A connection between Shaws and Taylors?

I received an email about Mervyn Pratt today.  He married Mrs. Adelaide Shaw’s oldest daughter, Maria Ann Shaw.  Mervyn had already moved to New York, but came back to Liverpool, apparently just to marry Maria Ann for his trip was very short.

And I realized something…Mary Ann Moore de Barcy and Maria Ann Shaw.  Don’t know if there is any relevance or not but if so, Maria Ann Shaw was born 1855, which is right about the time we’d be expecting Mary Ann Moore de Barcy to be leaving France as ‘a young lady’.

The flip side of it is the possibility that Mary Ann Moore de Barcy really had lived in Liverpool all her life and knew Adelaide Williams (married: Shaw) before either got married.

The catch is, that Mary Ann DIDN’T name one of her daughters Adelaide…unless it was one that died…which I haven’t been able to track yet.  On the other hand, one of Adelaide’s sisters is named Alice, and one of them is named Maria.

Do you have an original of one of these photographs?

Huguenots and Irish Linen

So my good friend, Julie Cabitto, recently found out about her family in Ireland. We share information a lot. She probably knows as much about my family as I do, and vice versa. Her Irish ancestors were weavers, and the area they are from mostly produces linen. Ever heard of Irish Linen? That's her family! One website I was reading gave the history of Irish Linen and mentioned the Huguenots' influence the in the production.

The Huguenots, especially one Louis Crommelin, started arrive in Ireland just before 1700 and hung around until 1828 when the Linen guild changed policies to help industrialize the industry. At their peak, they numbered around 500 families...

What if Marianne Moore de Barcy is of French descent but was born and raised in the Huguenot colony in Ireland? Hasn't there always been religious unrest in Ireland...ever since Henry XIII & his daughters, Mary & Elizabeth, kept the countries' religions flip-flopping? Marianne was born 1835 according to the best estimate we can get. That isn't too far after the 1828 changes. Moving across a channel from Ireland to Liverpool seems a whole lot more likely than from France all the way around England to Liverpool. It fits more with the religious persecution, too.

Definitely needs more research...but maybe a theory to keep in mind?

Esther Taylor

So I ordered Esther Taylor's birth certificate. She is Charles [Sr]'s youngest child. She was born 23 September 1888. Her father was Charles Taylor, "gentleman." Her mother was Margaret Taylor formerly Reid. So Margaret, was apparently married to Charles [Sr] and her maiden name was Reid. Unfortunately, I can't find a marriage record for a Charles Taylor and Margaret Reid/Reed/Read, except for one in Salford (near Manchester) in 1871. But that makes Margaret barely 16 and Charles 55. Besides, Alice Jane Moore/Taylor is born 1875 and supposedly his daughter by Marianne Moore de Barcy.

Margaret Reid Taylor died 6 July 1890 wife of Charles Taylor, gentleman, same address as on Esther's birth certificate. She died of "Post Partum Haemorrhage." I guess we better look for another kid!

Gwen Morgan & John Bright

Apparently, the Morgan family was of the Quaker faith. Anthony Morgan married Catherine Evans in 1804. Catherine died before 1840, apparently the last of the practicing faith. Their daughter, Anne Clarke Morgan married Charles Taylor in 1844.

However, they had another daughter, Gwen Morgan, who has survived obscurity because of a romance with a well-known politician, John Bright, MP. The basic story is that John Bright met Anthony Thomas Morgan (brother to Gwen & Anne) at Ackworth, a Quaker boarding school in Rochdale. They became friends and eventually, John Bright met Gwen and fell in love. The feeling appears to have been mutual. Something, however stops their courtship and John Bright marries Elizabeth Priestman up near Rochdale while Gwen marries Richard Humphrey Richards in Llangelynnin (see this poem by John Owen, in Welsh...looking for a translation still). What the "something" was is up for debate. The story becomes a little sadder when we find that Gwen dies in 1841 after just five years of marriage and, years later, John Bright begins to visit her grave regularly until his death.

