Documenting the Details

Taylor & Owens

Emma Ewers Taylor was the daughter of John Cook Taylor and Emma Jane Owens of Rockcastle County, Kentucky. She has several colonial lines and one that hasn’t been traced beyond settling in Kentucky in the early 1800s. 

Emma’s ancestral surnames include King, Lavender, Lewis, Mullins, Owen/Owens, Ramsey, and Taylor. All of those families, except Lewis, migrated to Kentucky from various locations in North Carolina or Virginia and settled in the three-county area of Garrard, Lincoln, and Rockcastle.

View Ancestry.com tree starting with Emma.  

Photo on right: (front) Emma Jane, John holding Hartford; (back) Gracie, Susie, Emma
Taylor Family
  • 1. Emma Ewers Taylor
  • Parents
  • 2. John Cook Taylor
  • 3. Emma Jane Owens
  • Grandparents
  • 4. James Francis Taylor
  • 5. Margaret E. Ramsey
  • 6. Madison Crawford Owens
  • 7. Cecilia Owens
  • Great-Grandparents
  • 8. William Taylor
  • 9. Martha Ramsey
  • 10. Thomas Ramsey, Sr.
  • 11. Rhoda Lavender
  • 12. Alfred Owens
  • 13. Rebecca Mullins
  • 14. Wesley Owens
  • 15. Louis A. Mullins
  • 2nd Great-Grandparents
  • 16.
  • 17.
  • 18. Thomas Ramsey, Sr.
  • 19. Martha Goldman
  • 20. Thomas Ramsey, Sr.
  • 21. Martha Goldman
  • 22. John Lavender
  • 23.
  • 24. David Owens
  • 25. Winifred Mullins
  • 26. Champ Mullins
  • 27. Elizabeth ?
  • 28. David Owens
  • 29. Winifred Mullins
  • 30. Spencer Mullins
  • 31. Mary King

Edward King was a Revolutionary War soldier from Wilkes County, North Carolina. He married Felicia Lewis and they had 10 children, including Mary who married Spencer Mullins. Edward died in Ashe County, North Carolina about 1800. His parents are unknown. Mary was Emma’s 2nd great-grandmother.

John Lavender’s origins aren’t known but he likely arrived in Kentucky from Virginia. His daughter, Rhoda Ann, married Stephen Bradford Lair in 1829 in Lincoln County. By 1839, Stephen had died and she married Thomas Ramsey, Jr. Rhoda and Thomas lived in Rockcastle County. Rhoda was Emma’s great-grandmother.

Felicia Lewis married Edward King in 1767 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Felicia’s parents are unknown. She was Emma’s 3rd great-grandmother. 

Henry Mullins and his wife, Mary (maiden name possibly Terry) lived in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Henry was likely from Virginia, but his parents are undetermined. Henry, Mary, and most, if not all, of their children migrated to Rockcastle County, Kentucky. They were in Rockcastle by 1810 and were likely there before the formation of the county that year. Henry’s children Winifred, Champ, and Spencer were all three Emma’s 2nd great-grandparents.

David Owens was a Revolutionary War soldier from Wilkes County, North Carolina who was born in Halifax County, Virginia. He married Winifred Mullins, daughter of Henry Mullins, in 1780. David and Winifred, along with her parents and several brothers, left Wilkes County between 1800 and 1810 and settled in the area that in 1810 became Rockcastle County, Kentucky. David’s son Alfred was the father of Madison Crawford Owens. David’s son Wesley was the father of Cecilia Owens. Madison and Celia’s daughter Emma Jane was Emma’s mother.

Thomas Ramsey was a Revolutionary War soldier from Essex County, Virginia. Thomas and his brother, Francis Alexander, relocated to Kentucky after the war. Thomas settled in Garrard County while Francis settled in neighboring Rockcastle County. Thomas and his wife, Martha Goldman, were the parents of Thomas, Jr. and Martha. Martha married William Taylor. She was Emma’s great-grandmother. Thomas, Jr.’s daughter Margaret was Emma’s paternal grandmother. 

William Taylor’s parents are unknown. He was probably born in Virginia and was in Kentucky by 1825 when he married Martha Ramsey, daughter of Thomas, in Garrard County. William and Martha lived in Garrard County for about 20 years before moving to neighboring Rockcastle County.  Their son James Francis married Margaret Ramsey. James and Margaret’s son John Cook Taylor was Emma’s father. 

Family stories are available for names with the link icon in the chart above. Click name to read.   
Last Update: 31 Dec 2021