Biography

Wesley Taylor was a faithful African American member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who lived in Utah towards the end of his life. On July 25th, 1896, he attended a Utah-based festival which celebrated the state’s elderly citizens who were over seventy years old. His attendance was noted in a local Black-owned newspaper, along with other elderly Black members of his faith: Isaac Manning, Jane James, a Mr. Knox, and a Mr. Harris. Unfortunately, the news report does not offer any other identifying information for Knox, Taylor, or Harris, other than the fact that they were Black and Latter-day Saints.[1]

The Broad Ax, a Black-owned newspaper in Utah, described the Black men in the group as “very old gentlemen,” and “faithful members of the Mormon Church.” Throughout the celebration, they reportedly intermingled with the Old Folks of other races “as brothers and sisters.”[2]

It can be presumed that Taylor was a Utah resident since the festival was for the Beehive State’s senior citizens. It’s also possible he was older than seventy, given that he was described by the Broad Ax as being “very old.” He may have been born around 1825 or earlier.

From 1875 to 1970, Utah celebrated Old Folks’ Day, an annual celebration for Utah residents aged seventy years and older. These celebrants would spend the day enjoying meals and entertainment provided by young volunteers, and riding in carriages, trains, and boats. The day would end with recognition of some of the most remarkable elderly in attendance: the oldest man and woman, furthest travelled, oldest man and woman who were completely toothless, oldest woman never married, mother of the most children, longest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and oldest members of other Christian denominations.

Taylor does not appear in Utah’s federal census or death records from 1870 to 1910. It is possible that he lived in Vernal, Utah in 1894, when a newspaper article mentions a Wesley Taylor teaching Bible History as a member of the Mill Ward there.[3] The Mill Ward Sunday School records from the surrounding years however do not mention a Wesley Taylor .[4]In the 1880 and 1900 United States federal censuses, no elderly Black men named Wesley Taylor, or other name variants, have been identified.

Mr. Wesley Taylor may have been the father of William Wesley Taylor, the founder, writer, and editor of the Utah Plain Dealer newspaper. William Wesley Taylor was Black and born in Missouri in 1865 to parents Westley Taylor and Mary Russell.[5] His sister, Louise Mary Taylor Mills, also lived in Utah and is described in public records as “colored,” and born in Tennessee in 1874 to parents Wesley Taylor, and an unnamed mother who was born in Missouri.[6] The two siblings both passed away in 1907. Louise Mary Taylor Mills’ death and funeral notices state that she died “in [Salt Lake City], … at the residence of her sister-in-law, Mrs. W. W. Taylor,” and that her funeral was also held at “the residence of her sister-in-law, Mrs. W. W. Taylor.”[7] Unfortunately, neither the obituary for William Wesley Taylor or for Louise Mary Taylor Mills references their parentage. Wesley Taylor was not living with William Wesley Taylor in either the 1880 or 1900 censuses. Even still, he is the most likely match for the Wesley Taylor at the Old Folks’ Day celebration. Should Wesley Taylor be located in a record in Utah during the same time periods, that would nigh confirm his identity as the Mr. Wesley Taylor who attended the Old Folks’ Day festival in 1896. Until further evidence emerges, Century of Black Mormons recognizes a Mr. Wesley Taylor as a “faithful” Latter-day Saint living in Utah in 1896.

By Danielle M. (Elder) Blaylock

[1] “Old Folks’ Day,” The Broad Ax (Salt Lake City, Utah), 25 July 1896, 1.

[2] “Old Folks’ Day,” The Broad Ax (Salt Lake City, Utah,), 25 July 1896, 1.

[3] "Program for Mill Ward M.I.A," Vernal Express (Vernal, Uintah, Utah, United States), 11 January 1894, 4.

[4] Mill Ward Sunday School minutes and records, 1889-1974, Uintah Stake, Vernal, Uintah County, Utah, LR 5160 15, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[5] Utah, State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificates of Death, File No. 63, Registered No. 12672, William W. Taylor, Utah Division of Archives and Records Services, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[6] Utah, State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificates of Death, File No. 845, Registered No. 13334, Louise Mary Taylor Mills, Utah Division of Archives and Records Services, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[7] “Died,” The Salt Lake Herald (Salt Lake City, Utah), 18 June 1907, 9.

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