Now, the big question is what stopped their courtship? Here is an article from North Wales Weekly News in 1932 which gives some insight into the story. Also a few pages from J. Travis Mills' John Bright and the Quakers which also discusses their love story.

Why, if Anthony Morgan was so against Gwen's marriage to John Bright, did he then allow Anne to marry Charles Taylor? Wouldn't that be the same type of marriage? Second, Charles Taylor was listed as "independent" on the 1841 census with Anthony Thomas Morgan...did he misrepresent himself? Was it before he actually started working in the family business? Every census thereafter and every record we find him on states that he was a druggist or chemist. Third, Anne Clarke Morgan only had one child, Mary Collis Taylor, and died 12 years into their marriage. Did she have a bad marriage, too? Mary Anne Moore/Marian DeBarcy lived the longest of his wives, but she left him after 10-15 years. His third wife died young as well, after about 10 years of marriage. Each of his wives was quite young (25ish at the time of marriage) while he kept getting older. What do you think?

Musings on Marian DeBarcy

I can't find anything in Barcy, France (north-east of Paris). But there's a Burcy a little south of Paris and a Bussy, all three are still in Marne-et-Seine. I also found a Burcy in Normandie...which is another possibility, because that is much closer to the coast and England.

How long would it take to get from Paris to the coast if you were escaping and hiding? It's roughly 100 miles. The pioneers walked on average of 10 miles a day. That would make it about 10 days from Paris to Le Havre. One to cross the channel and then how to get from southern England to Liverpool? And why would her brother and sister die? Was it winter? Did they travel at night? If it was a local dispute, once they were a couple days away from the area, it shouldn't have mattered. So if they were followed and George and Sylvia killed, then it must have been a bigger issue. Or maybe they died in the initial escape from their home, at the beginning of the event.

What about their parents? Their parents have never been mentioned. Were they killed outright? Were the children given instructions to leave if the parents were arrested? Were they orphans already?

We have no idea whether they were upper- or lower-class. I'd have to assume for something of this sort they must have been fairly well-to-do. It doesn't make sense that poor farmers would be chased out of the area. That would also make more sense if she truly was a "companion" to a wealthy woman--"Lady" Goodall. A poor farm-girl would not have had the training to be a companion in a wealthy social class. But it doesn't explain the "servant" occupation in the 1861 Census with Charles Taylor. That can only be explained as covering up for their relationship. I'd think that "servant" must have been accompanied by a wink and a knowing grin when the census-taker wrote it down.

So how did she escape anyway? And what exactly was she escaping from? Did she have help? Was there someone who took care of her or did she have to find her own way?

So, supposing Marian was hiding all the way across the channel. What next? Did she have any money to live on? Did she have any idea of a job? How did she get the job of being companion to Lady Goodall in the first place? Did she have the position promised to her before she left France? Did she have a safe place to go to in England? If she was well-to-do, were they able to bring anything with them? If as it says, she came as a young woman, [one document says sixteen] then what would she have done to make ends meet until she got the position as companion? I wonder if she was turned away from her position with Lady Goodall because of her interest in (or assignations with) Charles Taylor. It is easy to believe that in that position she met Charles Taylor and "changed jobs".

Okay, here's an awful thought...what if she wasn't companion to LADY Goodall but a Mr. Goodall? What if William is truly William Goodall? Don't know. Never thought of this possibility before and truly, I never would have dared write it down if all the closer relatives weren't already gone. But what if Mr. Goodall picked her up in France and brought her to England and then for some reason they split up and she found Charles Taylor? However, I don't think she would have left one safe position without expectation or knowledge of another. On the other hand, She had to have been of at least a middle-class social status or she couldn't possibly have retained Charles' interest long enough for the births of all their children...although I am leaning to the belief that Alice Jane was the product of a last-ditch effort to retain his attention.

Was she really born in France?

