Jane Taylor

Jane Taylor (c. 1817–1820 — c. 1904–1907) was a pre-American Civil War writer of children's physiology books. Her works were widely distributed and provided instruction on basic anatomy, health maintenance and social etiquette. Early life and education Jane Ellen Agnew was from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Her birth date varies on census records but fairly consistently report that she was ten years younger than her husband, J. Orville Taylor, who was born on May 14, 1807. The couple were married on November 16, 1835, or 1836. They had a son, Edward, born around 1850, who married and then died in 1880. Edward and his wife Lydia had a daughter Mary born that same year. Very little biographical information on her has surfaced, primarily because she was often confused with the English author Jane Taylor. Her obituary confirms that Jane Agnew Taylor was the author of Physiology for Children, as well as a contributor to other leading journals in New York. Career Taylor began publishing educational books for children in 1830s. Orville was a proponent of developing professionalization of the teaching profession and advocated for standardized text books for public education. As the secretary of the American Common School Union and later the American Common School Society, he wrote, published, and sold educational textbooks. 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. She wrote The Girls School Book No. 1, as early as 1837, which her husband published, and was in its fourth edition by 1839. The book was described as a first reading primer for girls, teaching them proper behavior. Beginning in the 1830s, discussions of anatomy and physiology became popular, and were increasingly seen as necessary information for women to know to maintain the health of their families. Women were expected to be able to transmit information to their children and other women about their bodies, excluding explicit sexual information. Catharine Beecher and Taylor began writing texts to relay basic information on the body, omitting discussion of sexual anatomy. These books focused on the benefits of good posture, physical education, diet, exercise, and proper moral behavior.