John Cook Taylor & Emma Jane Owens

John and Emma Jane were both born in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, and lived there their entire lives. John may have only left the county once—for a visit with their son, Hartford, in Chicago, Illinois. Emma Jane traveled a little more, visiting their daughter Emma and her family in Loyall, Kentucky, and also visiting Hartford and his family.

John Cook Taylor was born on 25 December 1863 near Renfro Valley.¹“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 24 Mar 2008), death certificate no. 23800 (1953), John Cook Taylor; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. He was the fourth of James Francis Taylor and Margaret E. Ramsey’s eleven children. His siblings were William Thomas, Josiah L., Martha Ann, Rhoda Nell, Margaret Lou, Robert Burke, Milton, Alford, Sue, and Nannie.²Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (KY, Loyall, 1969-1977), scanned copy of fill-in-the-blanks family history privately held by Linda F. McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Linda is Emma’s granddaughter; p. 26, Wm Thomas, Josiah L., Margaret Lou, Robert Burke, Rhoda Nell, Milton, Alford, Martha Ann, Sue, Nannie..

The Taylors lived on what is now Old Highway 25 Loop 6. It was the main road in those days but only a small stretch remains today. That stretch runs parallel to US Highway 25, starting north of the intersection of Highways 461 and 25 and dead-ending at I-75. Their house was behind where Wendy’s and KFC are today. That entire area on both sides of Highway 25 was their farm.³Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor; Faye remembers where the house was because Lou and Bob still lived when they were older.

Emma Jane Owens was born on 16 April 1882 in the Freedom community.⁴Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 12. She was the youngest of Madison Crawford Owens and Cecilia Owens’s seven children.⁵Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977), p. 26. Most of her siblings were much older than her. Elizabeth married and had a child before Emma Jane was born.⁶Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriages Minister’s Returns, 3:55, Craig-Owens, 1880; microfilm 806410; KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. “Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 29 Jan 2022), death certificate no. 18920 (1955), Joe Matt Craig; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort; Elizabeth’s son born 28 Oct 1881. Siblings Sally and George were both married before she was six years old.⁷Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriages Minister’s Returns, 3:258, Owens-Hamm, 1888; microfilm 806410; KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriages Minister’s Returns, 3:232, Craig-Owens, 1886; microfilm 806410; KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Another sister died as an infant before Emma Jane was born.⁸ “Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847–1911,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1213 : accessed 17 Mar 2008); 1874, female, not named, father Madison C. Owens, mother Celia Owens, Rockcastle Co.; from Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records (1852-1910), microfilm rolls #994027-994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort; born 1 Feb 1874. “Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 18 Mar 2008), 1874, female, not named, parents Madison C & Celia Owens; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort; died 12 Feb 1874. For most of her childhood, only brothers Wesley Alfred and William David, ten and seven years older than her, were at home with Emma Jane and their parents.⁹1900 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Skeggs Creek, enumeration district (ED) 7, sheet 12B, dwelling 232, family 244, Mat C. Owens; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602 : accessed2 Sep 2008); from NARA microfilm T623, roll 550; Wesley living with parents. Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriage Bonds, 10: 100, Owens-Owens, 1895; microfilm 806413; KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort; Emma was 13 when Dave married.

John married Sarah A. “Sally” Ramsey, daughter of Goldman P. Ramsey and Serena Green, on 8 June 1885.¹⁰Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriages, 3: 399, Taylor-Ramsey, 1885; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. 1870 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Voting District #1., p. 12, dwelling 89, family 77, Golman P. Ramsey; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163 : accessed28 Jan 2022); from NARA microfilm M593, roll 497; Sarah A. Living with parents Golman P. And Serena Ramsey. “Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847–1911,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1213 : accessed 29 Jan 2022); 1858, Hariett Ramsey, parents Golman Ramsey & Serena Green, Rockcastle Co.; from Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records (1852-1910), microfilm rolls #994027-994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort; Serena’s maiden name Green on daughter Harriett’s birth record. John and Sally had two daughters—Grace born on 27 August 1886 and Susan born on 3 February 1889.¹¹KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 20336 (1961), Gracie Taylor; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort. “Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 6 Dec 2021), death certificate no. 4246 (1964), Susie Krueger; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Sally was about twenty-four years old when she died on 12 February 1892.¹²1870 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, pop. sch., Voting District #1., p. 12, dwell. 89, fam. 77, Golman P. Ramsey; Sarah age 2, estimated birth year 1868. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 51, death date.

