Larry Taliaferro

Il Viaggio Larry Taliaferro

My story finds me a somewhat frustrated genealogist, simply because of the meager success I experienced in my search for the origins of my family namesake. Okay, I did find him. He is Bartolomeo Tagliaferro, born in Venice in 1530. Beyond that, only a few snippets of his life's journey are available from the usual research sources. Indeed, I found very little. What I did learn was that he liked the music of the age, and he was taught all the rules and practices of the local businesses by his father. He found a lovely young lady and, somehow, got selected (by her father) to go abroad to represent the interests of the Doge. The court of Elizabeth I was where he made his stand for the long term, becoming a managing musician at the royal court. His life included touching the music, politics and literature of the late 1500's, contacting the likes of Francis Walsingham, William Shakespeare, and Thomas "Kit" Marlowe, to say nothing of the beautiful and talented Aemelia Bassano. His stay in England saw him marry and father a brood of children, most not surviving him to their adulthood. A son, Francis, was the exception. He was relatively successful in the local area and with his wife fathered a couple of children. His daughter was a stay at home body, never marrying. His son, Robert, was the exact opposite. He found his comfort level in the entourage of the new king, Charles I, the son of the famous King James I of Bible fame. Charles went on to infamy by losing his crown to a very frustrated parliament. The king was imprisoned, and eventually lost his head in the Tower of London. Robert and his best, life-long friend, Lawrence Smith, found themselves on a wanted list of associates of the king. They quickly, but prudently, planned their escape to the new world from the docks at Stepney, aboard the ship "The Honor". Their successful arrival in Virginia was just the start of a new phase of life in America. There it is. The story of how the Taliaferro's moved from Venice through the court of Elizabeth I, and on to the new world - Virginia. IL VIAGGIO!