Herbert Taylor was born in Dodge County, Wisconsin, in 1877. In 1894 he came to North Dakota and bought land from the Northern Pacific Railroad in Minnie Lake Township, Barnes County, 18 miles northeast of Valley City. He broke this land with a walking plow and a team of oxen. In 1904, he built the original home of four rooms, and in 1918, the home was enlarged and modernized with indoor plumbing and electric lights with his own power plant. In 1908, he married Mary M. McKay. She was born in Baldwin Township (formerly known as Goose Lake Community) 25 miles north of Valley City, in 1886, the fifth child of John and Elizabeth McKay. Together they planted trees around their home and some of the trees are still alive. Mary attended Valley City State College, then known as the Normal College.
There were five sons born of this union with 12 grandchildren: Leslie was born in 1909 and is a graduate of Valley City State College, with a Master's Degree from the University of Idaho, and is now a Counselor in the High School at Arvin, California. He married Ada Stevens in 1936, and they have two daughters and one son.
John was born in 1910 and is a graduate of Valley City State College with a Master's Degree from Columbia University in New York City, and a Doctorate from Worchester, Massachusetts. In 1947, he married Virginia Haller, and has two sons and three daughters. Until his death in 1967, he was Educational Director for the Trust Territories under the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.
Lee was born in 1912, and is a graduate of North Dakota State University. He married Lola Mendoza in 1948, and is now a retired Army Colonel living in Apollo Beach, Florida. He served in World War II in the European Theater and the Korean War.
Eldon Clark was born in 1914, and attended Valley City State College. For many years he worked at the Barnes County Creamery. He married Verna Bruns in 1938, and they have one son and one daughter. He is now semi-retired, living in Apollo Beach, Florida.
Richard Clayton was born in 1916, and attended Valley City State College. After attending college, he bought the home ~: farm in 1943, and has continued enlarging his farming interests to 1440 acres . now under production. He married Marguerite Rasmussen in 1947. She is a' Registered Nurse and is still continuing her profession by working part time. They have two sons: Richard D. and Robert C. Both sons are graduates of North Dakota State University; Richard with a major in Agricultural Engineering, and Robert with a major in Bacteriology and Chemistry. Richard married Patricia Norgaard in -1972, and they have one son born in 1974. He is engaged in farming, and Patricia is a Registered Nurse working part-time at Mercy Hospital. Robert married Colleen Werner in 1973 and both are teaching in Echuca, Victoria, Australia. Colleen is a graduate of North Dakota State University with a major in Home' Economics.
The Herbert Taylors moved to Valley City in 1948 and made their home there until their deaths. They celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1958, the same year that Valley City celebrated its 75th Jubilee. He was a collector of many, antiques relating to early life in Barnes County. He died in the late fall of 1958, and Mary continued living in Valley City until her death in 1972.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 244