On 22 August 1894, John married Margaret F. “Fannie” Warren.¹³Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriages, 48, 268-269, Taylor-Warren, 1897; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. Fannie, the daughter of Fielden L. Warren and Jane Keeney, was born on 21 March 1876 in Rockcastle County.¹⁴“Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847–1911,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1213 : accessed 10 Jan 2022); 1876, Margaret F. Warren, father: Fielding L. Warren, mother: Jane Keeney , Rockcastle Co.; from Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records (1852-1910), microfilm rolls #994027-994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Their son William Robert was born on 16 May 1895 and their marriage ended in divorce on 16 February 1898.¹⁵U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901 : accessed 10 Dec 2021), William Robert Taylor, SSN 712-03-2120; from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007; born 16 May 1895, parents John Taylor & Margarette F. Warren. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008664487 : accessed 21 Jan 2022), digital film 008664487, image 276, Court Orders, Rockcastle Co., KY, 4: 489, John Taylor vs Fannie Taylor, divorce granted 16 Feb 1898. John’s daughter Emma and Bill in later life told that John chased after the wagon, begging Fannie not to take his son away but could not stop her.

John and Emma Jane married on 16 January 1900 at her parents’ home at Freedom.¹⁶Rockcastle Co., KY, Marriages, 9: 23, Taylor-Owens, 1900; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. Emma Jane was seventeen years old when she became step-mother to thirteen-year-old Gracie and ten-year-old Susie.¹⁷Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 12 & 14, birthdates for Emma Jane, Gracie, and Susie. The three of them were close for the rest of their lives.¹⁸Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, daughter of John Cook Taylor and Emma Jane Owens, maternal grandmother of author.

John and Emma Jane started their marriage in a house on West Main Street near Fairground Hill in Mt. Vernon.¹⁹Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (KY, Loyall, 1977), privately held by Faye Hopkins McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Faye is Emma’s daughter. Their daughter Emma Ewers was born in that house on 24 October 1900.²⁰KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, delayed birth certificate, certificate no. 451627 (issued 1960), Emma Ewer s Taylor; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977). John ran a blacksmith shop in Mt. Vernon on Spring Street. Their son, Hartford Conn, was born on 11 April 1905.²¹Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977).

On 6 December 1906, they bought a two-story house on Main Street, near Elmwood Cemetery, in Mt. Vernon from R. B. And Emma Mullins.²²FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008575182 : accessed 21 Jan 2022), digital film 008575182 , image 575, Deeds, Rockcastle Co., KY, 22: 518-519, R. B. & Emma Mullins to John Taylor, 6 Dec 1906. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977), description and location of house. They sold this property on 11 November 1910 to A. B. Furnish and moved back to West Main Street.²³FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008575184 : accessed 21 Jan 2022), digital film 008575184 , image 374, Deeds, Rockcastle Co., KY, 26: 55-56, John C & Emma Taylor to A. B. Burnish, 11 Nov 1910. This house was near, but across the street from, their first home.²⁴Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977). Susie married August Krueger in this house on 11 September 1911.²⁵FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005557734 : accessed7 Jan 2022), digital film 005557734, image 353, Marriage Record, Rockcastle County, KY, 12: 49, August Krueger & Susie Taylor, 8 Sep 1911. In 1917, they sold that property to Tom Penicks and moved to a brick two-family house, known as “the Krueger bricks,” on West Main Street.²⁶“Personal,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 14 Dec 1917, p. 3, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 Jan 2022). The Krueger bricks were down the street from Susie and her husband’s family owned them. Their next move was to a house on Crawford Street, behind what is now the Rockcastle County Board of Education. That house burned to the ground while they were living there.²⁷Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977).

After the fire, John, Emma Jane, Emma, and Hartford stayed with Susie and her family at their house on West Main Street, then moved back to the Krueger bricks. While living there, their third child, Anna Rose, was born on 10 June 1918 and daughter Emma eloped with Elmer Dennis Hopkins to Jellico, Tennessee on 11 October 1920.²⁸Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977).

