GPS = N34 39.848 x W82 50.339

Taylor Family Cemetery, moved from the San Salvador Plantation Cemetery. Originally in Oconee County, it was annexed to Pickens County in 1967. It is located on Taylor Road near the corner of Taylor and Fort Rutledge Street, Clemson, South Carolina. It is on the edge of a private residence at 116 Fort Rutledge. Turn right on Taylor Rd and drive to the side driveway of the 116 Ft. Rutledge residence.
To the left of the driveway is a large tree which is engulfing the original tombstone of Major Samuel Taylor, Revolutionary War hero.

Samuel Taylor stated, when he joined Col. William Thomson's Rangers in 1775 as a lieutenant, that he was born in Philadelphia in 1740. He served in the Third Regiment of Rangers until March of 1776, at which time he was made Captain in the new Sixth Regiment, which was under Col. Thomas Sumter. He finished the war as a Major. Before and during the revolution Maj. Taylor lived in the District 96-Abbeville area. The property where the grave marker is located was acquired in 1784 and adjoins the land of General Pickens. Samuel Taylor was witness to and signed three of the Hopewell treaties with the Indians negotiated by Andrew Pickens at the Treaty Oak.

Major Samuel Taylor was part of the 6th SC Militia Regiment during the Revolutionary War. Mr. Simpson, in his book about Old Pendleton, states that the graves of Samuel and his wife Eleanor were covered during the forming of nearby Lake Hartwell. If true, it is speculated that Samuel's grave marker was moved to its present location. However, the Lake Hartwell Corps of Engineers should have a record of their grave removal to another area.

Paul M. Kankula wrote, "San Salvador was built by Major Samuel Taylor and stood on a bluff directly across the Keowee from the site of the Cherokee town, Essennecca. The name signifies its origins as it was titled in honor of Captain Francis Salvador who was killed in the ambush at Essennecca in August, 1776."

The Samuel Taylor plantation was purchased early in 1800 by Col. Richard Lewis whose daughter-in-law Susan Sloan Lewis was a connection of the Taylors. The Lewises preserved the family cemetery during their ownership. The tombstone was a landmark and relic to a great man, so it was moved to the present site not far from its original location.

HISTORIC OCONEE IN SOUTH CAROLINA, by Mary Cherry Doyle (1935):

SAN SALVADORE

Near Clemson College there was a commodious and
attractive home built years ago. This large and productive farm on Seneca river was granted to Major Samuel Taylor of Revolutionary fame. Early in 1800 it was bought by CoL Richard Lewis of North Carolina, who bequeathed it to his youngest son, Andrew Lewis. He and his wife, Susan Sloan Lewis, reared a large family there. The plantation was named for a soldier who was killed by the Indians on the place. The grave of Colonel Taylor has been marked by the local D. A. R. Chapter."

Samuel Taylor
born 1740
Died April 20, 1798
wife Eleanor Taylor

D.A.R. placed a stone memorial marker nearby on May 19, 2003, which reads:

SAMUEL TAYLOR
1740 - 1797
6th Regt. Continental Line
5th General Assembly SC

Memorial Record of Alabama, Vol. I, pp. 1045-1047
(Madison, Wisconsin: Brant & Fuller, 1893):
"Amos Horton was married to Miss Sallie Richardson, a native of Greene county, Ala., and a daughter of Grief Richardson and Drusilla (Taylor) Richardson; both were born in 1808, the former in Lunenberg, and the latter in Pendleton, S. C. She was a daughter of Samuel Taylor, who was among the first settlers of Greene county. He was a son of Samuel Taylor, who was a colonel in the Revolutionary army, and quite a distinguished soldier, having been the first to fight the British in South Carolina. He lost a leg during the war, and fought with a price offered for his head by the British governor, and consequently could not be properly considered a prisoner of war. He received a large Revolutionary bounty, which placed his family in affluent circumstances. James Taylor, the father of Col. Samuel Taylor, came over from England as one of the king's officers, and settled upon a farm upon which the city of Philadelphia now stands. The place was known as the Stone House farm."
It is questionable whether he lost a leg, as this is not mentioned in the official papers and only found in the letter of a descendant many years after the fact.

South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008
S. 460
STATUS INFORMATION
Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Senator Verdin
Introduced in the Senate on February 20, 2007
Introduced in the House on February 21, 2007
Adopted by the General Assembly on February 21, 2007
Summary: Major Samuel Taylor
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
TO COMMEND AND HONOR MAJOR SAMUEL TAYLOR, OF PENDLETON DISTRICT, FOR HIS MANY YEARS OF OUTSTANDING AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AS A PIONEER, PATRIOT, AND STATESMAN WHOSE DEDICATION TO LIBERTY HELPED ACHIEVE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE AND WHOSE DEDICATION TO SOUTH CAROLINA ENSURED ITS STABILITY AND PROSPERITY DURING ITS EARLY HISTORY.

Whereas, Samuel Taylor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1740 to James and Hannah Taylor; and

Whereas, the Taylor family traveled the Great Wagon Road and settled in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas in 1756; and

Whereas, in 1768, Taylor married Eleanor Cannon Hudgins. The couple had seven children including Joseph Taylor who represented Pendleton District in the Twenty-sixth General Assembly; and

Whereas, Taylor was a successful farmer living in the Ninety Six District as the War for American independence began; and

Whereas, in 1775, Taylor became a second lieutenant in William Thomson's Rangers wherein he participated in the Snow Campaign in the winter of 1775, and then served in the Third Regiment of Rangers until March of 1776; and

Whereas, Taylor was made a captain in the new Sixth South Carolina Militia Regiment commanded by Colonel Thomas Sumter in March of 1776; and

Whereas, Taylor served under Brigadier General Isaac Huger at the battle of Stono Ferry in 1779, and saw action at the Siege of Savannah in 1779; and

Whereas, Taylor served the remainder of the War in the Sixth Regiment attaining the rank of major; and

Whereas, Taylor represented Ninety Six District in the Fifth General Assembly; and

Whereas, Taylor was a signatory of the Hopewell Treaty of 1785, establishing the boundary between the state of South Carolina and the Cherokee Nation; and

Whereas, Taylor attended the state constitutional convention in 1790 as a delegate from Pendleton District; and

Whereas, he represented Pendleton District in the Eighth General Assembly; and

Whereas, Taylor was a charter member of the South Carolina Society of the Cincinnati; and

Whereas, Taylor lived out his life on the east bank of the Seneca River at San Salvador Plantation until his death in 1798. Now therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, commend and honor Major Samuel Taylor, of Pendleton District, for his many years of outstanding and dedicated service to the State of South Carolina as a pioneer, patriot, and statesman whose dedication to liberty helped achieve American independence and whose dedication to South Carolina ensured her stability and prosperity during its early history.