[5] Her birth date varies on census records but fairly consistently report that she was ten years younger than her husband,[1][7][3] J. Orville Taylor, who was born on May 14, 1807.
[15][16] He filed the copyrights on Jane's works; under the law at that time, a wife could not appear in court or defend herself without her husband or a guardian's representation.
[22] Catharine Beecher and Taylor began writing texts to relay basic information on the body, omitting discussion of sexual anatomy.
[26][Notes 3] Following in the pattern of similar books by William Alcott, her texts were written in the style of a catechism and presented basic anatomy to children.
It described different parts of the body and gave basic foundations for physiology, health care hints, as well as types of exercise and demonstrations of proper posture.
For example, she depicted slaves and working-class people as more susceptible to disease,[28] because they did not have the mental capacity to resist ailments and were likely to sink into "weakness and despair".
[33] Taylor's 1858 book, Wouldst Know Thyself!, or, The Outlines of Human Physiology gave more focus on behavior and hygiene giving tips on general health and care of the body as well as recommendations on clothing, diet, and exercise.
[6] In her lifetime, according to academic Elizabeth Wagner Reed, the books were very popular and seen as important works to "make children aware of the structure and functioning of their bodies".