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Becky Wilson and her husband, Jim, look over the new 'Presidential Cousins' exhibit
Benjamin Marsh, 11, (left) and his brother Joseph Marsh, 8, (right) wait to blow out the candles on Zachary Taylor's 225th birthday cake |
Tourists come to Virginia to see George Washington's Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and James Madison's Montpelier.
But many probably don't know they're driving past the birthplace of another president on their way to those famous homes.
While he grew up in Kentucky, Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Virginia--in Orange County, to be precise.
The James Madison Museum in Orange yesterday unveiled an exhibit to honor Taylor, who was a cousin of Madison's.
The exhibit contains large busts of both Taylor and Madison, and artifacts from Taylor's life, such as china plates, a pipe he bought for his wife, a silver fork on which he teethed as a child (still bearing teeth marks) and copies of documents related to Taylor's war service and presidency.
Museum president Helen Taylor is a descendant; she and her husband donated the money 34 years ago to create the museum.
Bill Thomas, vice president of the museum, said Taylor needs more recognition, both locally and nationally. The Taylor exhibit, he said, adds to local historical attractions like the museum that houses it, and nearby Montpelier, Madison's home.
"It makes Orange a tourism destination," Thomas said.
Taylor was born in Barboursville in 1784. He and Madison shared a great-grandfather, Col. James Taylor II, who received land grants for helping Alexander Spotswood survey the previously uncharted territory west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Taylor's parents moved the family to Kentucky when he was a baby; he joined the U.S. Army in 1808.
Taylor had a long military career spanning the War of 1812, various battles against American Indians and the Mexican-American War in the late 1840s. A battle victory there helped make Taylor a national war hero.
That, in turn, led to Taylor's nomination in 1848 as the presidential candidate of the Whig Party.
He won, and surprised his Whig supporters by taking a moderate stance on the proposed expansion of slavery to new territories.
Taylor served only 16 months as president, dying in office in July 1850.
Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
