Anyone who grew up in Palmetto during the early part of the twentieth century knew Thomas F. Taylor, although few knew him by his full name. The man had many aliases including The Professor, Consult Taylor, Taylor the Tailor, or in some cases just playing Tom. The different titles represented different stages in Taylor’s life.

Often described as a dapper man, Taylor was a colorful character with many talents. He was an entrepreneur and child welfare advocate and many consider him the most generous man in Palmetto. However, it was the Palmetto children who ultimately came to Taylor’s aid at the end of her heartwarming tale.

Taylor was born in England in 1883 and moved to Florida at the age of 24. At that time, he was physically disabled. Historical records indicate that he first resided in Rye, a prosperous town near the head of the Manatee River. At this time he was known as Professor Taylor and he was advertising his talents in the 1911 Manatee River Log as “certified expert in piano and organ (tuning and repair) and teacher of song and dance”. He was so sure of his tutoring abilities that his job and tuition were guaranteed.

When his health was finally restored, he moved to Palmetto and resided on Bay Street, now Fourth Street. He continued to advertise in the Palmetto Press and eventually bought a music store. With a successful business underway, Taylor began investing in local real estate.

Local historian Alice Myers recalled when her aunt’s piano was abandoned in a move and all the keys fell out, Consult Taylor, as she was then called, restored and tuned the piano in such a way expert. Myers played the piano for 70 more years.

Taylor was a well-respected member of the community and served on the Manatee River Board of Trade (an early version of the Chamber of Commerce). In the 1910s, he bought a theater where he accompanied the silent films shown there on the trumpet or piano.

Taylor loved children and although there are traces of a very short marriage, he never did. In a 1914 issue of the Palmetto Press, he vowed that no child would pay more than a dime to see a movie at the theater. As he grew older, his love for young people blossomed. One of Taylor’s favorite pastimes was dressing up and watching the Infamous Dances on Palmetto Dock. He never missed an opportunity to spin Viola Wade, his favorite partner, on the dance floor. It was his love for these events that inspired him to start hosting teenage Christmas dances. Soon he was throwing parties for children of all ages. At these feasts, each child brought a stocking to fill with fruit and candy, and each received a book and a toy. After the distribution of the gifts, ice cream was served. No less than 1,000 children attended these events!

Taylor was a well-dressed man who took pride in his appearance. He enjoyed driving around town and his sleek Duesenberg passenger car or riding a bike, pinning his pants in order to keep his pants grease-free. He ran a tailor / dry cleaning shop, so he got his nickname Taylor the Tailor.

As Taylor became more successful, he offered more and more help through community outreach. He provided vests and banners for the school patrol, donated land to the city for recreation,

Taylor gave new life to orphaned or illegitimate children through welfare agencies until they were placed in good homes. Many of these contributions were anonymous. During the Depression, Taylor sold people with limited means of ownership on a rent-to-own basis at very modest interest, helping many young families buy their first homes.

When Taylor learned that patients at a low-income hospital rarely received flowers, he arranged for a local florist to provide the facility with fresh flowers on a regular basis. He also donated the land on which the Tenth Street Baptist Church was built.

Due to Taylor’s multitude of charitable acts, the town of Palmetto has named a park in his honor. He was also elected Distinguished Citizen of Manatee County in 1953.

His last act of charity was post-mortem. Throughout his life Taylor had lived modestly, so the extent of his wealth was unknown until his death. In his will, he left everything he owned to charity. All of her stylish clothes were donated to the Salvation Army, all of her estate to the Children’s Home Society of Florida. The total amount donated to FCSF was over 250,000, a large sum of money at the time. But after his death there was a problem, only $ 500 was set aside for his own burial which was not enough for a gravestone. Everyone in Palmetto has come together to raise funds to provide one for him.

Today the gravestone is located in the 10th Street Cemetery in Palmetto so that anyone can present their grave with fresh flowers, like the ones that brightened up hospital patients who would never have received of flowers without the selfless generosity of Taylor the tailor.