Member Biography
Maris Harvey Taylor
COUNTIES: Dauphin
Biography
06/04/1876 - 05/16/1982
M. (Maris) Harvey Taylor (R15) Dauphin County 1941-1964
Early Life:
M. (Maris) Harvey Taylor, born June 4, 1876, Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; son of Maris and Catherine Rishel Taylor; education, Harrisburg public schools, dropped out, age 12, 1888; Central Iron Company, laborer, assistant superintendent, 1888-1912; appointed, delegate, Dauphin County Republican convention, 1898; elected, Republican, Harrisburg School Board, 1907, unsuccessful re-election, 1915; engaged, insurance agency, cigar shop owner, 1914; elected, Republican, Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds, 1919; elected, Republican, Chief County Clerk, 1925; Commissioner of Parks, under the Clark Act, 1 term, Dauphin County Commissioner, 11 years; elected, chair, Dauphin County Republican Committee, 1931; elected, chair, Republican State Committee, 1934-1937, 1942-1954; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1941-1964; elected, Pennsylvania State Senate, President pro tempore, 1945-1960, 1963-1964; acting, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, January 1947; married, Bertha May Shertzer, two children, Dorothy E. Taylor and W. Stewart Taylor; died, May 16, 1982 (aged 105) Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, interment, Paxtang Cemetery, Paxtang, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Early Career:
Laborer, assistant superintendent, Central Iron Company, 1888-1912, engaged, M. Harvey Taylor and Son Insurance Agency, his son and grandson succeeded him into the business; cigar shop owner.
Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:
Member, Market Square Presbyterian, Masonic fraternities; Past Potentate, Zembo Temple.
Pennsylvania Politics:
Appointed, (replaced father) Republican, Harrisburg School Board, 1898, started 66-year political career ending, 1964, at 88, defeated, primary.
Elected, Republican, Harrisburg School Board, 1907, unsuccessful re-election, 1915.
Elected, Republican, Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds, 1919; elected Republican, County Clerk, 1925; Commissioner of Parks, under the Clark Act, 1 term, Dauphin County Commissioner, 11 years.
Elected, chair, Dauphin County Republican Committee, 1931, on the death of his political mentor, Lieutenant Governor Edward F. Beidleman.
Elected, chair, Republican State Committee, incumbent General Edward A. Martin, stepped aside, 1934-1937.
Unsuccessful campaign, Republican, Commonwealth Secretary for Internal Affairs, 1936.
Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 15th district, Dauphin County, 1941-1964; elected, Pennsylvania State Senate, President pro tempore, 1945-1961, elected, Pennsylvania State Senate, President pro tempore,1963-1964; president pro tempore and member ex-officio all Standing Committees; defeated, William B. Lentz, Republican primary, 1964. Elected as 65 year-old freshman state senator, 1940.
Acting Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, January 2, 1947 – January 7, 1947.
Legacy:
A political career that began with his participation, 1896 President McKinley victory parade.
Once signed by the Philadelphia Athletics baseball club, he just become assistant superintendent, steel mill and did not make the move. Continued to play professional baseball in Harrisburg, also played on Harrisburg’s first basketball team.
Nicknamed “Pop-pop” as he eagerly swung at too many early pitches, many thought it was because of being a fatherly influence. Legend has it, he recommended Gettysburg Hall of Fame pitcher Eddie Plank to Connie Mack of Philadelphia Athletics. Of course Taylor had once outpitched him.
Major legislative contributions to Harrisburg and Dauphin County included the Capitol Park, State Archives and Museum, development, Fort Indiantown Gap, Governor’s Mansion, Harrisburg’s Zembo Mosque, and M. Harvey Taylor Bridge.
It is a fact, Pennsylvania has over 550 named pieces of infrastructure. While many bridges in the Commonwealth have been named for an individual after they died, not so with the M. Harvey Taylor Bridge. In 1951, the Pennsylvania Senate, by a 49-0 vote, named the future steel girder bridge over the Susquehanna River, connecting downtown Harrisburg with the West Shore after M. Harvey Taylor. Interestingly, Taylor abstained from casting a vote in favor of naming the bridge after himself. The M. Harvey Taylor Bridge was dedicated and opened, on January 24, 1952. The first toll-free bridge over the Susquehanna River.
Founded prestigious Tuesday Club in Harrisburg.
His Senate portrait and the original bar from the Old Senate Hotel where he would upon occasion frequent; can now be found inside The Midtown Scholar Bookstore 1302 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102.
Cited:
Cox, Harold. Senate Members "T" (wilkes.edu). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
The Pennsylvania Manual, (1963-1964). Stine, C., (Editor). Crouse, J., (Assistant Editor). (Volume 96) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 93, 95. Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 85.
Townley, John B. (June 8, 1934). "Martin Gives Up Chairman Post, Recommends Taylor". The Pittsburgh Press
The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search
Beers, Paul B. (1980). Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday: The Terrible Accommodation. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press. pages 168–172. ISBN 0-271-00238-7.
What’s In A Name? Who was M. Harvey Taylor? Harrisburg Magazine March 6, 2020; Jacqueline G. Goodwin, Ed.D;
What’s In A Name? Who was M. Harvey Taylor? – Harrisburg Magazine
"M. Harvey Taylor, GOP Leader". The New York Times. May 16, 1982 M. HARVEY TAYLOR, G.O.P. LEADER - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Maris Harvey Taylor (1876-1982) - Find a Grave Memorial