Dr. Gregory Taylor: Death by Cocaine

In 1890, Dr. Gregory L. Taylor made Wichita headlines when he died at just 23 years old from an overdose of cocaine. It was determined by his family doctor that he had received hypodermic injections of cocaine the night he died. But no one seemed sure if his overdose was intentional, accidental, or if he was poisoned.

“Perfect Rest”

Gregory Taylor was the son of Margaret Stewart and Rolly Taylor, Jr., early pioneers who came to Kansas as early as 1859 and were among the earliest white settlers in northeast Kansas. Gregory was born in Jefferson County, Kansas in 1866, and when he reached adulthood, he attended Cincinnati Medical College. He appears on the list of matriculates (or enrollees) in the 1888-1889 announcement.

Annual announcement of the Medical College of Ohio, Cincinnati, Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. Genealogy & Local History Department

After medical school, Dr. Taylor returned to Kansas. First he opened a practice in Valley Falls, but after just a few months he relocated to Kansas City, where his first publicly reported overdose occurred.

In 1889, the newly wed young doctor was in Kansas City when he told his wife that he was going to work, and then he disappeared. He was found two days later at the New Albany Hotel in Missouri, near death from an overdose of morphine and chloral. Newspapers speculated whether or not he intended to kill himself.

“KANSAS CITY, MO: Dr. G.L. Taylor, a well known physician of Wyandotte, Kansas, who mysteriously disappeared Friday, was found here today suffering from an overdose of morphine. It is not known whether suicide was intended.” The Walnut Valley Times, Jul 30, 1889

New Albany Hotel in Missouri where Dr. Greg Taylor overdosed in 1889. Image courtesy Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri.

A later report of the 1889 overdose told a much more sensational story. It said that Dr. Taylor had forged the name of Kansas City Mayor William Coy in order to fraudulently obtain $200 from Northup Banking Company. He attempted the same identity theft scam at a second bank but was denied. His father had to pay the bank back in an attempt to save the reputation of “one of the best families in Jefferson county.” Rolly took his doctor son and the doctor’s new wife back to the Wichita area.

“Dr. G.L Taylor and wife returned from Kansas City, Kansas last evening. He is just recovering from an overdose of morphine and chloral which he was using for pains in the chest. He lay in a critical condition for several days but is now recuperating.” Augusta Journal, Aug 1, 1889

Dr. Taylor opened a new practice in Wichita upon his recovery, and his new wife took a teaching job in Wichita. Less than a year after his overdose in Kansas City, he overdosed again, this time on cocaine. He was at his home in Wichita when he died. Editors and journalists again wondered in headlines and paragraphs if Dr. Taylor’s overdose was accidental or intentional.

The Wichita Beacon, Wichita, KS, Mar 13, 1890

“Was it suicide or accidental poisoning that led to the death of Dr. Taylor at 1523 Fairmount avenue Tuesday night? This question has been thoroughly discussed by a number of physicians, and the general belief is that the death of Dr. Taylor was the result of an overdose of cocaine, as his arms after death revealed the fact that he had been in the habit of giving himself hypodermic injections, and the manner of his death was similar to that produced by cocaine poison.” The Wichita Beacon, Wichita, KS, Mar 13, 1890

A post-mortem exam would reveal that Dr. Taylor had a habit of injecting things into his arms. A few days prior to his death, he obtained twelve grams of cocaine from a local drug store. The night he died, he went to at least two drug stores looking for three times the amount. Parker’s Drug Store was one stop, and George Parham said Dr. Taylor had a “wild look” in his eyes when he came in demanding cocaine for no money.

“My name is Dr. Taylor, and I live at Fairmount. I have been called to amputate a finger and I want about thirty grains of cocaine. I haven’t any change with me but will leave my medicine with you as security.” The Wichita Beacon, Wichita, KS, Mar 13, 1890

George Parham said he hid the cocaine that was in the store and pretended like he couldn’t find it. Dr. Taylor went behind the prescription case to look for himself, but eventually gave up and went a few blocks down to Hoffman’s Drug Store.

“Who are you?” asked Dr. Hoffman.

“I am Dr. Taylor, a graduate of the Cincinnati Medical college,” replied the applicant.

“How much do you want?” asked Dr. Hoffman.

“About thirty-five grains,” replied Dr. Taylor.

“Why, doctor, you want an unusual amount,” exclaimed Dr. Hoffman.

“Not at all,” replied Dr. Taylor. “I have been called to amputate a finger and I desire that amount. How much have you?”

