This page contains background information for Evelyn "Du Pont" Taylor aka surname Bowden, Bowdoin, McIntyre, Wood, Pierce; multiple variations of given name, but usually Evelyn C. The amount of detail in this analysis of Evelyn's ancestry has never before been published in print or digital media.
Unraveling this mystery using historic documents found online is similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces and with pieces from different puzzles in the mix. Historian Matthew Bane of Old Pasadena has done much of the research and was the first to pique my interest in Evelyn's real story.
This page is a supplement to the blog post: A Bogus Du Pont Heiress Started the West Side Land Boom
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| 1921 Passport Photo |
"Handsome Jack" Taylor and Evelyn Du Pont Taylor are important figures in the history of St. Petersburg, Florida. During the Roaring Twenties, the couple invested heavily in St. Pete, especially in the Pasadena area. The character and charm of Pasadena's brick paved streets, dozens of Mediterranean style homes, Stetson University College of Law, the Pasadena golf course, the Bear Creek Gateway ‒ even the historic homes and buildings in the Jungle area ‒ owe their existence to Jack Taylor's grandiose vision.
Keep in mind that historic documents are subject to human error, misspellings, digital transfer errors, deception, etc. Census data is helpful, but is suspect and incomplete. It is often obtained from relatives, neighbors or boarders and might include variations in name, age, etc. Also, some people are not truthful with the census taker. Names are often misspelled by the document clerk and some people didn't know how to spell their own name. Names were often written down phonetically.
If anyone has additional insight about Evelyn, please email steveofthejunglecc@gmail.com
Data inconsistencies and missing documents led to certain inferences, assumptions, and conjectures on my part. This page may include some documents that don't belong here because they are confused with a similar person.
On various documents, Evelyn's birthdate and birthplace is listed as:
He even gets his picture in the newspaper...
1929 St. Petersburg Times. Evelyn (Mrs. A.G. Pierce) honeymooning in St. Pete
St. Petersburg Times 1943: divorce from Adin G. Pierce
Jack's wife Evelyn was a Du Pont heiress ‒ or so they claimed. It was part of a ruse to establish Taylor's financial legitimacy and elite connections. At the time, no one questioned it. Walter P. Fuller, who knew the Taylors well, believed it to be true when he wrote about them in "St. Petersburg and Its People," a book that subsequent local historians have used as a primary source.
Today, we are able to search online for census data, birth certificates, marriage records, newspaper articles, ship passenger lists, passport applications and other documents to find information about a person's history.
Research exposes Evelyn as an imposter.
The deceit had its origin with her 1918 marriage to I.M. Taylor. Evelyn's maiden name on the certificate suggests she was descended from a distinguished family (Bowdoin, as in Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine). But her father was probably a laborer (William Bowden) in the fishing town of Bucksport, Maine. Evelyn was born on or about October 9, 1873. Records show that she married Chas. E. McIntyre in 1893 and gave birth to a daughter, Pauline, in 1895. Evelyn McIntyre married Forrest B. Wood (yes, that's a real name) in 1901. They were married in Chicago and lived in St. Paul, MN for a time. In 1910, the family lived in Brooklyn. Forrest and Evelyn divorced and in 1918 Evelyn married her third husband, Ivan M. Taylor. The Taylor family ‒ Ivan, Evelyn and "Polly" ‒ lived in Manhattan according to the 1920 census. This was about the time that Ivan M. Taylor saw his two businesses collapse. He fled to Europe with some of the assets. This gave him the opportunity to start a new business enterprise in St. Petersburg during the land boom. In 1922 in Florida, Evelyn now claimed to be a member of the Du Pont family, a ruse to assist her husband's scheme to sell land. He succeeded for a time, but when the land boom ended they were nearly bankrupt. The Taylors divorced. In 1929 Evelyn married builder Adin G. Pierce, who thought he was marrying into the Du Pont family. The 1930 census shows them living in the Bronx, NY. They divorced in 1943.
I have a theory about Evelyn Bowden McIntire Wood Bowdoin Du Pont Taylor Pierce. When she married I.M. Taylor in 1918, he was already a successful investment banker. Upper-class credentials are useful in gaining the confidence of wealthy investors, so marrying into the distinguished Bowdoin family (namesake of Bowdoin College) was advantageous. When reinventing himself in Florida, he recognized that the Du Pont name added upper-class prestige to the Pasadena-on-the-Gulf project.
