John Tayloe I

John was the firstborn son of the former Anne Corbin and her emigrant husband, Colonel William Tayloe (1645–1710). William Tayloe emigrated to the Colony of Virginia from Gloucester, England during England's religious wars and tobacco boom. Col. In 1650 he bought and began developing land in what was the Northern Neck Proprietary and which became Lancaster and Richmond Counties. He built the family's first house known as "The Old House," his son John Tayloe II would go on to build Mount Airy, the ancestral family seat. About three years before this boy's birth, in 1685, William had married Anne (1664–1694), daughter of merchant, planter and burgess Henry Corbin (circa 1629–1676) and his wife Alice (Eltonhead), of "Buckingham House", in nearby Middlesex County.^[4] His siblings included Elizabeth (born 1686), and William (1694–1770).^[5]

On February 7, 1710, John Tayloe was granted administration of the estate of his father, Colonel William Tayloe, late of Richmond County, deceased. Although barely of legal age when his father died, as the firstborn son, John Tayloe inherited land (including "Tayloe's Quarter" and “The Old House”) as well as enslaved people. Tayloe acquired large holdings on both sides of the Potomac River- 3,000 acres, known as "Nanjemoy" in Charles County, Maryland rich in Iron Ore; "Gwynnfield" in Essex County, Virginia, and in 1734- 5,000 acres called "Neabsco", not far from the present day Quantico or Dumfries, in Prince William County, Virginia.^[5] Through his lifetime he expanded both with other businesses, including two ironworks: Bristol Iron Works and Neabsco Iron Works, while his son would found Occoquan Iron Works. In 1711 Francis Yeates, of Richmond County, was allowed by Act of Assembly to convey certain lands to John Tayloe, Gent. He also became a liberal supporter of the Established Church.

In 1721, Tayloe began diversifying into manufacturing. With John Lomax, John Tayloe established a corporation for the purposes of mining, smelting, and trading, which was called the Bristol Iron Works (now commemorated by a Virginia Historical Marker on Route 3 below Rollins Fork). Located along the Rappahannock River across from Horse Head Point, the name also notes the emigrant ironworker, John King and Company from Bristol, England, and was in operation by 1729.^[6][7][8]

Almost a decade later, around 1737, John Tayloe I established the Neabsco Iron Works (alternates: Neabsco Company; Neabsco Iron Foundry) near modern Woodbridge, Virginia. Situated on 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) by the Neabsco Creek,^[9] it became a multifaceted antebellum industrial plantation, with farming, leatherworking, milling, shipbuilding, shoemaking, and smithing, and later supplied raw materials for weaponry during the American Revolution.^[10][8][11]

John Tayloe began holding local offices in Richmond County upon reaching legal age. He served as High Sheriff of Richmond County and was in command of the county militia in 1713 at age 26. By April 6, 1715, he was a justice of Richmond County. Although his father William Tayloe had died in 1710 after being elected a Burgess and before he could assume his legislative office in Williamsburg, John Tayloe was elected as a burgess and sat in the sessions of 1728 and 1730.^[12][2][13]

Tayloe achieved the highest status of a man born in the colony when he became a member of Colonial Council in 1732, and continued to serve in the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly until shortly before his death (the chamber's name transforming into the "King's Council").^[14][15]

Politically, Tayloe was well-connected and used those connections to help his business interests. In 1738, about a year after establishing a second ironmaking locale as described below, Tayloe convinced the Governor's Council of Virginia to "relieve himself and other adventurers in Iron Mines from port duties on iron ore imported from Maryland."^[5]