Was Marian DeBarcy really born in France?

It is possible that the whole story is a hoax to cover the children's illegitimacy. In all the censuses Mary Ann Moore is born in Liverpool. But, looking up all the Mary Ann Moores of approximately the same age, born in Liverpool, listed in the 1851 and 1841 censuses doesn't show a family with Mary Ann, George & Sylvia as children's names. Maybe she borrowed a story from an ancestor?

Does she really have a brother, George and sister, Sylvia? George is a common name in Charles Taylor, Sr.'s family and so is Sophia, which is awfully close to Sylvia. Hmmm....

Who is Father?

Charles Taylor, Jr. says "Father: Charles Taylor" and gives all sorts of information on him and his brothers. Assuming that his information is correct...why then do all of the Christening records state the parents names as Charles & Mary (Ann), surname: Moore?

William in 1860:




Anne in 1865:




Charles in 1868:




All three were christened at St Peter's Church in Liverpool.

Maybe the best answer comes from their birth certificates:

William in 1860:




George Henry in 1862:




Charles in 1868:




None of the boys have a father listed. The obvious conclusion is that Charles & Mary Ann are not married. Where does that leave us? Well, one of two things; they were married and Mary Ann was still hiding out (remember the story about leaving France?) or they were not married and all of their children are technically illegitimate. I say "technically", because a relationship that extended through all the time which would account for the births of all five children could be classified as a common-law marriage. However, that doesn't change any of the data. Divorce happens, as well, and Mary Ann and Charles were clearly separated by 1881, as he claims another wife and child, while she is now working for her living and Annie, at least, is a servant in another household. William, we understand, is already in the United States.

So, now is Mary Ann hiding out? Why would she be hiding out for so long? Wouldn't using her husband's name be a better way to hide out? Were they married but by special license? The most simple explanation is that all the records are correct and what they state is exactly what happened. Mary Ann Moore and Charles Taylor had a long-term relationship that was never qualified by marriage. At some point (mid 1870s) they split up. Charles found another woman to be with him, and Mary Ann Moore took her children and raised them on her own, ostensibly a widow. Even after her death the children did not go back to their father, but went on to America to be with their brother. Perhaps he went to America to earn money to help them all come over later.

Why would the christening records give a father's name, but not the birth certificate? I think it is a technical issue. The christening record asks for parents first names and then the surname is in a separate column in which they could easily record the "child's surname" rather than the "parents' surname." Can you see it happening? The priest (or the sexton) asking "Child's name? Parent's given names? Surname?" Very easy to tell the child's surname rather than the father's. In contrast the full name of each parent is given in the birth certificate in totally separate boxes. Harder to disguise the difference.

With the track record Charles had, I don't think I like him very much. His first wife died young, the second wife left him, the third wife died young. But that may be unfair.

Apparently, the family knew that Charles had this relationship with Mary Ann and knew that the children had gone to America, because the family information passed down to me said that the children were "written out of the will because they wouldn't go back to England." Well, we know now that there was no will. Charles died intestate. All of his estate of 539 pounds went to Mary Collis Taylor. The Admon papers do not mention anything about any other children. But it stands to reason that if the Moore children did not go back to England to fight for their rights, then they wouldn't have any, since there were no legal records to tie them to Charles Taylor, Sr.

Now we just have to find out about the four youngest children!

Why do we have a picture of Mary Collis Taylor Dickins?

When do you think this picture was taken of Mary Collis? My first guess was that it was taken when Mary Ann Moore [Marian DeBarcy] married Charles, Sr. That must have been around 1859. (William was born in 1860.) Mary would have been 13. Did girls put their hair up that early? I wish I could see her pendant better. It looks totally flat. I wonder if it got turned around and what we are looking at is the back of the pendant?

Why would Mary Ann keep this picture of Mary Collis even after she split up with Charles Sr.? The fact that she kept it must mean that it was hers to begin with, which is one reason why I think she commissioned the sitting. Was her early picture (see sidebar) taken at the same time? A girl's day out? Trying to make friends with a [future?] step-child?

