Taylor, Edward Thompson, 1793–1871, American Methodist missionary preacher among seamen, known as Father Taylor, b. Richmond, Va. He was licensed in 1814 to preach and ordained in 1819 in the Methodist ministry. In 1830 he became the missionary in charge of the Seamen's Bethel in Boston. He had spent much of his early life at sea, and his knowledge of nautical matters helped in his work among sailors; he was widely known and much loved. Walt Whitman wrote an article about him, and the sermon of Father Mapple in Melville's Moby-Dick reflects Taylor's speech and manner. He is mentioned in Dickens's American Notes, in Emerson's journals, and by other writers of the period.
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