Taylor County was created by act of Jan. 15, 1852, from parts of Macon, Marion, and Talbot Counties. It was named for Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), 12th President of the U.S., a Major-General and commander of the Army of the Rio Grande. Known as “Old Rough and Ready,” he captured Monterrey on Sept. 24, 1846, and defeated Santa Anna at Buena Vista on Feb. 22-23, 1847. The first officers of Taylor County, commissioned July 24, 1852, were J.M. Thompson, sheriff; J.M. McCants, clerk of the Superior Court; James T. Harmon, clerk of the Inferior Court; A. Rhodes, tax receiver; Charles Loyd, tax collector; J.B. Hamilton, ordinary; C. Stewart, coroner; and Jonathan Stewart, surveyor.