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Where it
All Began |
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In
 1635, the families of James and Charles Taylour arrived
in London, England from the lowlands of Scotland, where their family
had lived for many generations. As their name indicates, their
occupations were that of clothing tailors. After several successful
years in London, the brothers raised enough money to book steerage
to the 'New World".
So in 1638, the brothers and their families arrived in New
England. The early emigrants sought out land that resembled where
they came from. The brothers made their way to Virginia where they
settled in what is now the green Spring Valley. They built their
farms along the fertile banks of the South Branch River on land
owned, at the time, by Lord Fairfax of England. James settled on one
side of the river, Charles on the other. Their farms connected with
that of Thomas Creasap at what is today known as Old Town, Maryland.
 The
Civil War succeeded where drought, crop failure, harsh winters,
disease and Indian attacks could not, in splitting the Taylor
families apart. The family of James Taylor supported the Confederacy
while the family of Charles Taylor sided with the North. Both lost
family members in the war. As the story goes, shortly after the war
ended, a gang of Confederate renegades attacked the farm of James
Taylor. The gunfire caught the ears of their "kin" on the other side
of the river, who grabbed their rifles and shotguns, climbed into
their flat bottom boats and rowed across the river to the aid of
their brothers. Together they chased off the attacking renegades!
This episode began a long standing tradition of rowing to the
brother's farmhouse each New Year's Day laden down with delicious
home cooked food and drink to bring in the new year.
 The Taylors, out of necessity, became totally self-sufficient,
raising everything they needed to survive. They had their own
orchards, sugar maple trees, bee hives, vineyards and gardens. The
"Wild Wonderful" region provided abundant wild game. They made their
own beer, wine, brandies and fruit drinks. Their homes smelled of
the sweet sourdough aroma of started homemade yeast for breads,
baking and brews.
It was from this tradition that "PaPPY's Homemade Rootbeer" has
grown.
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