John sold the blacksmith shop and, on 29 December 1921, bought a small, forty-acre farm about a mile from town on Buckeye Road.²⁹Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 49: 279, J. C. & Emma Taylor to Egar Mullins, 15 Nov 1927; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon; this deed when John sold the farm references that he bought it on 29 Dec 1921 fromW. M. Bryant, bk 46, p 542. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977); sold blacksmith shop when bought Buckeye farm. They had chickens, cows, horses, and goats and raised a big garden. John was happy on the farm, but for reasons unknown, they sold it on 15 November 1927 and again moved in with Susie.³⁰Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977). It is unclear if they lived with Susie the entire time between 1927 and their next documented move in 1932. It is possible that they again lived in one of the Krueger bricks part of that time.

Their son, Hartford, married Elizabeth Josephine Mulliner on 9 November 1928 in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois.³¹Marriage Certificate, Hartford Conn Taylor and Betty Josephine Mulliner, 9 Nov 1928, Knox County, IL; original privately held by W. H. Taylor; scanned copy provided to Linda F. McCauley, 2003. Hartford was a musician. In the early 1930s, he moved to Chicago, where he performed on the WLS barn dance and the WJJD supper time frolic.³²Paul Kingsbury, editor, The Encyclopedia of Country Music, compiled by staff of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998); p 121 & 275.

On 18 December 1932, John and Emma Jane’s son-in-law Elmer bought a small farm near the one they sold in 1927.³³Rockcastle Co., KY, Master Commissioner Deed Book 2: 556, Tip Langford to Elmer Hopkins, 18 Dec 1932; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. John, Emma Jane, Gracie, and Anna Rose moved there. Like most, if not all, other places they had lived, the house on this farm did not have electricity or running water. They had a spring, which supplied drinking water and kept butter and milk cool. They caught rainwater for laundry. Emma Jane would build a fire under a big pot of rainwater and stir their clothes and linens with a big paddle that John made for her. She did not have a clothesline, so everything was hung on the fence.³⁴Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

The house was small, only four rooms. The kitchen ran across most of the back of the house. It had a cabinet, a washstand, a wood/coal stove, and a table. The table had several chairs and a bench with storage under the seat. A bucket of water with a dipper that everyone drank from was always on the washstand, along with a bowl. A small room off the kitchen served as Gracie’s bedroom. It was the only room in the house with a door.³⁵Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

The two front rooms were open to each other and the kitchen. Each room had a door to the front porch, which ran most of the length of the house. One room had a leather couch that made a bed, a chest of drawers, a crank-style Victrola, and an iron bed. The other room had two beds, a warm morning stove, a library table, and a sewing machine. They also had several straight-back chairs and rockers that were used in both the front rooms and on the porch, where the family often gathered.³⁶Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

The house had no closets, but Emma Jane put up poles in the corners to hang clothes and hung a drape in front of them. The floors were covered with linoleum.³⁷Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

John kept a few cows, goats, pigs, and chickens. He also had a couple of horses that he used for plowing and to pull a wagon. He raised a big garden and Emma Jane canned enough vegetables to last them until the next year’s garden. They often had a dog that started out belonging to their granddaughter Faye, then coming to live on the farm when Faye’s parents could talk her into that.³⁸Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

John played the fiddle and sang. Some of his favorite songs were “Cripple Creek,” “Shortening Bread,” “Turkey in the Straw,” and hymns. His hair turned gray early, but he still had a thick head of wavy hair when he died.³⁹Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977).

Emma Jane was a great cook, even though she never owned a cookbook and only had a wood cook stove. Her daughter, Emma, had a long list of favorite foods that her mother cooked, including biscuits, fried chicken, gravy, fried apples, cornbread, and chowchow. She churned her own butter and make cottage cheese, and she made pies and jam with wild blackberries the girls picked.⁴⁰Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977). She baked pies in the lard can lid.⁴¹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

