Pueblo County Biographies

Pueblo County, Colorado
Frank Taylor

Contributed by Maggie Stuart Zimmerman.

Frank Taylor, a general contractor conducting business in Pueblo, was born upon a farm in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of January, 1844, his parents being William and Mary (Kelly) Taylor. The father was a farmer by occupation, devoting his entire life to that pursuit in order to provide for the support of his family, which numbered ten sons and a daughter, Frank being the fifth in order of birth. Both parents are now deceased.

Frank Taylor pursued his early education in the rural schools and afterward had the benefit of instruction in the Lyman Richardson School near Harford, Pennsylvania, which he attended for two years. He was also for a similar period a student in the Hawley Select School and afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he successfully followed, imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired. In his youthful days and early manhood he also worked upon the home farm with his father until after the outbreak of the Civil war. His patriotic spirit was aroused by the continued attempt of the south to overthrow the Union and when seventeen years of age he enlisted, joining the army as a member of Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, under command of Colonel Reynolds. The regiment was attached to the First Army Division under General Doubleday and he participated in a number of hotly contested engagements. He was at Chancellorsville under General Hooker and he took part in many battles which led up to the final victory that crowned the Union arms. Some of his brothers were also in the service and the family has ever been noted for patriotic loyalty to the country. Mr. Taylor returned home with a most creditable military record and it was subsequent to this time that he had the opportunity for a brief period of attending the Hawley school. He also took up the profession of teaching and eventually he left Pennsylvania to come to the west in company with an older brother. He first located at Junction City, Colorado, where he was employed by the Union Pacific Railway Company, and later he was with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company. On severing that business relation he entered the employ of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and in 1888 he turned his attention to contracting, withdrawing from activities in railroad circles. Through the intervening period he has concentrated his efforts and attention upon contracting and among the many buildings which he has erected may be mentioned the Centennial high school of Pueblo, which was built at a cost of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Among the other fine structures which stand as monuments to his skill and ability are the county building of Denver, also five buildings at Fort Logan, the Pueblo County Courthouse and many of the buildings which form a part of the State Hospital. He is familiar with every phase of building, with all the practical features of the work and with every scientific principle and his efficiency in this direction has led to the steady development of his patronage until he today ranks among the most prominent contractors of Colorado. His business methods have ever been thoroughly reliable as well as progressive and what he has undertaken has brought to him a very substantial measure of success and, more than that, has gained for him an honored name, which is rather to be chosen than great riches.

Mr. Taylor was married in 1872 to Miss Clara E. Keech, of Kansas City, and to them was born a son, Frank E., who is now engaged in the automobile business. In July, 1906, Mr. Taylor was again married, his second union being with Mary Etta Watson, of Illinois.

The religious faith of Mr. Taylor is manifest by his membership in the First Presbyterian church, in which he is now serving as trustee, while in the work of the church he takes an active and helpful interest. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at La Junta. He also belongs to the Lions Club and he is a most public spirited and respected citizen, loyal to every interest for the general good, his life having at all times measured up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship. He is today regarded as the pioneer builder of Colorado. Extracted from History of Colorado Illustrated Volume II 1918

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