimental Roster Signatures – Kane’s Rifle Regiment
Bucktails Registry
Folder 5, Taylor Family Documents
Bond with bank, Joshua Taylor, Cyrus Jackson, 1856
From Wm. P. Taylor to Wm. P. Webb and wife, April 16, 1872
From Rebecca Way Taylor to Evan P. Dixon, June 11, 1888
Will of Franklin Taylor, July 16, 1884
Will of Priscilla Taylor, March 26, 1894
Folder 6, Mary Agnew Taylor Letters
From Mary Agnew to her brother, March 17, 1850
From Mary Agnew to her brothers, Oct. 31, 1850
Folder 7, Marie Hansen Taylor Letters
From Marie Hansen Taylor to Laura (Hadley), Berlin, Nov. 19, 1878
From Marie Hansen Taylor to Putnam’s Sons, likely New York, Feb. 28, 1895
From Marie Hansen Taylor to Kennett Memorial Library, New York, 1908
From Marie Hansen Taylor to Mrs. Evelyn Walker, Jan. 2, 1912
Box 4: Framed Items
Folder 1, “Acrostic” poem, undated
Folder 2, Marriage Certificate, Bayard Taylor and Mary Agnew, October 24, 1850
Folder 3, “Through the Lonely Halls of the Night” musical score, undated
Oversize
1 Cedarcroft Theater Announcement, August 18, 1860
2 Cedarcroft Deed, Jesse Pyle to John Boughman, 1834 (OV Framed shelves)
225 N. High Street, West Chester, PA 19380 | 610-692-4800
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