The Church of God began as the Christian Union Church in Monroe County, Tennessee. After a short time, the church moved to Camp Creek, North Carolina, changed its name to the Holiness Church, and affiliated itself with the Pentecostal denomination. In 1907, the church adopted an internal governing body that decided on Church of God as the organization's final name and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Tennessee. Church teachings revolved around theory of baptism, foot washing, speaking in tongues, divine healing, and the pre-millennial coming of Christ. A spilt in the 1920's resulted in the Church of God and the Church of God Prophecy. Members were generally from southeastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and northern Georgia.

James Wickes Taylor was born on 1819 November 6 in Yates County, New York. He attended Hamilton College and studied law under his father from 1838 to 1842 and was admitted to the Ohio Courts in 1843. He married Chloe S. Langford in 1845. In 1846, Taylor established the Cincinnati Morning Signal and began to take an active role in politics. In 1849, he was elected to the Ohio Constitutional Convention. He later served as a Treasury Agent investigating reciprocal trade between Canada and the United States. Following this post, he had a secret appointment to provide details into the Red River Disturbance and relations between British North America and the American Northwest. James Wickes Taylor passed away on 28 April 1893.