Mary Collis Taylor bounced around living with different uncles at different times. In 1851, she lived with her father, Charles & mother, Ann Clarke in Tranmere, Cheshire. In 1861, she lived with Uncle Samuel Taylor at 162 Olive Park in Wavertree. In 1871 she lived with Uncle John Taylor at 51 Hope Street in Everton. In 1881, she was married to Edward Francis Dickins. They are together in 1891 & 1901. Of course we have to take this with a little salt, since the censuses are only a single day's snapsnot in a 10-year period. But, Charles Jr.'s notes say that she lived with Uncle Samuel, so that sounds as if she never did live regularly with Mary Ann & Charles Sr. I wonder why, especially if Mary Ann tried to make friends with Mary Collis as this picture might suggest.

Who has the original photograph? This copy was given me by my cousin. It doesn't have the photographer's stamp on it, so I have no idea whether it was taken in Liverpool, or on a trip they all might have taken together. I might even be able to date it somewhat by the photographer's listing in the directories. If only we knew.

Mary's middle name came from her grandmother, Sophia Collis, who married John Taylor, Esq. A cousin contacted us who had a old transcription of an even older family bible record. His record corroborated what we had researched through wills and censuses and gave us a few more details.

But we still can't locate a marriage record for Charles Taylor and Ann Clarke.

What is it with middle names in this family? In Mary Collis's christening record her mother's name of Anne Clarke appears. In the 1851 census, she has the name Annie Clerk Taylor. In both of these Mary has the middle name"Collis." Why is this so important? In every record we have found Mary shows up as "Mary C." or "Mary Collis" and yet Charles Jr. did not record her middle initial in the family story he provided us.

So it all comes back to the same question; Why do we have a picture of Mary Collis Taylor?

Moore?

So their surname on the ship's list was "Moore." Why Moore? Where did Moore come from? And if their name was Moore, why did they say their father's name was Taylor and use the Taylor surname in the United States? Did someone make a mistake?

Okay, so searching for all of these people with the surname of Moore turned up christening records for William, Annie & Charles, all in St Peter's Church, Liverpool. All with a father of Charles Moore and mother Mary Ann. 1861, 1871, 1881 censuses stating Mary Ann Moore. In 1861, she is a servant to Charles Taylor, living at Cleveland Square. But no baby William (he was born in 1860). In 1871, the family was William Moore, druggist, Mary Ann, William, George, Annie, & Charles. But Charles Taylor was listed living at the Cleveland Square address with a servant, Margaret Rooney. Is William Moore, druggist the same as Charles Taylor, druggist? In 1881, the household consisted of Mary Ann Moore, widow, machinist (I think this refers to sewing machine), George, Charles & Jennie. Charles Taylor is listed as retired druggist, with a wife, Margaret & daughter Nellie, 1 year old!!!!!!

So clearly, by 1881 Charles and Mary Ann have split up. Apparently she claimed to be a widow to explain all the children she had. Were they divorced? Were they ever married?

In 1871, even though Charles has a new servant, he appears to be supporting Mary Ann and the children, since none of them have occupations then but they do by 1881.

Mary Ann's death certificate states she died 31 Dec 1882, Annie was the informant. Moore was both their surnames. In 1881, there is an Annie Moore who matches our Annie's age, a servant in a wealthy household.


















In May 1885, Annie, Charles & Jennie are aboard the ship The City of Chester, emigrating to the United States and their brother, William, who reportedly left in 1876....hmmm, the same year Jennie was born....was he protesting something? Was Jennie really Charles' daughter? Was William known in the United States by the surname Moore or the surname Taylor? Did it take more than two years to make contact and arrangements for the younger children to go to William? Who paid for the crossing? Where were the younger kids, from the time their mother died until they left England?

More and more questions. More and more mysteries.