Edward Taylor

    Edward Taylor was an American poet that lived from 1642-1729.  About ten years after the death of his mother and father, Taylor sailed to Boston to find religious freedom.  Once he arrived in Boston, Taylor was accepted into Harvard University, with the help of Puritan minister, Increase Mather.  In 1671 Edward Taylor became a minister in Westfield, Massachusetts, and remained a pastor until his death almost 50 years later.  In 1674, Taylor married Elizabeth Fitch.  The couple had eight children during their marrige,however, five of them died during infancy.  After the death of his first wife, Edward Taylor married a woman named Ruth Wyllys and had six more children. 

    Nearly 200 years after Taylor's death, his works and poems were found in the Yale College library.  In 1939, "The Poetical Works of Edward Taylor" was finally published. Some of Taylor's poems are Huswifery, Upon a Spider Cathcing a Fly, Ebb and Flow,Upon a Wasp Chilled With Cold, and The Preface.

Follow these links to find a list of many of Taylor's works, www.puritansermons.com/poetry/taylor.htm and www.poemhunter.com/edward-taylor/poems/.