Bio: Taylor, Honorable James A.
Contact: Janet Schwarze or Mary Hsu (family member)


Surnames: Taylor, Campbell, Allen, Bussy, Randall, Buzzell

 

---Source: 1881 History of Northern Wisconsin, pg. 218.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HON. JAMES A. TAYLOR

HON. JAMES A. TAYLOR, proprietor of the Central House at Chippewa Falls, was born in Argyle, Washington Co., N. Y., Sept. 8, 1835; was reared in Saratoga County, N. Y. Located at Chippewa Falls. June 27, 1854, having been a resident of Lansing. Iowa, prior to that time. After coming to Chippewa Falls he was employed as clerk of the steamboat, Ben. H. Campbell, owned by H S. Allen & Co. From late in the Summer of 1854 to the Fall of 1856, he had charge of the store of H. S. Allen & Co. In 1855, Mr. Taylor, in partnership with Fred H. Bussy, built the first store on the town plat. They commenced mercantile business in October, 1856, and continued together until 1867. They also dealt in lumber, furs, etc., and in l861 they run the Allen mill with Adin Randall. In 1864, Taylor & Bussy built the Grand Island Mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1865; they rebuilt it the following Winter. Mr. Taylor purchased his partner's interest and conducted the mill until 1872, then leased the mill to the French Lumbering Company, and sold the mill to that company in 1875. In 1876, he leased the Central Hotel, and purchased it in 1877. Mr. T. was the first Mayor of the city of Chippewa Falls, and has held various town and village offices. He was a member of the Assembly of Wisconsin in 1880. He was married in Chippewa Falls, Dec. 25, 1856, to Mary M. Buzzell, a native of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. They have three children—Frank A., William J. and John I. Mr. Taylor was one of the founders of Eau Claire Lodge, No. 112, A. F. & A. M.

----Source: 1881 History of Northern Wisconsin, pg. 198

CITY OF CHIPPEWA FALLS.

The city form of government was adopted in 1S69. James A. Taylor was the first Mayor. Thomas Morris, Treasurer. John F. Hall, City Clerk. William R. Hoyt was City Attorney. The early records are lost. Post-office —I. B. Taft, Postmaster. The present officers are : L. C. Stanley, Mayor; L. Gaudette, City Clerk; Peter Bergenin, Treasurer; John J. Jenkins, Attorney; Michael Hogan, Assessor; S. S. Riddle, M. D., Physician; Joseph Walker, Street Commissioner; Policemen—J. P. Dipple, William Anglum, Simon Cardinal and John O'Donnell.  

Board of Health—L. M. Newman, President ; B. Gardiner, Vice-President; H. C. McRae, Samuel Hill. Board of Education, George C. Ginty, President ; Commissioner, A. McBean, George S. Rogers, John Weinberger, James A. Taylor. The City Clerk officiates as secretary.

James Alexander Taylor

 

TAYLOR HOUSE SOLD AGAIN

Messrs. Butterfield & Connor, proprietors of the Stanley house, Saturday afternoon purchased the Taylor house property and will take possession Monday morning.  Mr. Bailey, who was the highest bidder at the sheriff’s sale and acquired the property for $17,000, was the first party to the sale.  The fixtures, etc. are the property of Hon. James A. Taylor, who with his family retires from the hotel.

It is not the intentions of the new proprietors to continue the hotel.  A few of the best rooms will be reserved for guests when the Stanley is overcrowded and the remaining rooms of the two upper stories will be converted into office rooms.  The office and corridor will be rearranged and rented for store purposes.  A janitor and porter will be kept in the new possession and be at the services of guests and tenants.

_______________________________

The Taylor house property was sold Friday at sheriff sale to Lawrence Bailey for $17,000, he being the highest bidder, S.C.F. Cobban started the bids at $15,000. 

The property was sold to satisfy two mortgages, one amounting to $21,423.70 held by the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, the other by S.C.F. Cobban amounting to $2,936.54.  The insurance company is secured for the difference by a life insurance policy which involves all of that excepting about $800.  Thus Mr. Cobban is shut out of the deal.  There is left for him about $800 of the insurance policy, which makes him the loser of about $2,000.  He has not decided as yet whether he will contest for the balance.

Mr. Bailey has conducted the Taylor house saloon for a year or more.  Just when he will take possession of the hotel has not been announced but it will probably be immediately.  Jr. James Taylor has moved into the Toepher house.




 

 

Family Notes

James Alexander Taylor was born 8 Sep 1834 in Argyle, New York and died 15 Feb 1906 in Portland, Oregon.  Our family believes James Alexander Taylor and Mary Mandana Buzzell were the first white marriage in Chippewa Falls and that their son, Frank, was the first white child born there. Please contact me if you can confirm that info. 

 

I remember the story behind another family photo of a coffee pot-- it was from a great grandfather in Chippewa Falls, WI and that he had a hotel and the coffee pot came from that hotel.

My great grandmother, Mary Mandana Taylor, was the daughter of John Isaac Taylor and the granddaughter of James Alexander Taylor and Mary Mandana Buzzell. She was obviously named after her grandmother. We are fortunate that she saved all these family photos and also wrote info on the backs of them.

When I first saw the photo of James Alexander Taylor, she had written on it the Honorable James A Taylor, which lead me down the path of finding out he was the first Mayor of Chippewa Falls. I have found so many amazing details out about our family
Mary Hsu

 

[Next Page]

 

 


© Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

 

Show your appreciation of this freely provided information by not copying it to any other site without our permission.

 

Become a Clark County History Buff

 

Report Broken Links

A site created and maintained by the Clark County History Buffs
and supported by your generous donations.

 

Webmasters: Leon Konieczny, Tanya Paschke,

Janet & Stan Schwarze, James W. Sternitzky,

Crystal Wendt & Al Wessel

 

CLARK CO. WI HISTORY HOME PAGE