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Show THE JOHN W., JANET (NETTIE) AND MAY RICH TAYLOR HOUSE ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: foursquare house c.1901 attached on the north side to a single story adobe house c. 1878. stone foundation faced with concrete gabled dormer on the south facade was removed at an unknown date. Gablets added to serve as attic vents massive square piers. interior very ornate in relation to its simple exterior retains much of its elaborate original woodwork. HISTORY: In 1900, Janet Maria Woolley Taylor (Nettie) purchased the property that included a single- story adobe house with her husband, John Whittaker Taylor. John - born in Provo, Utah in 1858 son of the third President of the LDS Church, John Taylor and his fifth wife, Sophia Whittaker. apostle from 1884 to 1905, resigning over a disagreement on the ending (polygamy). pursued a variety of business interests ranging from speculating on land deals in Canada and the Utah desert, gold mining in Mexico, irrigation projects City directories of the time list him variously as merchant, book-keeper, stock raiser, real estate agent, apostle and capitalist. Nettie- born in Grantsville in 1870 became John's third wife on October 10, 1890, in a carriage moving around Liberty Park four days after the LDS church announced its decision to end polygamy in the Woodruff Manifesto. John married three additional wives during the time Nettie owned the house in Farmington and was known as "The Champion of Plural Marriage". Even though the . LDS church abandoned the concept in 1890, he continued to marry and practice the principle. He had six wives and thirty-six children by the time of his death in 1916. \ John hired an architect and built the foundation of the house in 1901. Nettie was left with the plans to oversee the rest of the building to completion. She hired Edward A. Cottrell and William Levedall to do the brick work and Joseph Christensen from South Farmington as carpenter. ! added front dormer to the embarrassment of John. Nettie was responsible for finishing the house - particularly the interiors. The elaborate interiors are probably the result,of her interests and tastes. / When she encountered financial difficulties and could no longer afford the upkeep of the house, she sold it in 1909 to John's first wife, May Leona Rich, and moved to Provo. Active in Relief Society - hobbies: flowers and reading; died in Provo in 1956. |
