Taylor first visited
Milwaukee and
Green Bay, but decided to settle in
Sheboygan. He arrived in Sheboygan by boat, on the same ship that brought
Harrison Carroll Hobart—the two men would establish the first legal firms in the city. Taylor partnered with Cyrus Hiller, creating a firm known as Taylor & Hiller. That fall, he was elected
district attorney of
Sheboygan County for a one-year term. In 1852, he was elected from Sheboygan County's 1st district to the
Wisconsin State Assembly for the
1853 legislative session. At this time, he was a member of the
Whig Party, but would soon after become a member of the newly established
Republican Party. In his one term in the Assembly, Taylor served on the committee for education, schools, and university lands, the committee on state affairs, and the committee on finance. Taylor was renominated by the Whig Party for another term in the Assembly, but was defeated by Democrat Adolph Rosenthal. In 1854, he was elected to the
Wisconsin State Senate as a Republican. During the 1855 session of the legislature, Taylor made an inquiry into the meaning of a number of disbursement payments to the then-Governor
William A. Barstow. As a result, and possibly as an attempt to deter or embarrass Taylor, the Democratic majority offered to make him a committee of one to investigate the matter. Taylor researched the matter and concluded that Barstow had improperly claimed $600 (approximately $17,000 adjusted for inflation to 2021). The investigation added to a building narrative about corruption in the Barstow administration, and Barstow was ultimately narrowly defeated in the 1855 gubernatorial election. The report also made Taylor a Democratic target for retribution and personal grudges for the rest of his career. He did not seek renomination to another term in the Senate in 1856. At the 1857 Republican State Convention, his name was placed in nomination for
Governor of Wisconsin, amidst the rivalry between
Edward D. Holton and
Walter D. McIndoe. Ultimately,
Alexander Randall was chosen as the consensus alternative. Less than a year later, on the resignation of Judge
William R. Gorsline, Governor Randall appointed Taylor as
Wisconsin circuit court judge for the 4th circuit. At the time, the 4th circuit comprised
Calumet,
Fond du Lac,
Manitowoc, and
Sheboygan counties. The following April, Judge Taylor defeated a challenge from
Isaac S. Tallmadge in an election to fill the remainder of Judge Gorsline's term. He was subsequently re-elected without opposition in 1862. In 1868, Judge Taylor ran for a second six-year term but was defeated by Democrat Campbell McLean. Taylor's defeat was considered a major upset, as McLean was a lawyer of little significance who had served a term in the Assembly. Taylor was likely hurt among the
German American population by his recent opposition to
Sunday laws in Wisconsin. Undaunted, that fall he entered the race to reclaim his seat in the
Wisconsin State Senate. Though he won the election, his seat was immediately contested on the grounds that he could not legally receive votes for a legislative seat while serving as a circuit court judge (his judicial term technically did not expire until December 1868). A formal complaint was introduced by Democratic Senator
Edward S. Bragg in the first weeks of the new legislative session. After a brief hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Taylor's victory was certified and he was allowed to resume his duties. By far, Taylor's most significant legislative achievement of this term was his leadership in the passage of two resolutions, which led to the abolition of the
grand jury system in Wisconsin.
Revised Statutes Taylor did not seek re-election in 1870 and instead set to work on a new compilation of the statutes of Wisconsin with annotations relating to relevant judicial case law. Taylor had been appointed to a commission in 1857 which had produced the last compilation of the statutes. In the meantime, Judge Taylor relocated from Sheboygan to
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and formed a new law partnership, first with J. M. Gillet, and then with
George Eaton Sutherland. He was elected alongside Democrat
Harlow S. Orton without opposition. He was re-elected to a ten-year term in 1885, without serious opposition. Judge Taylor worked until the day of his death. He died of a sudden heart attack on April 3, 1891, after eating dinner at his home on West Wilson Street in
Madison, Wisconsin. ==Family and legacy==