William Taylor was born on October 15, 1837, in Hobkirk, Scotland, to Robert John Taylor and Mary Smith. He was baptized on December 17, 1837. The family immigrated to New York in 1839 and settled in New York, and they moved to Spring Valley, Wisconsin, around 1844. By 1860, he was working as a farmer, and he owned $200 of personal property. He eventually moved to Edgeton, Wisconsin, and by 1880, he was working as a stockbroker. By 1900, he was living in Brodhead, Wisconsin, in his brother Peter’s household. He died around 1908.