Daniel P. Taylor was born in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico, son of Harvey Hyrum Taylor and Mary Alice Pierce Taylor on March 22, 1924, the sixth of seven children.
Harvey Hyrum Taylor and Orson Pratt Brown were cattle business partners in the Alamito (small cottonwood tree) Ranch, its boundaries were from the south border of Colonia Juarez, to mountains in west and east to river. On the south they were bordered with the Hacienda de San Diego (Pearson established large sawmill there).
Daniel graduated from the Juarez Stake Academy on May 18,1942 as class valedictorian. Bryant R. Clark was the school superintendent. Daniel participated in all the activities that were provided, and held a very high scholastic rating. After graduation he served for two 1/2 years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Mexican Mission during 1943-1946.
On March 28, 1947 he married An Marie Pratt in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the daughter of Harold Wilcken Pratt and Anna Marie Hendrickson Pratt, and granddaughter of Helaman Pratt and Bertha Christina Carolina Wilcken Pratt. Anna Marie Pratt is Elena Pratt Turley Brown's sister.
Daniel and Anna Marie attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He majored in Spanish literature and minored in chemistry and mathematics. After receiving his Master's degree 1949 he remained at B.Y.U. as a full-time instructor for one year, but the call of his homeland was great and he was living in Colonia Dublan operating his own farm and go into business with his father when he was called to be Superintendent of the Juárez Stake Academy on June 1958. Daniel, his wife, and four children, Reyel Pratt Taylor (Brown), Leonor Taylor (Lugo), Silvia Taylor (Ibarra), and David Pratt Taylor (Gomez), all moved to Colonia Juárez.
During the summer he was able to complete the work started by J. Bennion Taylor, of incorporating the school with the University of Chihuahua, as a secondary school (Escuela Secundaria), grades 8 through 10. Later this accreditation was placed under the direction of the State Department of Education when a joint meeting of the rectors of Mexican Universities decided to exclude secondary education from their supervision. The incorporation of the J.S.A. into the official system made it possible for the credits of graduation of this institution to be valid in Mexico.
Superintendent Daniel Taylor, with the help of Neff Taylor, Church architect, co-ordinated the plans and sketches of the previous Superintendent John Bennion Taylor, into one building. This would house a gymnasium on the west end, an auditorium in the middle, and a music center on the east end.
In the two years Daniel Taylor was superintendent he worked diligently to increase the salaries and improve the working conditions for the teachers. In early February 1960, Daniel was called to be Superintendent of all Church Schools in Mexico (45 grade schools, 2 secondary schools), which made it necessary to change directors in the middle of the school year, as his new call required him to live in Mexico City. Here his next three children, Marcela Taylor (Sanchez), Daniel Pratt Taylor (Trevino) , and Ana Marie Taylor (Pesqueira), were born in the Federal District of Mexico.
Dan served on two Stake Presidencies in Mexico (one with Harold Brown President, Dan first counselor, and Enrico Lozano as second counselor). He also served as Public Relations director for the Church in Mexico.
Sources:
PAF - Archer files = Orson Pratt Brown + (5) Angela Gabaldon > Silvestre Gustavo Brown + Emma Tarin > Mary Alyce Brown + Reyel Taylor < Daniel Pierce Taylor + Anna Marie Pratt.
"Academia Juárez - Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua - 1901-1976" , printed in 1977.
"The LIfe and Times of Harvey Hyrum Taylor 1890-1972 - An Autobiography" Permission granted by Daniel P. Taylor on October 31, 2005 to use any material printed in his book on this website.
Find: Oral History of Daniel P. Taylor and another one for Ana Marie Pratt Taylor at Church Oral History Department, 1976. Permission granted to use on this website.
