Taylor: The Man, the “Ham”–We Salute You!
Taylor: The Man, the “Ham” – We Salute You!
John Taylor, NJ State Senator and purveyor of fine processed meat products, was born in Hamilton Square, NJ in 1836. His father James F. Taylor, owner of a brick yard, died when John was fourteen. Taylor entered the grocery business as a store clerk at seventeen. He quickly earned an interest with his company but left after a year to form his own partnership with James Ronan, which lasted for two years before Taylor bought Ronan’s share.
He began working in the wholesale grocery business then in the pork and cattle packaging industry, which lead him to establish the brand “Taylor’s Prepared Ham,” commonly called Taylor Ham, in 1856. This enterprise was organized into the Taylor Provision Company in 1888.
In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed to protect American consumers from misleading food labels. Taylor’s product no longer met the legal definition of “ham,” so Taylor and all other manufacturers were required to label it as “pork roll,” though people in northern New Jersey still refer to it as “Taylor Ham” to this day. I remains one of New Jersey’s most beloved culinary delicacies, especially when fried and served with egg and cheese on a kaiser roll or bagel. Many regard it to be the unofficial state sandwich of New Jersey.
Taylor was a Republican active in Trenton’s City Council, where he served as chairman of the finance committee. He was elected to the New Jersey State Senate for Mercer County, serving from 1880 to 1883. He declined a second term. He helped to abolish the street markets of New Jersey. He also founded the Taylor Opera House in Trenton. Taylor Street in Trenton is also named for him.
John Taylor died in 1909 and is interred in a mausoleum in Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.
The preceding article is an excerpt from issue #54 of Weird NJ magazine, “Your Travel Guide to New Jersey’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets,” which is available on newsstands throughout the state and on the web at www.WeirdNJ.com. All contents ©Weird NJ and may not be reproduced by any means without permission.
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