John’s brother, Bob, lived in their parents’ old home on a farm just over the hill. It was a few miles by road, but they had a shorter path worn over the hill and took turns making that walk almost every Sunday afternoon.⁴²Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Elmer bought the Krueger bricks in December 1938.⁴³Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 57: 329, Clara Traub & Anna E. Krueger to Elmer Hopkins, 20 Dec 1938 and 57: 330, Anna E. Krueger to Elmer Hopkins, 17 Dec 1938; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. When John’s health started failing in the late 1940s, Elmer sold the farm and moved them back to one of the bricks on West Main Street.⁴⁴Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Daughter, Anna Rose, married Holt Chesnut on 3 February 1947 in Cook County, Illinois.⁴⁵Cook County, IL, “Cook County Genealogy,” database, Genealogy Online (http://www.cookcountygenealogy.com/ : accessed 3 Mar 2010), Anna Rose Taylor and Emery H. Chestnut, 3 Feb 1947, #1954006; index citing marriage records of Cook County (no longer available online). They lived in Detroit, Michigan for a few years, and then Anna Rose returned to Mt. Vernon with her young son.⁴⁶Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

One thing Emma Jane and John never agreed on was politics. He was a staunch Republican and she a Democrat. That fact alone shows what an independent woman Emma Jane was. Many women of her time deferred to their husbands in politics. But even though they had been married for twenty years before she gained the right to vote, Emma Jane always voted as she wanted.⁴⁷Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

John died of uremia and nephritis at home on 7 September 1953 at eighty-nine years old.⁴⁸“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” death certificate no. 23800 (1953), John Cook Taylor. John and Emma Jane were both members of the First Christian Church, which was just across the street from them on West Main Street.⁴⁹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. John’s funeral was held at the church on 9 September and he was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.⁵⁰“John C. Taylor Dies,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal,10 Sep 1953; microfilm of Mt. Vernon Signal, Rockcastle County Public Library, Mt. Vernon.

Emma and Gracie continued living together in the bricks on West Main Street.⁵¹Linda F. McCauley, granddaughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. Gracie died on 25 September 1961 at the Rockcastle County Baptist Hospital in Mt. Vernon.⁵²KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 20336 (1961), Gracie Taylor. Emma Jane and John’s son, Hartford, died of a stroke on 17 October 1963 in Illinois.⁵³“Hartford C. Taylor Buried in Illinois,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 31 Oct 1963; microfilm of Mt. Vernon Signal, Rockcastle County Public Library, Mt. Vernon. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (1977); cause of death.

Sometime in the 1960s, Emma Jane got a television. She enjoyed it very much even though she could hardly hear by that time. When visitors stopped by while she was watching TV, she would explain what was happening on the show. Her explanation rarely had anything to do with the actual plot since she could not hear it. But she was perfectly happy and entertained by the stories she made up to go with what she saw.⁵⁴Linda F. McCauley, granddaughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Emma Jane always enjoyed having company and visiting with family and friends. A family friend once saw her walking home from a nearby funeral home and stopped to give her a ride. When the friend asked who had died, she told them she did not know. She had just gone to the visitation to see if anyone she knew from out in the country might be there. “Out in the country” meant the Freedom area where she grew up.⁵⁵Linda F. McCauley, granddaughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

A few years before Emma Jane died, her daughter Emma started organizing a party to celebrate her birthday every year. The parties were held at Emma Jane’s house and were potluck. Everyone brought a dish and stayed all afternoon. Guests included her daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews with their families.⁵⁶Linda F. McCauley, granddaughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

On 17 March 1968, Emma Jane died at the Rockcastle County Baptist Hospital in Mt. Vernon—one month before her eighty-sixth birthday. She had chronic bronchitis for several years and suffered a stroke three days earlier.⁵⁷KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 68-7549 (1968), Emma Taylor; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort. Reverend Norman Howard, of First Christian Church, officiated her funeral at Cox Funeral Home Chapel on 19 March.⁵⁸“Mrs. Emma Taylor Dies March 17,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 21 Mar 1968; microfilm of Mt. Vernon Signal, Rockcastle County Public Library, Mt. Vernon. Emma Jane was buried in Elmwood Cemetery next to John.⁵⁹Elmwood Cemetery (Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co., KY), John C. and Emma J. Taylor marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 20 Mar 2003.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "John Cook Taylor & Emma Jane Owens," Documenting the Details, 4 Feb 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/jctaylor-ejowens : accessed [enter current date]).

Written by: Linda F. McCauley
Copyright © 2022 Linda F. McCauley. All rights reserved.

My Connection: John Cook Taylor & Emma Jane Owens (great-grandparents > Emma Ewers Taylor (grandmother) > Uta Faye McCauley (mother)