Hoyt Patrick Taylor Sr. (June 11, 1890 – April 12, 1964) was the 21st

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member o ...

from 1949 to 1953.

Early life

Taylor was born in

Winton, North Carolina Winton is a town and the county seat of Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. It is governed by the Town Council which consists of a Mayor and five Council members. The population was 769 at the 2010 census. History On September 19, 186 ...

on June 11, 1890 to Simeon P. and Kate (Ward) Taylor.

Education

Taylor attended Winton Academy, Winton High School, Horner Military School and Wake Forest College.

Family life

In 1923 Taylor married Inez Wooten of Chadbourn. They had three children: Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr., Caroline Corbett Taylor, and Frank Wooten Taylor. Hoyt Patrick "Pat" Taylor Jr. was also elected Lt. Governor, twenty years after his father.

Military service

Taylor served as a second lieutenant in the 371st Infantry during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and received the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

as well as a personal citation from General

John Joseph Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the We ...

Business career

For many years Taylor practiced law in

Wadesboro, North Carolina Wadesboro is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census. The town was originally found in 1783 as New Town but changed by the North Carolina General Assembly to Wadesboro in 1787 to honor Co ...

, for a time in partnership with Congressman A. Paul Kitchin.

Early political career

A Democrat, Taylor served as mayor of Wadesboro, as chairman of the Anson County Democratic Executive Committee, as a member of the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

(sessions of 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, and 1943), and as legislative assistant to Governor Robert Gregg Cherry (1945). Taylor served as a trustee of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and

Meredith College Meredith College is a private women's liberal arts college and coeducational graduate school in Raleigh, North Carolina. As of 2021 Meredith enrolls approximately 1,500 women in its undergraduate programs and 300 men and women in its graduate pr ...

End Notes

References

Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Sr., Papers at East Carolina University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Hoyt Patrick 1890 births 1964 deaths Lieutenant Governors of North Carolina North Carolina state senators Wake Forest University alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Recipients of the Silver Star Meredith College people North Carolina lawyers People from Winton, North Carolina People from Wadesboro, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina American military personnel of World War I 20th-century American politicians