Taylor, at 62, is the oldest person to assume the office of Speaker of the Texas House.
In April 1847, Taylor and family moved to Larissa, Texas (ten miles northeast of Rusk)[2] in Cherokee County.
When the Seventh Legislature convened on 2 November 1857, Taylor was the only nomination for speaker.
[3] He was elected and served until he became ill on 26 December 1857 and took leave of absence.
One of his fifteen children with wife Elizabeth, son William S. Taylor, Jr., fought in the Battle of San Jacinto.