Rowland Taylor and Margaret Tyndale Taylor by Rhonda Wall

This history goes back on the Taylor line. Granny Hightower was Sarah Ellen Taylor (later Carter and then Hightower).

Nine generations back from the Hightower story (see Memories of our Mothers) on this same family line is a poignant legacy to the holy state of marriage left to the world and especially to our Taylor family line. Granny Hightower was a direct descendent and completely unaware of her religious heritage and at what cost she was given religious freedom.

The following writing was left by the Reverend Rowland Taylor in 1555. He was married to Margaret Tyndale, sister of Sir William Tyndale who translated our King James Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English. This was also the text that King James used for his translation of the bible 400 years ago. You might be hearing about this in the news. This year is the 400 year anniversary of this translation and our relative is the principal translator of it and other of our relatives participated in the reformation that allowed its use.

The Taylors and Tyndales were long part of the religious reformation in England. Dr. Rowland Taylor was a religious reformer who refused to renounce his religion and marriage to Margaret Tyndale, mother of his 9 children, to become a Roman Catholic Priest under Queen Mary’s (Bloody Mary) counter religious reformation. There are other writings by Rowland Taylor, you can find them on-line. These are the powerful words he left to his 9 year old son Thomas Taylor (also a direct ancestor) before he was martyred by being burned at the stake.

"Almighty God bless thee, and give you his Holy Spirit, to be a true servant of Christ, to learn his word, and constantly to stand by his truth all the life long. And my son, see that thou fear God always. Fly from all sin and wicked living. Be virtuous, serve God daily with prayer, and apply thy boke. In anywise see thou be obedient to thy mother, love her, and serve her. Be ruled by her now in thy youth, and follow her good counsel in all things. Beware of lewd company of young men, that fear not God, but followeth their lewd lusts and vain appetites. Flee from whoredom, and hate all filthy lying, remembering that I thy father do die in the defense of holy marriage. And another day when God shall bless thee, love and cherish the poor people, and count that thy chief riches to be rich in alms. And when thy mother is waxed old, forsake her not, but provide for her to thy power, and see that she lacks nothing. For so will God bless thee, give thee long life upon earth, and prosperity, which I pray God to grant thee.”

Before Rowland Taylor was killed, he was allowed to take his son Thomas into his arms and he said to the gathered crowd, “Good people, this is my son, begotten of my body in lawful marriage; and this is one of the charges for which I am about to give myself to the flames; but God be thanked for the blessing of lawful matrimony. And lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed for his son, and blessed him.”

His wife, Margaret had already been taken into custody. She was also burned at the stake for her religious and marital views 4 days later. They left 4 orphans (the other 5 children had already died) ages 3-21 and a foster daughter age 13.

Nine generations later, our Taylor line is in America, a country with religious and political freedom we find the Taylors not participating in either. They and their privileged descendants were not only nonreligious at the time but not taught to honor marriage vows and they did not raise their children to benefit from honorable marriage and the security and blessings intended by this union. How very sad.