Henry Augustine Tayloe
Henry Augustine Tayloe (April 8, 1808 – July 15, 1903) of Oakley Plantation, Essex County, Virginia, later Gallion, Canebrake, Alabama, was an American planter, slaveholder, horse breeder and racer, and land speculator in the 19th century.
Henry Augustine Tayloe | |
|---|---|
Henry Augustine Tayloe I, son of John Tayloe III | |
| Born | April 8, 1808 The Octagon House, Washington, DC, built by John Tayloe III |
| Died | July 15, 1903 (aged 95) Prairieville, Alabama |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Planter |
| Known for | Founder Fair Grounds Race Course, Builder St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Founder Faunsdale Plantation |
A younger son of John Tayloe III of The Octagon House and Mount Airy, a wealthy planter in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland; after living in Maryland for a time after graduating from UVA the young Tayloe went to Alabama in 1834, where he was among the pioneers in developing slave labor cotton plantations in the Canebrake region. He also acted as a land agent, acquiring numerous plantations in the area for investment by his four older brothers, who were also extremely wealthy. A committed breeder and racer of horses, in 1838 he founded the Fair Grounds Race Course near New Orleans with Bernard de Marigny. He had St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (1853) built in Prairieville with enslaved labor. He later founded the town of Faunsdale, Alabama, named after a nearby plantation.