John Taylor (October 6, 1836 – February 10, 1909) was an American businessman and politician who served in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

. He created

pork roll Pork roll is a processed meat commonly available in New Jersey and neighboring states. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Trenton, and sold as "Taylor's Prepared Ham" until 1906. Although since then food labeling regulations require Ta ...

in 1856 and formed Taylor Provisions Company in 1888, establishing the brand " Taylor's Prepared Ham", sometimes called Taylor Ham. He also founded the Taylor Opera House in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

. Taylor Street in Trenton is also named for him. Taylor was born in

Hamilton Square, New Jersey Hamilton Square is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that is the site of a historic colonial village. Until the 2000 census the a ...

, in 1836.Bazley Lee, Francis. ''Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey'
John Taylor
Lewis Publishing Company, 1907 His father James F. Taylor, owner of a brick yard, died when John was fourteen. Taylor entered the

grocery A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

business as a store clerk at seventeen. He quickly earned an interest with his company but left after a year to form his own

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

with James Ronan, which lasted for two years before Taylor bought Ronan's share. From 1860 through 1870, he worked in the wholesale grocery business in association with D.P. Forst. Shortly thereafter, Taylor began working in the pork and cattle packaging industry. This enterprise was organized into the Taylor Provision Company in 1888. Taylor was a Republican active in Trenton's City Council, where he served as chairman of the finance committee. He was elected to the

for Mercer County, serving from 1880 to 1883. He declined a second term. He helped to abolish the street markets of New Jersey, and organized the Inter-State Fair in 1888. In 1860, he married Catherine Rowley who later bore him two sons: Harry C., born in September 1864, and William T., October 1869. He is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.James, George
"IN PERSON; He's Looked at Life From Both Sides Now"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 20, 2000. Accessed December 29, 2007. "John Taylor, founder of Taylor Provisions Company, which gave the world Taylor Ham and numerous others whose stones tell their stories."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John American food company founders 1836 births 1909 deaths Politicians from Mercer County, New Jersey Republican Party New Jersey state senators Businesspeople in the meat packing industry 19th-century American businesspeople People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey 19th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature