Hillsman Taylor Explained

Hillsman Taylor
Nickname:Red
Birth Date:4 August 1884
Birth Place:Trenton, Tennessee
Death Place:Tennessee
Occupation:Lawyer
Module:
Embed:yes
Currentposition:Tackle
School:Vanderbilt Commodores
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:182
Class:Graduate
Pastschools:Vanderbilt (1904 - 1905)
Highlights:

Matthew Hillsman "Red" Taylor (August 4, 1884  - November 1, 1965) was an attorney and politician, serving as a state representative and Speaker of the House in Tennessee. He played college football at Vanderbilt University. He later became a prominent attorney in St. Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee. His children included Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor, who became a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Early years

Matthew Hillsman Taylor was born on August 4, 1884, in Trenton, Tennessee to Robert Zachery Taylor and America Clementine "Mettie" Ivey. Matthew was named after a long-time local Baptist pastor, Matthew Hillsman.Robert Taylor had fought for the Confederate Army as a private under Nathan Bedford Forrest. While working as an attorney for the West Tennessee Land Company, he was kidnapped in October 1908 along with Quentin Rankin and shot by Night Riders near Reelfoot Lake. He escaped by swimming across the lake. Rankin was lynched, shot and hanged by the mob.[1]

Vanderbilt University

Taylor was an All-Southern tackle for Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University,[2] selected for a 2nd team All-Time Vanderbilt football team in 1912,[3]

He married Katherine Baird Taylor, from eastern Tennessee. Her father, Robert Love Taylor, was a politician who served three times as governor of Tennessee and as US Senator from the state.

Speaker of the Tennessee House

Taylor was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, serving several terms. He was elected as Speaker of the House in 1909.[4]

Insurance

In 1926 Taylor was elected vice president of the Missouri State Life Insurance Company of St. Louis[5] He later returned to Tennessee, working in Memphis.

Notes and References

  1. News: Lawyer Escapes Mob. 2012-02-08. The Bee (Earlington KY). 1908-10-22. 1.
  2. News: The Atlanta Constitution. December 3, 1905. Football Experts Give Their Selections For An All-Southern Team. W. R. Tichenor. W. R. Tichenor.
  3. Book: Vanderbilt University Quarterly. 13. Vanderbilt University. 1913. 56.
  4. Vanderbilt - A University of the New South. Henry Jay Case. 327. Outing. 1914. 64.
  5. The Spectator. Tennessee House of Representatives. 7. 116. 1926.