Notes for RAYMOND WOOLLEY TAYLOR:

Son of John W and Janet "Nettie" (Woolley) Taylor.
Born: April 18, 1904 in Ogden, Weber County, Utah.
Alternate date of Birth: April 18, 1899. (marriage record)
Died: December 12, 1972 in Unknown.
Buried: Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah County, Utah.
Occupation: Developer, author, and entrepreneur.
Married: (1) Annie Randall June 8, 1923 in Davis County, Utah.
(2) Ruth Fors 1970 in Unknown.

Raymond Woolley Taylor, developer, author, and entrepreneur, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 18 April 1904. The son of John W. and Janet Woolley Taylor, and the grandson of John Taylor, Raymond grew up in a polygamist home during a time when plural marriages were considered to be outlawed by both church and civil authorities. Though his father was a somewhat remote personage during his childhood and died while Raymond was still young, the influence of his father and his unique home situation colored his interests and many of his ambitions later in his life.

Raymond Taylor was married to Annie Randall from 1923 until her death in 1969. In 1970 he married Ruth Fors, with whom he had worked while researching the John Taylor biography.

During his lifetime Taylor worked in a number of jobs and occupations, but always was a promoter. Even while engaged in his own business matters, he was also active in helping his brother, Samuel, to promote his writings. During the 1930s and 1940s Raymond was a clothing merchant in Spanish Fork, Utah. In the 1950s he entered the real estate business in Provo and became involved in uranium prospecting in southern Utah. During the same time he established the Consumer's Water Agency, organized to promote the sale of land in southern Utah. Taylor was also involved in local politics during the 1950s, serving at one time as the county chairman of the Republican Party. He was a county jailer during the 1960s, ran for county sheriff and lost, and at the time of his death was a Utah County peace officer.

Raymond Taylor had always had an interest in history, and particularly the history of Utah and the Mormons. Though he was a writer and wrote many articles and speeches, his primary talent lay in research. Ray did the major portion of the research and wrote rough drafts for the two books on which he and Samuel worked together. Raymond not only did most of the research for Uranium Fever and The Kingdom or Nothing, but also made a substantial contribution in researching material for the biography of their parents, Family Kingdom. In addition Raymond arranged the promotion and publicity not only for these books, but for many of Sam's other works as well.

Raymond had an almost insatiable desire for writing and research and spent the latter years of his life gathering material not only for the John Taylor biography, but on all aspects of Mormon history. This research produced such articles as "The Lesser Known Wives of John Taylor," and "The Legend of the Friends to the Martyr," the story of the secret "Black Sticks" organization, and others. Taylor belonged to such historical and literary associations as the Utah State Historical Society, the Utah Westerners, and the Utah League of Writers. Raymond died on 10 December 1972 of cancer.
(Source:The John Taylor Family Papers - J Willart Marriott Library - University of Utah