James Taylor

James Taylor, Alamo defender, son of Anson and Elizabeth (Maley) Taylor, was born in Tennessee around 1814. He was the brother of Alamo defenders Edward and George Taylor. At the outbreak of the Texas Revolution he and his brothers were employed to pick cotton for a Captain Dorsett on his farm in Liberty, Texas. Upon finishing the job they left to join the revolutionary army. It is believed that they died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836, though some evidence suggests that Taylor and his brothers were victims of the Goliad Massacre rather than the Alamo battle. Their names were carried on a list of the Alamo casualties a week before the Goliad executions occurred.