Dr. Silas Taylor and Sarah Ann Scowden

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Husband Dr. Silas Taylor ^{1 2}

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           Born: 18 Feb 1787 - Massachusetts 3
     Christened: 
           Died: 29 Jun 1875 - Batavia, Genesee Co, NY
         Buried: 

       Marriage: 1836 3

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   Other Spouse: Unknown (      -      )

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• Note: This may be the same person as : Dr. Silas Taylor.

• Note: This may be the same person as : Silas Taylor.

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Wife Sarah Ann Scowden ^{1 2}

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           Born: Abt 1791 - Susquehanna Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 15 Nov 1883 1
         Buried: 

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         Father: Theodore Scowden (      -      ) 2 4
         Mother: 

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   Other Spouse: John Minniss (      -Abt 1828) 5 6

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Children

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General Notes: Husband - Dr. Silas Taylor

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He was a prominent pioneer of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and settled about 1820 on the tract which John Smith, the Irish refugee, had inhabited. He was born in Massachusetts, of Puritan ancestry, and left Genesee County, New York, where he had been engaged in the practice of medicine, to settle in the northern part of Athens township. While still following his profession in his new home he also took up the labor of clearing the land. His practice called him over a field which included Athens, Bloomfield, Rockdale, Sparta, Richmond, Rome, Stueben and Troy, as he was the pioneer physician of this portion of the county. He made his way on horseback over indistinct and rugged bridle paths, and his journeys were often protracted until late into the night or continued during several days, yet the proceeds of his practice yielded scarcely more than a bare subsistence.
Dr. Taylor was a useful citizen, taking an interest in local public affairs, and did much to improve the roads and schools of his township. The absence of roads of any kind was one of the first difficulties which demanded the attention of these brave and sturdy yeomen. By an act of the Legislature a State Road had been authorized and had been cut out, but the underwood had obtained a vigorous growth and obstructed the passage. Steep hills needed leveling, deep morasses making passable, and streams bridging, while the dense forests which covered all the lands seemed to deny them subsistence. Nothing daunted, they set themselves to the task of removing these obstacles. Dr. Taylor and John Brown (the same John Brown who terminated his remarkable career at Harper's Ferry in his effort to arm the slaves, and who had settled in the adjoining township of Richmond) were active in opening the State Road through their respective townships, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing a serviceable highway which was well adapted to its purpose and laid the foundations for more permanent improvements.

Dr. Taylor resided most of his life in Athens, rearing a large family.

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General Notes: Wife - Sarah Ann Scowden

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In 1800 she came with her father from the Susquehanna to what is now Union Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, being at that time just a little girl. At an early age she married Captain John Minnis, a soldier of the War of 1812, and settled with him in Mercer County. His business, for he was a carpenter by occupation, often kept him from home until late at night and sometimes for entire days, and she was often left alone in their large unfinished cabin, which stood near the border of a dense and dismal forest. She had for a long time one evening awaited her husband's return, but he not coming, had at last retired and composed herself to sleep. She was awakened in the course of the night by the noise of a large animal climbing the side of the house. It soon afterwards sprang into the loft above, which was only partly furnished with a floor. Realizing her danger, she sprang from her bed and attempted to rekindle the fire and thus scare away the hungry intruder. Frightened by the angry growls of the ferocious animal, which now showed its head and looked down from the loft above, she retreated to the farther end of the cabin and took refuge in a large tea chest which closed with a spring lock. Fearing that it might close on her and bring her to a death even more terrible than that of being devoured by the panther, she kept her fingers between the box and the cover. The next moment the savage creature bounded upon the box, crushing her fingers with his weight. Tortured by the pain and frightened almost to death, she fainted and remained unconscious until morning. Then with difficulty withdrawing herself from her cramped position, and finding that the animal had departed, she hastened to the nearest neighbor with her frightful tale. The panther had done no further damage than to devour a quantity of fish and meat hung from a beam near the fireplace. Left a widow by the death of her first husband, she married Dr. Taylor and they lived together until his death at Batavia, New York, and she remained a resident of Athens Township until the end of her life.

1 Editor, The History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Warner Beers & Co., 1885), Pg 496, 784.

2 Samuel P. Bates, LL.D., Our County and Its People, A Historical and Memorial Record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (W. A. Fergusson & Co., 1899), Pg 476.

3 Editor, The History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Warner Beers & Co., 1885), Pg 496.

4 Editor, The History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Warner Beers & Co., 1885), Pg 674.

5 —, History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1877), Pg 66.

6 Editor, The History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Warner Beers & Co., 1885), Pg 784.