Singer, Songwriter, Vaudeville Actor, Music Publisher. Best known for his sentimental song, "Down by the Old Mill Stream" (1910), William Tell Taylor was born in rural Vanlue, Ohio, and began singing in church choirs at an early age, often being called upon to give performances in neighboring towns. Tell attended Findlay College, where he studied music, but the excitement of New York City enticed him to move there in the late 1890's. In 1901, after a performance at the Pan-American Expedition in Buffalo, New York, he was offered a position in Joe Howard's theatrical company, launching his vaudeville career. He was cast in several comedy productions with W. C. Fields, Sophie Tucker and Al Jolson and played the leading role in the Broadway musical comedies "In Panama" and "In New York Town" (1905-1906), for which he also wrote the musical score. Tell founded one of the original "Tin Pan Alley" music publishing houses in New York City with fellow composer, Ernest R. Ball, and former New York City Mayor, James J. Walker. He would later establish the Tell Taylor Music Publishing House in Chicago, Illinois. In 1908, he wrote "Down by the Old Mill Stream" while fishing along the Blanchard River near the old Misamore Mill on a visit to his hometown in Ohio. It would be two years before the song was published and made popular by the vaudeville quartet, "The Orpheus Comedy Four". Among his published songs were "Some Day" (1908), "It's a Long Long Way to Dixie" (1912), "I Love You Best of All" (1915), "You're in the Army Now" (1917), "When the Autumn Leaves are Falling" (1917), "He Sleeps Beneath the Soil of France" (1917) and "Rock Me to Sleep in an Old Rocking Chair" (1926). In the fall of 1937, prior to embarking on a trip to California to discuss a motion picture about his life and career, he entered a Chicago bar and ordered a drink. Tell sat at a table, put his head down to rest and, unexpectedly, died from a heart attack at the age of sixty-one.

Singer, Songwriter, Vaudeville Actor, Music Publisher. Best known for his sentimental song, "Down by the Old Mill Stream" (1910), William Tell Taylor was born in rural Vanlue, Ohio, and began singing in church choirs at an early age, often being called upon to give performances in neighboring towns. Tell attended Findlay College, where he studied music, but the excitement of New York City enticed him to move there in the late 1890's. In 1901, after a performance at the Pan-American Expedition in Buffalo, New York, he was offered a position in Joe Howard's theatrical company, launching his vaudeville career. He was cast in several comedy productions with W. C. Fields, Sophie Tucker and Al Jolson and played the leading role in the Broadway musical comedies "In Panama" and "In New York Town" (1905-1906), for which he also wrote the musical score. Tell founded one of the original "Tin Pan Alley" music publishing houses in New York City with fellow composer, Ernest R. Ball, and former New York City Mayor, James J. Walker. He would later establish the Tell Taylor Music Publishing House in Chicago, Illinois. In 1908, he wrote "Down by the Old Mill Stream" while fishing along the Blanchard River near the old Misamore Mill on a visit to his hometown in Ohio. It would be two years before the song was published and made popular by the vaudeville quartet, "The Orpheus Comedy Four". Among his published songs were "Some Day" (1908), "It's a Long Long Way to Dixie" (1912), "I Love You Best of All" (1915), "You're in the Army Now" (1917), "When the Autumn Leaves are Falling" (1917), "He Sleeps Beneath the Soil of France" (1917) and "Rock Me to Sleep in an Old Rocking Chair" (1926). In the fall of 1937, prior to embarking on a trip to California to discuss a motion picture about his life and career, he entered a Chicago bar and ordered a drink. Tell sat at a table, put his head down to rest and, unexpectedly, died from a heart attack at the age of sixty-one.

Bio by: Law-Miller Roots