Keep in mind that historic documents are subject to human error, misspellings, digital transfer errors, deception, etc. Census data is helpful, but is suspect and incomplete. It is often obtained from relatives, neighbors or boarders and might include variations in name, age, etc. Also, some people are not truthful with the census taker. Names are often misspelled by the document clerk and some people didn't know how to spell their own name. Names were often written down phonetically.
If anyone has additional insight about Evelyn, please email steveofthejunglecc@gmail.com
Data inconsistencies and missing documents led to certain inferences, assumptions, and conjectures on my part. This page may include some documents that don't belong here because they are confused with a similar person.
A birth record for Evelyn has not been found, probably because one doesn't exist. Family Search website states "many counties in the East and Midwest were recording births and deaths by the late 1800s. Each state eventually developed its own laws and created a statewide registration system. Unfortunately until the early 1900s, these records do not exist in most states."
On various documents, Evelyn's birthdate and birthplace is listed as:
September 10, 1875 (Bangor, ME) Forrest Wood 1906 Passport application St. Paul, MN
October 9, 1878 (Bucksport, ME) ship passenger record
October 9, 1886 (Bangor, ME) ship passenger record
March 12, 1880 (Orland, ME) ship passenger record
October 9, 1880 (Bucksport, ME) I.M. Taylor passport application
@1874 1880 census - 6 years old (Orland, ME)
@1873 1892 marriage - 19 years old (Castine, ME)
@1875 1901 marriage - 26 years old (Cook County, IL)
October 9, 1878 (Bucksport, ME) ship passenger record
October 9, 1886 (Bangor, ME) ship passenger record
March 12, 1880 (Orland, ME) ship passenger record
October 9, 1880 (Bucksport, ME) I.M. Taylor passport application
@1874 1880 census - 6 years old (Orland, ME)
@1873 1892 marriage - 19 years old (Castine, ME)
@1875 1901 marriage - 26 years old (Cook County, IL)
@1877 1910 census - 33 years old (Brooklyn, NY)
@1878 1920 census - 42 years old (Manhattan, NY)
Note: Bucksport, Orland, and Castine are all in close proximity to Bangor, ME. The map below shows the locations of Bangor, Bucksport, Orland and Castine. She was probably born at home in Bucksport and married in Castine. Her hometown might be Orland or Bangor, depending on who she's talking to and how well they know the area.
@1878 1920 census - 42 years old (Manhattan, NY)
Note: Bucksport, Orland, and Castine are all in close proximity to Bangor, ME. The map below shows the locations of Bangor, Bucksport, Orland and Castine. She was probably born at home in Bucksport and married in Castine. Her hometown might be Orland or Bangor, depending on who she's talking to and how well they know the area.
Some of the documents may be for a different person (red herring).
My guesstimate of birth date: October 9, 1873. As Evelyn aged, she changed the birth year to appear younger.
Here is a good explanation of birth date inconsistencies (from a Reddit contributor):
It didn't become common place to know your exact birth date until the early decades of the 20th century.
Earliest record for Evelyn I could find - from 1880 census, Orland, ME:
Eva Bowden is 6 years old, daughter of William and Mary Bowden - this is consistent with father and mother name on Evelyn's 1892 marriage record (further below). Eva could have been a nickname. The information may have been from a neighbor who didn't know Evelyn's full name. Maybe the census taker wrote it down wrong. Maybe they called her Eva at the time. Maybe this record is for a different individual.
1892 Record of Marriage, Castine, ME:
Chas E. McIntire (21 yo, occupation: seaman) marries Evelyn C. Bowden (19 yo, birth @1873) in Castine, ME.
Maine Marriage Index (1892):
For a start there was no reason to know. Also, in a time when people tended to have a lot of children and infant mortality was high, your focus would be on keeping the child alive and not necessarily on remembering the exact day it was born.
This brings us to illiteracy. It wasn't until the early 20th century that people began to read newspapers en masse and you could see that where you spelled your surname "Leacy" for example, most people seemed to spell it "Lacey" and so you changed the way you spelled your own name.
