Children of Alonzo and Emma: William Wansley "Willie" and Mary Taylor

Children of Alonzo & Emma:
William Wansley and Mary Sephronia Taylor

William Wansley Taylor, son of Alonzo Grant Taylor and his first wife Emma Elliott, was born on September 30, 1892 in Winston County.  He was the first born to Alonzo and Emma.  Following his birth were Henry and Mary Sephronia.  Henry, born on May, 24, 1894, died before he was a year old.  Mary Sephronia was born on December 12, 1895. 

William, known to most as "Willie," and Mary grew up in Winston County.  The Taylor  home was very near the present location of Liberty Grove Baptist.  Their mother died when Willie was 5 years old and Mary Sephronia was 2. Emma is buried at Liberty Grove Baptist Cemetery. 

About 3 months after Emma's death, Willie's father married Margaret Derusha Stevens, daughter of John Benjamin and Lucinda (Brown) Stevens. The family continued to grow, with the birth of seven more brothers and sisters for Willie and Mary.

Willie and Bertha

When Willie was 21 years old, he married his bride--Bertha Caledonia Comer, daughter of Daniel Patrick and Ollie F. (Ezell) Comer. The wedding was performed on January 11, 1914 in Lawrence County, Tennessee by Willie's great uncle, James Knox Polk Taylor, Minister of the Gospel.  The signature of B. F. Curtis (Benjamin Franklin) appears on the wedding record also.  Curtis was the son of Mary Jane Curtis, daughter of Mary Mollie Taylor.

Willie and Bertha were the parents of 10 children: Mitchell Edward, Carlos Cleo, Lester Alonzo, Ruby Estelle, Selma Virgie, Lola Mae, Verda Dee, Mary Fleda, William Gene and Betty Jean. The family lived in the Liberty Grove community, four miles south of Loretto, Lawrence County, Tennessee.



Willie and Bertha

Willie died on July 17, 1961.  He and his wife, Bertha, are buried at Restview Cemetery, Loretto.

Mary Sephronia Taylor

At the age of 16, Mary Sephronia Taylor, Willie's sister, married Harvey Berry on September 19, 1912. The wedding took place at the home of W. T. King. The couple had seven children: Alta, Ronnell, Russell, Ozie, Alpha Omega, Helen and Eula Mae.

Sometime during the 1920's, Harvey left the family and was not located until the children were grown. Mary worked hard to provide for her children.  On the 1930 census, Mary is listed as divorced from Harvey.  Her occupation was general farmer. She and her six children were living in the household. James F. Tittle, widowed, was living next door to their home.   Before the 1940 federal census, Mary married Mr. Tittle. 

Mary died on July 17, 1966 in Winston County.  Inscribed on her tombstone is "Mother's love will show us the way," a loving tribute to their mother. Mary Sephronia and J. F. Tittle are both buried at Macedonia Cemetery, Winston.


 

He Stands in the Unbroken Line of Patriots--Lester Taylor

Lester Alonzo Taylor was born on September 24, 1917 in Lawrence County, Tennessee. He was the son of William Wansley "Willie" and Bertha Coldonia (Comer) Taylor.   Lester was a great-great grandson of John and Eliza Taylor.

Lester's father, Willie, was born in Winston County, Alabama. Willie was the son of Alonzo Grant and Emma (Elliott) Taylor.  Willie moved to Tennessee as a young man, met his bride and eventually made his home in Loretto.  Lester's family moved to California for a short time, but returned to Tennessee.  Lester was one of 10 children born to Willie and Bertha.   

Corporal Lester A. Taylor

On January 30, 1942, Lester was drafted into the United States Army.   He served as a paratrooper during World War II in the 101st Airborne Division, I Company, Second Platoon, 502 Parachute Infantry Regiment.  Lester's first battle jump was in the Battle of Normandy on D-Day to fight the invasion of Hitler's Nazi German troops.  His unit was part of 160,000 allied troops who landed along a 50 mile stretch of beach along the French coastline.  Over 110 men in his unit died in the Normandy invasion.

Lester was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for his heroism during that battle.  He saved the life of  John Lakovich while under enemy fire. John had "landed in deep water in a flooded area. He was entangled in his chute, about to drown and under heavy enemy fire. Ignoring this danger, Lester Taylor pulled him to dry ground and performed CPR all the while under enemy fire." (Betty Taylor Hill, Lester's sister)

The second jump in battle came on September 17, 1944 in Holland during "Operation Market Garden."  The objective was to secure the bridges and towns along a highway that became known as “Hell’s Highway” through Holland from Eindhoven to Arnhem. 

Lester's sister, Betty Taylor Hill, writes the following about her brother's heroic actions:
"After spending the night of September 18th under heavy fire in the Zonsch Forest and still pinned in ditches along the road. Lester made the decision to cross the road intersection to help a part of his squad that was pinned down. He and two other men (names unknown to me) reportedly entered the building, gunshots were heard, and Lester exited the building being mortally wounded, however, he threw a grenade back into the building and destroyed the enemy machine gun. Two hours later, his unit and others captured more than 1100 German prisoners, the British tanks had arrived and the battle moved away from Best to other areas."

Theodora "Dora" Vogels
cared for Lester's grave

On September 20th, 1944 Cpl. Lester A. Taylor was buried at the temporary cemetery, Wolfswinkel, on a farm near the town of Zon (Son). A local young woman, Dora Vogels, cared for Lester's grave in Holland. Then in 1948, Lester's remains were returned to his hometown in the United States for reburial in Restview Cemetery.  The memorial service was held on Easter Sunday for Lester, a World War II hero.

Lester Taylor--

He stands in the unbroken line of patriots,

who dared to die that freedom might live,

                              and grow and increase its blessings.

                                   Freedom lives, and through it,

                      he lives--in a way that humbles most men's undertakings.  

                                                                                       --Franklin Roosevelt