John Taylor (1809–1871) was a British-born

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-area businessman and a pioneer in the

pulp and paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...

Early life

The Taylor family immigrated to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in 1821 from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. By 1834, John Taylor and his brothers, Thomas and George, moved from the village of

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

to the

Township of York York is a former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Originally formed as York Township, it encompassed the ...

, north-east of the newly created city of Toronto.City of Toronto: Parks and Recreation – Taylor Creek Park Additional Information
/ref> The brothers set their sights on the banks of the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

, an area with an already burgeoning pulp and paper industry.

Paper production

The 1850s brought a wave of expansion to the paper industry in Toronto. By this time, Toronto's population had grown to over thirty thousand and this growing community was also becoming more literate, increasing the demand for books and newspapers. The Taylor family business was also expanding: the brothers had already built their first

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

on the West Don in 1846; in 1851 they purchased a water-powered saw mill, and also purchased the York Paper Mill (later named

Todmorden Mills Todmorden Mills was a small settlement located in the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario. It started out as a lumber mill in the 1790s. Originally known as "Don Mills", it grew into a small industrial complex and village before becoming part of ...

) in 1855. The Taylor mills produced

manila paper Manila paper is a relatively inexpensive type of paper, generally made through a less-refined process than other types of paper, and is typically made from semi-bleached wood fibers. It is just as strong as kraft paper but has better printing qu ...

newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has an ...

and felt paper, a product used in roofing. The mills were extremely productive and employed 100 people by the 1900s. John, the oldest of the three brothers, was the manager of the mills.History of the Don Valley Paper Mill – Information from "Don Valley Legacy" and from Domtar courtesy Lyla Radmanovich, Web Redactor.
/ref> In 1854, London, England offered a reward of £1,000 to anyone who could find a cheaper and more abundant substitute for rags as a raw source for paper. A talented mechanic with a gift for invention, John Taylor tested several methods making paper out of

wood pulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw mate ...

. The use of wood as a cellulosic feedstock was the first major technological break-through in

paper-making Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...

in 1,700 years.Pulp and Paper: The Reduction of Toxic Effluents (BP-292E) – Prepared by: William Murray, Science and Technology Division, Depository Services Program, April 1992
/ref> This advancement dramatically transformed the industry and earned Taylor a place as a pioneer in the technical development of Canada's paper industry.

Legacy

Brothers Thomas Taylor (1813–1880), William Taylor and George Taylor went on to create Toronto Brick. Thomas died April 21, 1880 and George on May 17, 1894. The Taylor family held onto the business until George's son William Taylor sold interest to his Robert T. Davies in 1909.

Death and legacy

John Taylor died unexpectedly on May 13, 1871 at the age of sixty-two. His brothers went on to establish the

Don Valley Brick Works The Don Valley Brick Works (often referred to as the Evergreen Brick Works) is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided ...

in 1889.Toronto East Rotary Club newsletter, Vol. 43, August 2, 2007
/ref> The Taylor name lives on in Toronto as the name of a tributary of the city's Don river, called Taylor Creek.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John Businesspeople in the pulp and paper industry People from York, Upper Canada Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople 1871 deaths 1809 births