The Frankfort Heritage Lecture Series presents:
FRANKFORT & LEESTOWN: HOW THE TAYLOR FAMILY INFLUENCED THE FOUNDING OF TWO PRE-KENTUCKY SETTLEMENTS
Richard Lawrence Taylor, Ph.D., Author, The Great Crossing: A Historic Journey to Buffalo Trace Distillery (2002)
Bourbon enthusiasts worldwide are familiar with Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. for his reputation as the founding father of the modern bourbon industry. However, the Taylor family’s influence on Frankfort can trace its roots back to the earliest pioneer days of Kentucky. This presentation will discuss the lives, influence, and legacies of select early members of this prominent Kentucky family, including surveyor Hancock Taylor, Commodore Richard Taylor, Reuben Taylor, half-brothers “Black Dick” and “Hopping Dick” Taylor, and their relation to the founders of Leestown for whom the town was named.
Dr. Richard Lawrence Taylor is the author of numerous collections of poetry, two historical novels, and several books relating to Kentucky history, including Elkhorn: Evolution of a Kentucky Landscape. A former Kentucky Poet Laureate, he has received two creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as an Al Smith Award from the Kentucky Arts Council. Educated at the University of Kentucky (bachelors and Ph.D. in English), he also holds a masters degree (English) and a J.D. from the University of Louisville. Practicing law for a few months, he gave up legal practice, a leave-taking he regards as his gift to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. During graduate school he taught in high schools across Kentucky with the Poetry-in-the-Schools Program through the Kentucky Arts Council, editing an anthology of student writing called Cloud Bumping.
