Meet The Family

Daniel  E. Taylor was the oldest of 11 siblings. He was born in 1896 in the little village of Sea Level, North Carolina.   From a very early age of about 12, while working on his father’s freight boat, he heard stories of the need for a doctor or a hospital  in Sea Level.    Too many people suffered or died because of the lack of medical facilities Down East.  At the time in the early 1900’s, it could take 4 or more hours by boat to get to the nearest hospital.  This made a deep impression on him throughout the years.  It culminated in 1952 when Dan and his brothers set up a Foundation for the purpose of establishing a hospital to serve the people in the Sea Level area.  The Sea Level Hospital opened its doors in November, 1953.  It opened with only one doctor, but as time went on, many other doctors and specialists from Duke University came and made it their home for many years.

As a youngster, Dan was just like other youngsters in their rural setting.  However, he really had no interest in sports or hunting or even fishing. He really enjoyed working; he was a shrewd trader in his father’s general merchandise store as well as on the freight boat.  With no formal education,  except for a few months at Gilliam’s Academy for business, Dan went to work as a night clerk in the old Proctor Hotel in Greenville, NC  and then on to a similar job in Washington NC.  Not being satisfied, he opened a small brokerage business in Norfolk, VA called D.E. Taylor and Company with the help of a small loan from his father.

This enterprise made a profit right from the start through the importation of such items as industrial salt and tropical fruit.  Within a few years, all three of his brothers had joined him and enlarged the business as well as branching out on their own. They all made big real estate deals in Norfolk and owned fruit plantations in the Carribean area and in South America.  Then in the early thirties, they formed the West India Fruit and Steamship Company with headquarters in West Palm Beach, FL. and a branch office in Havana, Cuba.  The purpose on this line was to haul loaded freight cars between the two ports.  It started with one ship and grew to include five ships, with one ship operating from New Orleans to Cuba. A ferry service for cars and passengers was also started from Key West to Havana in 1955. They also purchased the Biltmore Hotel in Palm Beach in 1949. After renovation, this 550 room hotel  became one of the best hotels in Florida with many famous people as its guests. In the late 50’s and early 60’s, the West India Fruit and Steamship Company ceased operations due to the Castro coup in Cuba.

In addition to the numerous business activities, Dan was a director and large stockholder in the New York Central Railroad, having his own private railroad car.  He then went on to become a director of Penn Central after the merger of the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroads. Another one of his desires was to see a ferry service connect the Outer Banks at Ocracoke with the North Carolina mainland. After much discussion with the State of NC, that service was started and still exists today.  He was also instrumental in Sailor Snug Harbor, a seaman’s retirement home, moving from New York to Sea Level in the early 1970’s.   Other than business, his main interest was horse racing and he was a frequent visitor to many tracks throughout the Eastern seaboard.  In the mid to late 60’s, Dan decided to invest in the thoroughbred business . As time went on, he bought several large farms in Virginia. Verulam Farm outside of Charlottesville, VA, was his last, where he raised and bred thoroughbreds, later racing many of them from Hialeah to Monmouth race tracks

Dan Taylor was the oldest and the work horse of all the brothers.  He made his home in West Palm Beach , FL and was a dedicated husband to Frances Taylor and loving father to his daughter, Susan.  He was born in a little village in the eastern part of NC and never forgot where he came from. He loved Carteret County.   That is why the Taylor Foundation was formed:  to build and help support a much needed hospital in their hometown of Sea Level, NC.  He continued as a director of the Foundation until his death on June 27, 1973.  He was 76 years old.   He died at Calder Race Track in Florida while watching one of his horses race.  His horse won, but he did not live to see it…

William (Bill) Taylor, Sr. was born in 1902 in the little hamlet called Sea Level in Eastern North Carolina. He was the son of Sabra James Rose and Maltby Taylor.  He died in 1987 after many successful business partnerships with his three brothers:  Daniel (D.E.), Alfred, and Leslie.  Where Dan was the visionary, Bill was the practical one which made the partnerships successful. He was the quiet and reserved brother. After Dan established a sugar enterprise in Norfolk, Bill soon joined him.  Eventually the other two brothers moved to Norfolk as well. During the Depression of the Thirties, the brothers bought some choice Norfolk waterfront property, idle cotton docks.  These docks were leased to the Federal  Government during World War II.  Following the end of the war, they were sold at a nice profit.

Bill helped  establish a banana import business and a car ferry service to Cuba called the West India Fruit and Steamship Co.  He also helped obtain the ownership of the Biltmore Hotel in Palm Beach, FL. during the 1950’s. He owned a sugar company, Norfolk Warehouse Co., and Southern Salt Company.  Bill also had farming interests outside of Norfolk. While  Dan and Leslie concentrated on the businesses located in Florida,  William headed up the companies located in Virginia.

