Preston Taylor

Preston Taylor
Image of Taylor from 1887
Born	November 7, 1849 Shreveport, Louisiana
Died	April 13, 1931 (age 81) Nashville, Tennessee
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery 36°08′41″N 86°43′27″W / 36.144719°N 86.724173°W / 36.144719; -86.724173
Occupation	businessman minister philanthropist
Notable work	Foundation of Greenwood Cemetery and Greenwood Park
Spouse(s)	Georgia Gordon Ida D. Mallory
Religion	Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Preston Taylor (November 7, 1849 – April 13, 1931) was an African-American businessman, minister and philanthropist. In the early 20th century he was considered one of the most influential leaders of Nashville, Tennessee's black community. He created Greenwood Cemetery, which is the second oldest African-American cemetery in Nashville, and Greenwood Park, which was the first park for African-American communities in Nashville. A later public housing project was named in his honor.

Taylor was born into slavery in Shreveport, Louisiana on November 7, 1849 to slave parents, Zed and Betty Taylor. He was said to tell his mother that he wanted to be a preacher at the age of four after attending a sermon in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1864, during the American Civil War he enlisted in Company G of the 116th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops as a drummer and was at the Siege of Petersburg, fall of Richmond, and surrender of Lee. After the end of the war in 1865, his regiment did garrison duty in Texas and New Orleans where he was mustered out a free man. After the war he became a marbel engraver and moved to Louisville Kentucky. Whites in Kentucky refused to work with him and he instead found work as a train porter for the Louisville & Chatanooga Railroad where he worked for four years.

After resigning from the railroad, Taylor traveled throughout the North. When he returned to Kentucky, he was called to become a pastor. He became a minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and settled in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky about 1870. In 1874 he founded the High Street Christian Church, "the finest brick building as a place for the worship of God in the state", which became "the largest congregation in the state among those of his faith". He became known as the leading minister of his church during that time and was instrumental in organizing and building numerous congregations and meeting houses.