John H. Taylor was an American politician.

Life

John H. Taylor was of German descent, born in Kingward, West Virginia, in Preston County, on July 15, 1870. He was educated at the

West Virginia Normal School West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and the

University of West Virginia West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, earning degrees in 1890 and 1891, respectively. Taylor settled in Iowa in March 1892. He was a schoolteacher for seven years, before switching vocations to become a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher for fifteen years. His religious work took him to the counties of Mahaska,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

, Louisa and

Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

. Taylor later moved to

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia *Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California * Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia ...

and became a newspaper editor for eighteen years. He also worked in real estate and insurance. He was affiliated with the Odd Fellows and

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Taylor and his wife Elsie M. Longakar raised four children.

Political career

Taylor was elected to consecutive terms on the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

in 1913 and 1915. At the time

District 2 District 2 may refer to: Places by country *II District, Turku, in Finland * District 2, Düsseldorf, Germany *District 2, Grand Bassa County, a district in Liberia *District 2, an electoral district of Malta *District 2, a police district of Mal ...

included Van Buren and Jefferson counties. While living in New Sharon, Taylor was a school board member, mayor, and postmaster. He held the last position for twelve years, from 1922 to 1934. He sat on the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

between 1935 and 1937 as a legislator from District 25, based in Mahaska County. Throughout his political career, Taylor was a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John H. 1870 births Date of death missing 20th-century American legislators Members of the Iowa House of Representatives Iowa state senators Fairmont State University alumni West Virginia University alumni American Methodist clergy Methodists from West Virginia Schoolteachers from Iowa School board members in Iowa Mayors of places in Iowa Iowa postmasters People from Preston County, West Virginia American businesspeople in insurance American real estate brokers American Freemasons American people of German descent 19th-century American educators 20th-century American newspaper editors Editors of Iowa newspapers Methodists from Iowa