The spectacular rise to fame and fortune has not diminished Bill’s love for his native community in N.C. He continued to stay in touch with old friends there and continued their generosity to improve the lives of the “Home Folks”. Again, Bill never forgot where he came from and stayed in touch with family and friends who still lived there.

Bill Taylor served as President of the Taylor Foundation from its inception in 1951 until the 1980’s.

Alfred T. Taylor of Virginia Beach, Virginia was born in the seaside village of Sea Level, North Carolina in 1904. He was the son of Sabra and Maltby Taylor. Alfred and his siblings grew up farming and fishing with their Dad in eastern North Carolina. He and his three brothers and two sisters played in the waters of Core Sound, learned to fish and handle
small boats.

Alfred was always full of fun! Alfred was also determined to make money and have a business of his own. After his two older brothers moved to Norfolk, VA., he joined them and worked as a salesman for their companies. Within a few years, he borrowed $500 from his father and opened up a mercantile business of his own- The Taylor Salt and Chemical Co. – importing industrial salt and other chemicals. His business prospered also. Soon, he branched out into the manufacturing business, making wire coat hangers, under the name the National Wire Hanger Manufacturing Co. Again, he branched out, this time going into the wholesale oil business, the Taylor Oil Co.

Alfred and his brothers, Dan, William and Leslie, pooled their various enterprises, and were truly blessed with the touch of Midas. Soon after, they enlarged their holdings, this time going into the fruit import business.

In 1946, they purchased a steamship and formed the West India Fruit & Steamship Co. with headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida and Havana, Cuba. This was called the Florida Havana Car Ferry Service. They expanded to five ships and operated until 1961 – when Castro came into power and ceased operations.

In 1949, the brothers purchased Florida’s largest resort hotel – 530 room Palm Beach Biltmore Hotel.

In 1952, the brothers built and donated the Sea Level Hospital to their beloved community – after forming The Taylor Foundation – with the sole purpose of serving the people in down east Carteret County.  The family always remained loyal to their birth place and all the folks that lived there.

Alfred was a director of Norfolk General Hospital, Virginia National Bank , Southern Salt Co., Banana Distribution Co. and other businesses and financial organizations.

Alfred’s passion was raising race horses and owning large tracts of raw land. He owned 1800 acres of land in Virginia Beach – and farmed and raised horses there. He enjoyed going to the racetracks to watch his horses – Atlantic City and Pimlico especially. He also owned Weyanoke Farm in Charles City, Virginia where he raised horses and enjoyed the beauty of the large estate near Williamsburg, Virginia.

He lived in Virginia Beach with his wife, Doris Malbon Taylor, and his 2 daughters, Barbara and Linda. He always remained full of fun and was very close to his 3 brothers and also his 2 sisters, Rebecca and Gladys, until he died in 1967.

Leslie M. Taylor was the youngest of the four Taylor brothers from Sea Level, North Carolina. He was born November 17, 1910. His parents were Maltby and Sabra Rose Taylor. Leslie grew up in Sea Level – a small village in eastern North Carolina where he helped with the farming and fishing duties. Leslie completed elementary school in Sea Level and entered high school in Atlantic (a nearby village).

Following his graduation, he entered North Carolina State College at Raleigh. The first in his family to enter college. He graduated in 1933 with a degree in civil engineering. Leslie was known as the optimist of the family and displayed this attitude all through his life.

He engaged in the import export business shipping business with his older brothers until volunteering for service in the U.S. Navy in World War ll. He attained the rank of lieutenant and was on active duty in the Pacific Theatre. The ship on which he served participated in the invasion of Okinawa.

After he was discharged from the Navy he returned to the shipping business with his brothers. They started West India Fruit & Steamship Co. which transported railroad cars on their ships to Havana Cuba. They also owned fruit plantations in the Caribbean area and in South America.

Leslie managed a number of fruit plantations until labor difficulties caused them to cease operations and purchase their fruit through agencies. He then returned to the management of other phases of the Taylor enterprises. Leslie had interests in banana plantations in Guatemala, operated cattle ranches in Florida and Texas and was a breeder of Brahman cattle.

He retired in 1990 from active business. He and his wife, Daisy A. Taylor, resided on Murray Road in West Palm Beach, Florida from the early 1950s until 1996. He was a loving husband to Daisy and wonderful father to his son, Leslie M. Taylor Jr. ( Skip ) and his granddaughters, Kristen and Melissa.