Fathers of Marshall County: William Taliaferro

If there was one family that could be called the first family of Madill, it would be the Taliaferro family. Also, if there is one member of the Taliaferro family who could claim the title of the Father of Madill, it would be William Norborne (W.N.) Taliaferro. In fact, the Taliaferro family is one of the two most important families in the history of Marshall County.

The patriarch of the family was Thomas Dorsey (TD) Taliaferro. Born in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, on September 10, 1831, to Dr. William Thomas Warren Taliaferro and Frances Barnes Harrison, TD was the great grandnephew of the President of the United States, James Monroe. In 1849, TD enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute.

After one year at VMI, he withdrew from school to study law under the tutelage of Judge Whitfield, an eminent jurist in Smithfield, Virginia. Between 1852 and 1853, he continued his study of law at the University of Virginia and upon completing his studies, he became a lawyer. In 1854, TD married Elizabeth Lewis (Eliza) Madison, the grandniece of U.S. President James Madison. Eliza was born in Woodberry Forest, Virginia.

Thereafter, in 1858, TD and Eliza with their children, FannieLewis,AmbroseMadison and William Norborne, moved to Palestine, Texas whereTDbeganfarmingand ranching. In 1861, Taliaferro enlisted in the Confederate Army.In1862,hewaselected Lieutenant Colonel of the Twentieth Texas Cavalry. During the war, he fought in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

Eventually, TD became the Commanding Officer at Fort Washita in 1863, where he served until his transfer to Boggy Depot in 1865. It was likely his time at Fort Washita that he became interested in the Indian Territory, and it is likely what influenced him to later decide to move to Indian Territory.

Following the war, Taliaferro moved to Louisiana where he lived for four years. In 1870, he moved to Gainesville, Texas where he practiced law and worked as a cotton planter, farmer and stock raiser. During this time, TD and Eliza welcomed Edmonia, Janie Madison, Dorsey Buckner, Mary Roberta, Willie Ida, Henry Beauford, Eddie Madison, and Varina Davis. Sadly, in June of 1886, Eliza died, leaving TD to raise nine kids. Then, Fannie died in 1867. Shortly after Eliza died, TD and his children made an indelible mark on Marshall County.

In 1886, just months after Eliza’s death, TD Taliaferro moved with his family, to Pickens County, Indian Territory. Of his children, William Norborne and Dorsey Buckner would have the biggest impact on Marshall County.

William Norborne, (W.N.) Taliaferro was born in 1858 in Virginia. He moved with his family to Texas, then Louisiana and back to Texas. In 1886, he moved to Pickens County, Indian Territory where he established a farm and ranch that had 600 acres of corn and cotton in cultivation. In addition, he had roughly 3000 head of cattle in conjunction with his brother, Dorsey Buckner (D.B.) Taliaferro. D.B. was born in Louisiana on February 3, 1866.

On December 15, 1889, W.N. married Mary Estella (Stella) Null in Blue County, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, pursuant to the laws and customs of the Choctaw Nation. Stella was a citizen of the Choctaw Nation by blood. She was 1/16 Choctaw Indian. After his marriage to Stella, W.N. applied for admission as a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, by intermarriage. In 1896, without objection from the Choctaw Nation, W.N. was granted citizenship in the Choctaw Nation by the Dawes Commission. ThisgrantedtoW.N. all the rights and benefits of citizenship in the Nation.

Dorsey Buckner married Birdie Mae Whiting on December 21, 1898, in Grayson County, Texas. From 1889 until about 1900, W.N. and D.B.rantheirranchandfarm of 600 acres. The ranch was located where Madill now stands.

In 1900, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, also knownastheFriscoRailroad, began plotting a line from Sapulpa to Texas, through Indian Territory. When the news of the railroad was released, W.N.andD.B.madea partnershipwithJudgeIsaac Overton Lewis of Oakland, Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation, to form the “Madill Townsite Company.” William Norborne and Dorsey Buckner sold to the company large portions of their farm and ranch to be platted off for the town of Madill, Indian Territory. Once the lots were platted, the Taliaferro Brothersbeganlayingstreets throughout their town.

After the town was platted, W. N. donated land for the construction of every church or house of worship in Madill. He also donated land for a school, and for a park. Further, he donated the land for the town cemetery, Woodberry ForestCemetery. W.N. named the cemetery after his mother’s hometown of Woodberry Forest, Virginia.

Before Eliza’s death, it was her wish to return to her hometown of Woodberry Forest so that when she died, she could be laid to rest in herhometown. However,she never got that chance as she died in Gainesville, Texas in 1886 and was buried there. After Madill was founded, and W.N. had created Woodberry Forest Cemetery, he had his mother’s remains exhumed from her grave in Gainesville, and her remains weremovedtoMadillandlaid her to rest in the namesake of her hometown so that her final wish could be fulfilled.

Following the founding of Madill, W. N. Taliaferro operated various businesses in Madill up to his death in 1919. He owned one of the first brick buildings on Market Square in Madill. He built the Taliaferro Opera House, which today is the Little Law Building. He was the founder, of the first bank in Madill, The First National Bank of Madill for which he served on the Board of Directors, and as the Bank Vice President for many years. He also founded and operated the Madill Cotton Gin with H.P. Haynes, and the Madill Grain and Elevator Company. W.N. was also a Mason and was one of the founders of the Madill Masonic Lodge.Healsoservedas Mayor of Madill, and he was a close personal friend and majorsupporterofOklahoma Governor Lee Cruce, the second Governor of Oklahoma.

William Norborne and Stella Taliaferro raised six childreninMadill. Theywere Mabel Elizabeth, John Ambrose, Jane Madison, Henry Beauford, Robert Dorsey and Mary. RobertDorseywasthe ownerofthe1933FordCoupe thatwasstolenbyBonnieand Clyde in 1933.

William Norborne Taliaferro died in 1919 after a long illness. His wife, Stella died in 1925. Thomas Dorsey Taliaferro died on March 4, 1909. All three are buried at Woodberry Forest Cemetery in Madill. Dorsey Buckner Taliaferro died in 1927 in Dallas, Texas.

The name Taliaferro also spelled Talliaferro, Tagliaferro, Talifero, or Taliferro and sometimes anglicised to Tellifero, Tolliver or Toliver is a prominent family in eastern Virginia and Maryland. The Taliaferros (originally Tagliaferro, the Italian pronunciation: which means 'ironcutter' in Italian) are one of the early families who settled in Virginia in the 17th century. They migrated from England where an ancestor had served as a musician in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. The surname in that line is believed to trace back to Bartholomew Taliaferro, a native of Venice, Italy who settled in London and was made a denizen in 1562.

Taliaferro appears to arise due to a transcription error and a variation of the Italian surname Tagliaferri, which is, even today, widespread in Italy. The term tagliaferro indicates a soldier skilled in piercing the opponent or the shield of the adversary with his weapons, which cleave/ slice medieval armor, such as with a stroke of ax or sword.

If not for the vision and work of William Norborne Taliaferro, it is doubtful that Madill would be the town it is today. It is undeniable that W.N. Taliaferro was the Father of Madill. A visionary and philanthropist.