M. D. K. Taylor
Confederate Army general and politician

Marion DeKalb Taylor or M. D. K. Taylor (October 13, 1818 – June 22, 1897) was an American politician in Alabama and Texas, and a Texas militia colonel during the American Civil War. He was a member of the Alabama Legislature for two stints between 1842 and 1846, and served in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. In the Texas House, Taylor served three non-consecutive terms as Speaker of the House, and, in the Texas Senate, was twice elected President pro tempore of the Texas Senate.
Biography
Taylor was born in Jones County, Georgia to Anne Mathews and Ward Taylor, who was a blacksmith, farmer, and Methodist preacher. The family had moved to Butler County, Alabama, by 1822. M. D. K. Taylor received his education in Alabama and studied medicine there. Taylor married the 14-year-old Elizabeth Sarah McDaniel in 1838 and, for the next 24 years, they would have some nine children together. Taylor was elected to the Alabama Legislature from Butler County in 1842. He was an advocate for the annexation of Texas, a position which cost him re-election in 1844. However, he was again sent to the Alabama Legislature in 1845, serving through the following year.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6712506. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1818, 1897, 1842 and 1846.
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This entry incorporates text from “M. D. K. Taylor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.