Evergreen Farm as seen from Lincoln Road , 19th century home of Yardley and Hannah Taylor and family .
ness throughout the whole .”
Taylor ’ s map continues to reflect our county roads and streams and communities . It is a good resource for anyone looking up facts , historic or current , about the County . It took Yardley Taylor months to complete — time away from his other responsibilities . Plus , he had to cover the expenses of having the map and accompanying pamphlet printed . According to modern mapmaker and historian Eugene Scheel , writing in 2003 for The Washington Post about Yardley Taylor ’ s 1853 map : “ Several old-timers from the Purcellville area said they had been told that Taylor would ask each homeowner or occupant of a substantial home for $ 1.00 to include the house and name on the map .” Taylor ’ s Loudoun map was printed in Philadelphia by Robert Pearsall Smith ’ s lithographic map publishing company . Smith was from a prominent Quaker family known to Taylor . According to Scheel , there were at least three printings of the map , with slight corrections made in each subsequent printing . The original old maps are rare and valuable . Modern copies of the map , however , can be bought for an affordable price from the nonprofit Lincoln Preservation Foundation , or it can be seen on the Loudoun . gov website , or downloaded from the Library of Congress website .
Armed with a sunny afternoon and the map , you could easily follow it along roads little changed from when Yardley Taylor ’ s viametered his way along them . As you come to Lincoln Road , a short distance south of the village , you see on your right the Yardley and Hannah Taylor home , “ Evergreen .” Trees planted by the Taylors in the 19th century still shade the property . It ’ s a private residence so don ’ t peer too long , but it ’ s easy to imagine you are back in 19th century Loudoun County .
Taylor ’ s own road through life was long , winding and occasionally rocky . Decades before creating his map , his familiarity with Loudoun ’ s roads , farms and river crossings played a role in a dramatic moment in his own life . In 1828 , he was arrested for helping an enslaved man escape bondage in Loudoun County . The man ’ s desperate attempt failed when he was captured . Papers , including a handwritten route of towns and mileage leading to safety in Pennsylvania , were found when the captive man was searched . The papers were traced back to Yardley Taylor .
Taylor was arrested for “ enticing , persuading and advising a certain negro slave named Harry ” and put in jail . The case dragged on for two years . Finally , Taylor pled guilty to the charge and paid a $ 20 fine plus costs .
After this arrest and court case , Taylor reclaimed his life ’ s routines : grafting apple trees , delivering mail , and attending Goose Creek Meeting with his extended Quaker family . He never gave up abolitionist efforts .
Three years after the publication of his Loudoun County map , new critical attention was drawn to Taylor . In 1856 , national newspapers picked up on a meeting Taylor and other Quakers as well as non-Quakers attended . It was held at Goose Creek ’ s school building and turned into a “ pro ” versus “ anti ” slavery fight . A broadsheet , written by a fired up , pro-slavery citizen ( almost certainly James Trayhern of Leesburg ) was posted in various public locations . The broadsheet , highly critical and disparaging of Taylor , nonetheless gave an insightful picture of him delivering mail along the dirt roads of the county , or surveying with his viameter . A
40 wander I fall • winter 2021