William Burdick Taylor (February 27, 1824 – February 1, 1895) was an American civil engineer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on February 27, 1824, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Ontario County, New York Ontario County is a county in the U.S. State of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua. Ontario County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2006, ''Progressive ...

. He was educated at

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

, and studied engineering in his brother's office. He began work as a leveler on the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

in 1848, became Second Assistant Engineer in 1850, First Assistant in 1852, Resident Engineer in 1854, and from 1860 to 1862 he was Division Engineer of the Eastern Division of the State Canals. He was

New York State Engineer and Surveyor New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

from 1862 to 1865, elected on Union tickets nominated by

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and

War Democrats War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the Con ...

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first steam-p ...

and

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaims t ...

. In

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – E ...

, he ran again but was defeated by Democrat

Van Rensselaer Richmond Van Rensselaer Richmond (January 1812 in Preston, New York, Preston, Chenango County, New York – November 20, 1883 in Lyons, New York, Lyons, Wayne County, New York) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York. Life He was th ...

. He was again State Engineer and Surveyor from 1872 to 1873, elected on the Republican ticket in

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

. He was elected as a member of the

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in 1877. He also served two terms as City Surveyor of

. He died on February 1, 1895.

References

Sources

Political Graveyard

Engineers bios, at Rochester history

Rep. state ticket in NYT on October 31, 1871 {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, William Burdick 1824 births 1895 deaths New York State Engineers and Surveyors Politicians from Utica, New York American civil engineers People from Ontario County, New York New York (state) Republicans