Greeneville, Tenn.–Henry County Archivist Stephanie Routon Tayloe was awarded the Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal for the preservation of records from the Civil War period. The award was presented at the United Daughters of the Confederacy Tennessee Convention in Greeneville.
Tayloe has headed the Henry County Archive and Genealogy Library for the past 18 years. She and her hard-working volunteers have cleaned, indexed, and prepared for microfilming the records that span 180 years – from 1821 to 2000. The Henry County Genealogy Library has over 2,500 books and over 100 family genealogy and Henry County history files available to library visitors.
The Genealogy Library has helped visitors performing research from all 50 states and four countries – Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Finland.
She has compiled over 70 genealogy and history books. Over 14 of these focus on the Civil War, comprised of Confederate veterans’ obituaries, letters, and biographies of soldiers of Henry County.
Stephanie published 38 articles under the series titled, “Tennessee Trailings” in the local newspaper which gave a history of Henry County and Tennessee before, during, and immediately after the Civil War.
The Jefferson Davis Medal is one of the highest awards given by the UDC. Stephanie has previously been awarded the UDC’s Judah P. Benjamin Medal and the DAR’s highest national award that is given for preservation of historic records.
She has helped many people prove their lineage for membership with Sons of Confederate Veterans, UDC, DAR, and Colonial Dames of the 17th Century. She herself is a member of many prestigious lineage organizations. She has been called a Henry County treasure and a true ambassador of genealogy for Tennessee.
Photo: Stephanie Tayloe, left, being congratulated by UDC President General, Julie Hardaway, after the award ceremony.