Once a child had survived into early childhood and was thought to have gotten past the various diseases that resulted in the deaths of so many infants, your parents were much more likely to give you a saint's day to celebrate rather than an actual birth date.
The genealogical analysis below is fairly solid given a consistent reference in documents to Evelyn's birthplace and date as well as mention of daughter Pauline and her birthdate.
Earliest record for Evelyn I could find - from 1880 census, Orland, ME:
Eva Bowden is 6 years old, daughter of William and Mary Bowden - this is consistent with father and mother name on Evelyn's 1892 marriage record (further below). Eva could have been a nickname. The information may have been from a neighbor who didn't know Evelyn's full name. Maybe the census taker wrote it down wrong. Maybe they called her Eva at the time. Maybe this record is for a different individual.
1892 Record of Marriage, Castine, ME:
Chas E. McIntire (21 yo, occupation: seaman) marries Evelyn C. Bowden (19 yo, birth @1873) in Castine, ME.
Maine Marriage Index (1892):
Evelyn C. Bowden's parents are William and Mary
September 27, 1895 Pauline's Birth Record, Castine, ME:
Pauline McIntire, Daughter of Chas. and Eveline
September 14, 1898 Evening Express (Portland, ME):
Evelyn McIntyre and Pauline visit from Boston.
September 27, 1895 Pauline's Birth Record, Castine, ME:
Pauline McIntire, Daughter of Chas. and Eveline
September 14, 1898 Evening Express (Portland, ME):
Evelyn McIntyre and Pauline visit from Boston.
McIntyre/McIntire: For many of these records, correct spelling of names does not seem to be taken seriously.
This could be a red herring. Why are Evelyn and Pauline living in Boston and visiting Knightville which is several hours from family in the Bucksport/Bangor area? This would be about the time that she divorced from Charles, so maybe she had moved on to Boston.
Marriage Index:
March 13, 1901. Chicago. Evellyn C. McIntyre marriage to Forrest B. Wood. Evelyn is misspelled and McIntyre spelling is not consistent with previous documents, but subsequent documents make this seem legitimate. There are a few Forrest Woods born around 1870, so this marriage in far off Chicago raises some questions. The next documents might help, though. Forrest, Evelyn and Pauline apply for a passport in 1906, residing in St. Paul, MN. How did Evelyn and Pauline end up in St. Paul? That's a good question.
Marriage Index:
March 13, 1901. Chicago. Evellyn C. McIntyre marriage to Forrest B. Wood. Evelyn is misspelled and McIntyre spelling is not consistent with previous documents, but subsequent documents make this seem legitimate. There are a few Forrest Woods born around 1870, so this marriage in far off Chicago raises some questions. The next documents might help, though. Forrest, Evelyn and Pauline apply for a passport in 1906, residing in St. Paul, MN. How did Evelyn and Pauline end up in St. Paul? That's a good question.
How did Evelyn from Maine meet Forrest? I'm not sure. If Evelyn and Pauline were in Boston in 1898, I can speculate that Evelyn worked some type of job in banking and investments that brought her into contact with Forrest.
1906 Passport application - St. Paul MN lists Forrest B. Wood, Evelyn C. Wood (born in 1875 Bangor, ME), and daughter Pauline (born in 1895). Residence in St. Paul, MN. This is a curious discovery, but the dates check out. By 1910, the same group is living in Brooklyn. Evelyn may not have been present when this application was filled out by Forrest. He listed her birthplace as Bangor (closest big city to Bucksport) and her birthdate in September is off by one month from what Evelyn usually listed.
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| 1906 Passport Application. Forrest, Evelyn C and Pauline. For an era when birthdates weren't that important, Pauline's birthdate is only one day off from the birth certificate above. |
In 1900, around the time he met Evelyn and Pauline, Forrest was selling investments on F Street in Washington D.C.
Evelyn's husband is charged with mail fraud. I'm sensing a pattern here...
It's a sensational case...
With a damaged reputation in Minneapolis, he decides to reinvent himself in another city. Why did he get a passport about this time? Was he leaving the country to deposit assets in overseas accounts before he was sued by his clients?
1910 census - Forrest B Wood, Evelyn C, and Pauline are living in Brooklyn. Ages and birthplaces check out. Forrest's occupation is listed as "real estate."
