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Sarah "Knoxie" Taylor

After the Black Hawk War, Colonel Taylor’s wife, seventeen-year-old daughter, and two small children arrived at Fort Crawford to stay. When Colonel Zachary Taylor introduced his wife and children to Lt. Jefferson Davis, Jefferson was immediately attracted to Sarah. They began seeing each other and fell in love. Jefferson proposed marriage and Sarah accepted. When Jefferson asked Colonel Taylor for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Colonel Taylor refused and told Jefferson he could no longer see his daughter.

Jefferson and Sarah Knox Taylor were in love and secretly continued to see each other. Sarah would take her brother and sister out for a walk where she knew Jefferson would be waiting. She would tell the children they could go play while she talked to Jefferson. While the children were playing, Sarah and Jefferson would embrace.

When Colonel Taylor learned Sarah was secretly meeting Lt. Davis, he had Jefferson transferred to St. Louis. For two years, they wrote each other and planned their reunion and marriage.

Sarah had a plan. She would get permission from her father to visit his sister in Lewisville, Kentucky. As the boat past St. Louis, Jefferson would join her and they would be married in the home of her aunt. Sarah received permission from her father to visit her aunt and she received a letter from her aunt saying she and Jefferson would be welcomed in her home and she was making plans for the wedding. With everything coming together, Jefferson resigned his commission in the army.

Many believe that Colonel Taylor and his sister were in communication with each other and he knew everything about the wedding. It is true he never gave his permission for their marriage, but some believe he realized their strong love for each other and did not try to stop them. They were married at the home of her aunt.

Jefferson wanted to show off his new bride and after a stay with his brother, Joseph, he took Sarah to Louisiana to see his sister, Anna. While traveling down the Mississippi, Jefferson and Sarah caught the fever. When they arrived at Anna’s, they were both very sick. Jefferson recovered; Sarah did not.



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