Jerononemus!

Don't ask me why it has taken me so long to see the most obvious evidence. Here is a will abstract that clearly pertains to our research question:

1791, Aug. 25. Taylor, Jerononemus, of Sussex Co.; will of. Wife, Else Catharina, to remain in house and be maintained by son, Henry. Oldest son, Jacob, £225, to be paid by son, Henry. Son, George, place in Mansfield-Woodhouse, Sussex Co., where he now lives. Son, Henry, plantation whereon I now live. Son, William, the mill, in Mansfield-Woodhouse, now in his possession. Grandchild, Catharina Rush, £10. Wife, 2 cows and choice of movables; remainder to be sold and divided among children. Executors — son Jacob, and friend, Jacob Nendling. Witnesses — Samuel Coleman, William Cole, Nicholas Labrourgh. Proved Feb. 25, 1792. Lib. 34, p. 158. 1791, Sept. 27. Inventory, £98.14.3, made by Nicholas Labrourgh and William Cole. File 541S.

So this is rather amazing! This abstract helps us to account for several names in the 1793 tax list of Mansfield twp: Henry, Jacob, and William. And who was the grandchild, Catherine Rush? So many good questions!

• First, there's the name Jerononemus. I'm inclined to think the name spelling was more like Jeronemus, which seems to have Dutch origins.
• Next, there's the son named Henry. Given the group of names in Mansfield in the 1793 tax list, it's reasonable to think that the Henry in 1793 Mansfield was the son of Jerononemus. But was Mansfield-Henry the same Henry Taylor who served in the NJ Militia and subsequently moved to Brookfield, Ohio? If he is, then according to his own deposition, he was born in Bucks County, PA, which is where Jerononemus and Else Catharina must also have resided at one point. And then who was the Henry Taylor in Hardiston in the 1793 tax list? Was Hardiston-Henry the Henry Taylor Jr. who later married Elizabeth Oliver in 1801?
• As for the other sons of Jerononemus:
• The oldest son, Jacob, is presumably the one who married Mary Bray in 1807. Strangely, however, there are many internet family trees that have Jacob Taylor-husband-of-Mary-Bray born in 1745 (which makes sense) but married and having kids by 1778. Jacob Taylor's marriage to Mary Bray is specifically listed as 15 Feb 1778, but there is no source for that date, nor any explanation why there is Sussex County marriage record for Jacob Taylor and Mary Bray in 1807. It should be noted that Jacob Taylor and Mary Bray are recorded as being the parents of a Jeromus Taylor (1784-1869), which does suggest that this Jacob Taylor could have been the son of Jerononemus.
• As for George Taylor, another will abstract was located dated 21 Apr 1792 for a George Taylor of Oxford, Sussex, NJ. His administrator was the widow, Anne Taylor. Since there is no George Taylor listed in the 1793 tax lists, I am guessing that George Taylor, son of Jerononemus, died shortly after his father in 1792.
• Then there's William Taylor, who was already operating the mill in Mansfield. This is probably NOT the William Taylor who married Mary Swallow in Amwell, Hunterdon, NJ in 1768, though to be fair, the dates still do not preclude him from being in Sussex county in 1793. Or was William-son-of-Jerononemus the William Taylor associated with Jacob Shoemaker of Sussex, mentioned in the previous post? That William Taylor had a wife named Mary, and sons named William, George, James S. and Jabez G. as well the daughter Sophia who married Jacob Shoemaker.

Well, as excited as I was to find Jerononemus Taylor, I'm afraid we only have more inconclusive evidence to add to the growing pile. We have lots of clues but so far there is no obvious way these pieces are fitting together....