“About five grains,” was the reply.

“That is not enough,” answered Dr. Taylor, and he left the store.

The Wichita Beacon, Mar 13, 1890

It is presumed that somehow Dr. Taylor got what he wanted because he was dead later that night.

Some suspected he died of arsenic poisoning because “his limbs were all drawn out of shape” which is apparently “every indication of arsenical poison.” At least one editor printed that his wife was injecting him with something before he died, suggesting that perhaps she killed him.

No one was able to locate the person whose finger Dr. Taylor claimed he needed to amputate that night to confirm the need for such a large quantity of cocaine. And after seeing track marks on his arms from repeated use, doctors were satisfied that it was self-inflicted cocaine poisoning, whether accidental or intentional. An inquest was never held.

I assume based on the mentions of chest pains and gallstones (more than once) that Dr. Taylor may have been using cocaine, morphine, and any other pain reliever he could get his hands on in an effort to alleviate some kind of chronic, exquisite pain. The use of these drugs may have led to an addiction he was unable to control, or perhaps he simply didn’t want to be in pain anymore.

George C. Strong said he was present when Dr. Taylor died and described what he saw.

“Dr. Taylor had been taken very ill and vomited freely. Then he fell to the floor and rolled and tumbled in terrible agony until death relieved him of his sufferings. [He] had attributed the attack to gall stones and begged for morphine to quiet his pain.” The Wichita Star, Mar 12, 1890

Dr. Gregory Taylor is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Augusta next to his parents.

BONUS: Who was Dr. George Taylor’s wife?

Newspaper articles mentioned Dr. Taylor’s young widow and how she was “crazed with grief” over his death, but none of the articles that I found mentioned her name. I had to do a bit of digging to find out who she was, and was pleased to be able to connect some dots.

The first document where I believe I find his wife, Florence Alley, is on the 1885 census as a teen, but she is not living with a family that shares her last name. I’m not sure who her parents were or why she was not living with them, if it’s even her — I don’t like that I couldn’t figure that out. Other census records indicate that Florence was born in Iowa, probably between 1871-1873.

Florence got her first job as a school teacher when she was around 16 years old, conjuring images (at least for me) of Laura Ingalls and Little House on the Prairie.

Augusta Journal, Augusta, KS, Sep 15, 1887

After an “entirely successful” first year as a teacher, Florence took a job working at a school in Augusta teaching first grade.

Augusta Journal, Augusta, KS, Jul 12, 1888

She was still teaching the year she married Dr. Gregory Taylor. The couple were married June 18, 1889, just one month before Dr. Taylor’s first publicly reported overdose attempt and less than a year before he died.

Butler County Marriages, Book #4 1885-1890

The young couple married in El Dorado. Their marriage was reported twice in El Dorado newspapers. One of the news blurbs reported that Florence married Dr. Craig.

The Walnut Valley Times, El Dorado, KS, Jun 20, 1889

El Dorado Republican, El Dorado, KS, Jun 21, 1889

Aside from the news articles about Dr. Taylor’s death and one mention of Florence teaching in Wichita, I couldn’t find any documentation for Florence or her husband in 1890. The 1890 census was destroyed in a fire, so information significant to researching this couple is gone forever.

Newspapers back in Augusta printed the names of Augusta High School alumni for several years, and they printed Florence’s name as Florence (Alley) Taylor.

The Augusta Journal, Augusta, KS, Jun 1, 1894

Florence continued to live and teach in Wichita after Dr. Taylor died. In 1894 she was making $45 a month as a grade school teacher, a salary she maintained until 1897 when she began making $50 a month.

In 1901, Florence joined a committee of Wichitans who were seeking land in Oklahoma to make a new home. Florence found more than land. Twelve years after her first husband died, Florence married Walter Isenhart in Oklahoma in 1902.

The Caddo County Times, Anadarko, OK, Sep 11, 1902

The couple stayed in Oklahoma for the remainder of their lives together, but did come back to Wichita to visit every once in a while.

The Weekly Eagle, Wichita, KS, Oct 17, 1902

Florence had children with Walter. She was 35 when she gave birth to her first child, a daughter. A son quickly followed to make a family of four. They raised their family in Oklahoma, and Florence was active in social circles there.

Their son died in a Naval hospital in 1927 from chloroform poisoning during a routine operation. Florence’s husband Walter died in 1953 at age 81, leaving her widowed again. Florence died six years later in 1959 at age 87 and was buried next to Walter.