John Tayloe II
| John Tayloe II | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 28, 1721 Old House, Richmond County, Virginia |
| Died | April 18, 1799 (aged 77) Mount Airy, Richmond County, Virginia |
| Resting place | Mount Airy, Richmond County, Virginia |
| Nationality | British/American |
| Occupation | Planter, Agent |
| Known for | Virginia Planter, Builder of Mount Airy |
Colonel John Tayloe II (28 May 1721 – 18 April 1779) was among the richest plantation owners in colonial Virginia. He served in public office including the Virginia Governor's Council, also known as the Virginia Council of State. He has been described as a "model Virginia planter, planting tobacco, wheat and corn and raising livestock." A fourth-generation plantation owner from the Tayloe family of entrepreneurs, he took over the management of the Neabsco Iron Works during the 1740s, likely after his father's death in 1747. The Tayloe family of Richmond County, including John Tayloe II, his father, John Tayloe I, and son, John Tayloe III, exemplified gentry entrepreneurship.
Tayloe was born in Richmond County at Old House, located on Rappahannock River, two miles west of Mount Airy, an estate his grandfather had purchased and upon which he built a home. Tayloe was born to John Tayloe I (1688–1747) and Elizabeth Gwynn, daughter of David Gwyn and Katherine Griffin. He had an elder brother, William Tayloe (1716–1726) who died at age 9, a twin sister named Elizabeth, and younger sister named Ann Corbin Tayloe, born 25 August 1723. Tayloe was educated in England.
In 1744, at the age of 23, he was signer of the Treaty of Lancaster made with the Indians of the Six Nations. After Tayloe's father died in 1747, he inherited a large fortune including 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) and 320 slaves. In 1748 he began building the mansion "Mount Airy," on a hilltop on the north bank of the Rappahannock River in Richmond Co., in the Northern Neck of VA. It was built on the plantation inherited from his father, formerly known as "Tayloe's Quarter," on a different site from that of the Old House. He built the house of stone, which was extraordinary since stone was generally lacking in the Tidewater region of VA and stonecutters were rare. The Tayloe's found a large deposit of hard gray sandstone on the plantation which was quarried for the walls. For window frames and the central pavilions on the entry that frame the front doors and 2nd story windows, John Tayloe got Aquia Creek sandtone, the same nearly white stone used later for the U.S. Capitol and President's House, and in the Octagon. He built the present grand house over a period of 10 years. In 1756, he bought the Occoquan Ironworks company, eventually running it as one business with the Neabsco Ironworks.
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