Louisa and Joshua

Marie Louisa Kale Taylor

     Recently an album containing rare photographs was discovered in the Fredericksburg area. Because I had written about a number of the people whose portraits are contained in the album, the owner was able to contact Spotsylvania Memory and inform me of their existence. He generously shared those images with me and gave me permission to feature them on my blog.
     Maria Louisa Kale was the oldest daughter of Anthony Kale--a Swiss born candy maker and grocer--and Catherine Estes, a sister of my great great grandmother, born at Greenfield plantation in Spotsylvania. Louisa Kale was born about 1818 at 706 Caroline Street in Fredericksburg, where the Kale store was located (the family occupied the upper floors). For those who may be interested in my detailed overview of the Kales of Fredericksburg, click here.
     Louisa's father also owned the building next door, 708 Caroline Street. Here, rooms were let to boarders, one of whom was Benjamin Long, who came to Fredericksburg from Mississippi. He and Louisa fell in love and were married on January 29, 1834. I know very little about Benjamin Long except for the fact that his marital bliss was short lived. He died on August 16, 1834.
     I assume that Louisa Kale Long returned to her parent's home to live in the years following Benjamin's death. By the late 1840s it would appear that she got a second chance at happiness She married Joshua T. Taylor in Fredericksburg on February 26, 1850.

Joshua T. Taylor

     About Joshua's early life I know very little. He was born in 1820, possibly in Spotsylvania. By the 1840s he was working as a clerk and printer for the Department of the Interior. The 1850 census, taken on July 30, shows Joshua--employed as a printer-- and Louisa living in Washington, D.C. in the house of John Robinson, also a printer. In addition to Mrs. Robinson there were three other people living in the house, one of whom was also a printer.


    

Harriet Mills Hough

     Peyton Hough was born in Loudon County in 1797. He married Harriet Mills in 1825 in Alexandria and sometime thereafter they settled in Fredericksburg. There Peyton Hough served as "Nuisance Inspector" for a spell and in 1848 he was elected to city council. Most noteworthy for that time was the fact that he emancipated a slave named Lewis Thornton in 1843.

Fredericksburg News, 30 December 1852

     Harriet Hough ran a boarding house in Fredericksburg in the 1850s. By 1863 the Houghs had moved to Washington, D.C., where Harriet continued her career as a renter of rooms. This she did until her death on February 27, 1866.

Mary E. Hough

     After Harriet's death, Peyton Hough's daughters Mary and Etta took on the responsibility of running the boarding house, which also served as their home. The 1870 census shows the Hough sisters as managers of the boarding house, while their father's occupation is listed as "Gentleman." With them were living 14 boarders, including Joshua and Louisa Taylor.

Joseph C. Moore

     The city directory for Washington shows that Louisa and Joshua Taylor lived at several locations during the 1860s. He is usually listed as "clerk" except for the years 1865-66, when he has a second listing as "tobacconist." My guess is that with the end of the Civil War Joshua seized the opportunity to make some money moonlighting as a trader in southern tobacco, now available in quantity once again. During these years he was presented with a photograph by one of his co-workers, Joseph C. Moore. According to the owner of his picture, written on the back is: "To my friend Joshua T. Taylor from his respectful sub[ordinate?] Jos. C. Moore. Washington D.C. June 14, 1865."

Louisa Taylor

     Maria Louisa Kale Long Taylor died in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 1872. Her body was brought back to Fredericksburg for the funeral, which took place in St. George's Episcopal Church. She is buried in the Masonic Cemetery.

Headstone of Louisa Kale Taylor

     In the years following Louisa's death Joshua T. Taylor continued to work as a printer in the Washington. He lived at a number of boarding houses over the years. He also served as the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia. He died in Stafford County on October 8, 1886.

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