Tavner was orphaned before the 6th of February of 1769.

In 1731 Tavner and Rachael emigrated from Bowling Greeen, Virginia, to Todd County, Kentucky, where he took up land. He was a very rich planter on the lower James River in Virginia and after moving to Kentucky became one of the largest tobacco and cotton dealers in the South.

The 1820 Census of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, shows Taver and Rachel owning seven male and nine female slaves.