Edmund Taylor (New Zealand politician)

Edmund Harvey Taylor
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Thames
In office 4 February 1909 – 20 November 1911
Preceded by	James McGowan
Succeeded by	Thomas William Rhodes
Personal details
Born	1855 Laneast, Cornwall, England
Died	30 September 1927 Cornwall, England
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Charlotte Cropp (m. 1885)
Occupation	preacher, politician
Religion	Methodist

Edmund Harvey Taylor (1855 – 30 September 1927) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand.

Taylor was born in Laneast in Cornwall, England, in 1855, the son of John Taylor, a prominent farmer. He studied in Liskeard to become a preacher of the Methodist church. His first placements were in Manchester, Birmingham, and Cheltenham.^[1]

He emigrated to New Zealand in 1882 and became prominent in the temperance movement.^[2] He was a member of the Thames Licensing Committee, and was at time secretary and president of the Prohibition League. On 8 July 1885, he married Charlotte "Lottie" Cropp, the eldest daughter of W. H. Cropp of Thames.^[3] Her father, a long-term resident of Thames working as an engineer, was active in the Church of Christ.^[4]

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1909–1911	17th	Thames		Liberal

He stood for Parliament in the Thames electorate in 1890, but was defeated by Alfred Cadman^[5][6] He tried again in subsequent elections in 1893,^[7] 1896,^[8] and 1899,^[9][10] but was always beaten by James McGowan.^[11]

He won the Thames electorate in a 1909 by-election after the resignation of McGowan,^[12] but was defeated in the next election in 1911 by Thomas William Rhodes.^[13] He contested the electorate again in 1914 but Rhodes remained successful.^[14] He did not contest the 1919 election.^[15]

He later moved to Western Springs near Auckland, where he lived in Springfield Road.^[16] He was Reverend for the Congregational church in Morningside.^[2]

He died in Cornwall while on a visit to England on 30 September 1927.^[17] He was survived by his wife, Charlotte Taylor,^[16] and two daughters.^[2]

Notes

1. "Rev. E. H. Taylor". Auckland Star. LVIII (234). 4 October 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
2. "Obituary". Auckland Star. LVIII (233). 3 October 1927. p. 3. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
3. "Marriage". Thames Star. XVII (5143). 11 July 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
4. "Obituary". Thames Star. LVIII (18357). 2 June 1917. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
5. "The Thames Election". Thames Star. XXII (6749). 5 December 1890. p. 2. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
6. "Election After-thoughts". Observer. X (624). 13 December 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
7. The General Election, 1893. Government Printer. 1894. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
8. "Electoral District of Thames". Thames Advertiser. XXVIII (8607). 10 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
9. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
10. "Electoral District of Thames". Thames Advertiser. XXIX (9510). 13 December 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
11. Wilson 1985, p. 215.
12. Wilson 1985, pp. 215, 239.
13. Wilson 1985, pp. 230, 239.
14. "The General Election, 1914". National Library. 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
15. The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1920. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
16. "Deaths". Auckland Star. LVIII (232). 1 October 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
17. "Deaths". New Zealand Herald. 3 October 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

References

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.