b. October 18, 1804, in Fairfield Court House, Virginia; d. December 4, 1891, in Chicago, Illinois. Taylor moved to Springfield, Illinois, in the fall of 1823, where he was a merchant with John Taylor, who would later become his father-in-law. On September 28, 1829, he married Margaret Taylor, and they had thirteen children. Edmond Taylor was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1830, and again in 1832, defeating Abraham Lincoln. In 1834, Taylor was elected to the state senate, but he resigned his seat in 1835 in order to accept an appointment by President Andrew Jackson as Receiver of Public Moneys at the United States Land Office in Chicago, Illinois. Taylor was a leader in the Democratic party, and he engaged in banking and land speculating.