(Forrest B. Wood dies in 1930 (age 60) in Los Angeles.)
1918 Marriage Index, New Jersey
Ivan M Taylor. Two entries for Evelyn C:
Wood (recent married name)
(Forrest B. Wood dies in 1930 (age 60) in Los Angeles.)
1918 Marriage Index, New Jersey
Ivan M Taylor. Two entries for Evelyn C:
Wood (recent married name)
Bowdoin (misspelling of maiden name Bowden - possibly intentional as mentioned above)
This is the key document in discovering Evelyn's history because it has information connecting Evelyn C. Wood, Evelyn Bowdoin, and Evelyn Taylor as the same person.
How did Evelyn meet Jack? Were Forrest and Jack members of a New York club for unprincipled bankers? Jack was president of the East Coast Fisheries company that was headquartered in Maine. Evelyn had family in Maine. I could see them meeting on the train to Maine. A different possibility is mentioned at the end of this page.
Moving on up...
1920 census: Ivan M, Evelyn C, Polly are living in Manhattan (with a maid and two lodgers).
How did Evelyn meet Jack? Were Forrest and Jack members of a New York club for unprincipled bankers? Jack was president of the East Coast Fisheries company that was headquartered in Maine. Evelyn had family in Maine. I could see them meeting on the train to Maine. A different possibility is mentioned at the end of this page.
Moving on up...
1920 census: Ivan M, Evelyn C, Polly are living in Manhattan (with a maid and two lodgers).
Why is Pauline now called Polly and born in Massachusetts? I'm going take a guess that the census enumerator was getting the information from the somewhat inarticulate maid, Isabelle Stokes from Virginia. The census taker heard "Polly" instead of Pauline. Isabelle probably didn't know everything about the family history and thought that Ivan/Jack was Pauline's father. She figured that if Polly was 22 (actually 24), she must have been born in Massachusetts where her current father (Ivan/Jack) lived at the time. Pauline's father's birthplace is listed as New Hampshire for the same reason.
1929 St. Petersburg Times. Evelyn (Mrs. A.G. Pierce) honeymooning in St. Pete
1930 Census: Adin (occupation: builder) and Evelyn C. are living in the Bronx, NY. (Pierce misspelled)
1937, 1938 Passenger ship records indicate Evelyn wintered in Puerto Rico and listed her home address as 410 Park Ave, New York City. Husband Adin did not travel with her.
In 1940 there were several advertisements placed by Adin G. Pierce announcing that he was divorcing Evelyn for desertion. I wouldn't be surprised if the poor fellow was being held responsible for his estranged wife's debts including her winter vacations in Puerto Rico.
St. Petersburg Times 1943: divorce from Adin G. Pierce
1943 Florida divorce index. (below)
Adin G. Pierce and ? (seems like Adin is not sure who the h*** he married and divorced!)
1944 - one year later. Adin G Pierce is dead at 74. When he married a Du Pont, he probably thought he had it made. He didn't foresee that his future would be so troubled.
Final notes:
1) Jack's convenient ruse (see blog post: A Bogus Du Pont Heiress Started the West Side Land Boom) about the Du Pont family disowning Evelyn for marrying a gold-digger is not that farfetched (aside from the fact that she was not a Du Pont). According to Wikipedia, "during the 19th century, the Du Pont family maintained their family wealth by carefully arranged marriages between cousins which, at the time, was the norm for many families."
2) How did Evelyn meet Forrest B. Wood and marry in 1901? Evelyn's 1901 marriage to Forrest B. Wood in Chicago was quite some distance from Maine (or Boston, if she was living there). Forrest was born near Chicago and he was in the process of moving to Minnesota after running an investment office in Washington DC. A 1906 passport application indicates that Forrest, Evelyn and Pauline lived in St. Paul, MN. But how did they meet? I'm unable to connect the dots.
3) How did Evelyn meet I.M./Jack Taylor and marry in 1918? It's possible that she - or her husband Forrest, an investment banker - was employed with I.M. Taylor and Co in New York. Forrest had experience with grain futures and mail fraud, so he would have been an asset to Taylor's company. Evelyn had a weakness for unscrupulous bankers. The rest is history.
