WILLIAM TAYLOR

William was born in Long Bennington, Lincolnshire, England on 12 March 1800. His parents were Robert Taylor and Mary, surname not known.

Hours and hours (well, really, it's more like years and years....!) have gone into researching these families from the Long Bennington part of Lincolnshire. There are many Taylors and Baggaleys. I hope the following details are correct - they've been extracted from the Parish Registers for Long Bennington with additional information gleaned from many sources including some very helpful people who have gone out of their way to assist with research even though they may have no connection to my family.

William's brothers and sisters were - John baptised 1788, Rosamond 1791, Elizabeth 1792, Anthony 1793, Mary 1795, Susan 1798, John 1802, Mary 1803, Anthony 1805, Sarah 1808, Charles and Joseph not sure of baptism dates. Of these children there are six who died as babies. There could be more, they may not all be correct.

Whoever cursed the parish clerks who watered the ink - hear hear!!!

MARY BAGGALEY/BAGALEY

Now we come to the mystery lady!!!!

I had thought that my elusive great, great grandmother was born to William Bagaley and Jane nee Hardwick in about 1805. All of the children born to this couple are documented and are in the right area and around the right time frame. There is a gap between 1803 and 1806, but no record has been found for Mary born c1805. Recent searches seem to be showing that there were NO babies named Mary born (or registered) to William Baggaley (or any variation of the name) with wife named Jane anywhere in Lincolnshire! However there is a record for Mary Bagaley born to William Bagaley and Mary in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

Could this be my Mary - I don't know - I've searched and searched and searched, really don't know where else to look, and still haven't found her! Being born or dying!

If William and Jane were Mary's parents, her siblings were Ann baptised and buried 1803, William baptised 1806, John 1808, Thomas 1809, Robert 1812, Richard 1814, another John 1816, another John 1817, William 1819, another William 1820, Peter 1823, and James 1825. It seems at least six of the children died almost at birth, another at age 11.

Once again, on the premise that William and Jane were Mary's parents, there is reason to believe she had a daughter Elizabeth in 1827 - father unknown. She appears to have been raised by Mary's parents William and Jane and died aged 21 in Long Bennington on 20 May 1848.

Of course if Mary was born to a completely different family, then all of the above will be meaningless and a whole new set of people will become of importance (if I ever find them!)

However we do know that William Taylor and Mary Bagaley were married 3 December 1829 in Long Bennington and made their home there. He was a labourer, or agricultural labourer.

They had ten children as far as is known - how did they feed and clothe them? What sort of house did they all live in?

Their first child was Mary born 1830, then Jane in 1831. Robert came along in 1832 and Susannah in 1834. These children were all born in Long Bennington. The family then moved - not far away - to Balderton, Nottinghamshire where their next daughter Ann was born in 1836. Sadly she died and they named their following daughter Anne. (Anne was my Great grandmother). She was born 15 Jul 1837 and baptised in Balderton, Nottinghamshire. Other children were Richard and John (twins) in 1840 (one of these twins may also have been known as Thomas). William was born 1841 and Sarah in 1843. The last six children were all born in Balderton.

A large family! By today's standards anyway, how did they manage to survive, were they happy...?

The twins both died as infants, Richard on 16 February 1840 and John 21 February 1840; the Parish Records show them both being baptised 21 February 1840....

Sarah died 16 July 1843, which left Mary, Jane, Robert, Susan, Anne and William.

The children's father William died 14 October 1848 aged 49, in Balderton, long before any of them had left home or married. His daughter Susan is shown as the informant on his Death Certificate. On the 1851 census Mary is shown as a widow aged 46, pauper. Her son William aged 9 was also with her. Daughters Jane (aged 20) and Anne (aged 13) were working as house servants not far from home - neither of the girls was living with their mother.

By 1861 the census shows Mary was still living in Balderton, in Church Lane.

Map showing Church Lane, Balderton

To date, several attempts to obtain her Death certificate have only proved I haven't managed to find the correct entry - she may have moved away from Balderton - perhaps to live with a son or daughter.... The search goes on!

In 1999 we visited the various Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire churches - Balderton, Long Bennington, Sibthorpe - but there were no headstones with any of the family names on them. The final resting-place for Mary remains unknown!

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM TAYLOR & MARY nee BAGGALEY

(1) Mary Taylor (christened 1830) married Michael Bark - widower - in the Parish of Balderton, Notts. 11 October 1862.

(2) Jane Taylor (christened 1831) - no positive details later than the 1851 census which shows Jane in Balderton working for widow Esther Rimmington (75) as a house servant. There is an entry on the 1881 census for Jane Milnes widow, age 51, Town Street, South Collingham, Nottingham - birthplace Long Benington. No record of a marriage for Jane to anyone by the name of Milnes has so far been located. This may or may not prove to be our ‘Jane’.

(3) Robert Taylor (christened 1832). At this stage it appears his wife was Ann Maria (no surname known) who was born in Tickhill, York. They are shown on the census for 1861, 1871 and 1881 living at Plumtree, Harworth, Notts. He is listed at first as a farm labourer, then later as farm foreman, they had 7 children.

(4) Susan Taylor (christened 1834). Nothing is known of her apart from her being the informant on her father's Death certificate in 1848.

(5) Ann Taylor (Died as an infant)

(6) Anne Taylor (christened 1837 in Balderton, Nottinghamshire). Not a lot is known about the early years of my direct ancestor - we know she was with her parents in Balderton in 1841, then in 1851 (details from census record) she was working (age 13) as a live-in house servant in Long Bennington, Lincolnshire for Samuel and Sarah Simpson.

By 1861 Ann had moved from Lincolnshire to Wigan. On the census she is shown to be living (age 23) at 23 Dicconson Street, Wigan. She is listed as a house servant for Mr John Halley - Civil Service Surveyor of Towns, England - his widowed mother was also living there.

The employer/employee arrangement must have been satisfactory, for in 1871 Ann (age 30) had moved from Wigan to No 4 St Georges Square, Claines, Worcester as Housekeeper for the same gentleman - born Port Sea, Hants. - now retired.

We may not know every little detail, but we now know at least the bare bones of how Anne came to move from Balderton, Nottingham, to Long Bennington, Lincolnshire, (hardly any distance at all!) to Wigan and then to Worcester where she somehow came to meet her future husband.

Click here to read on - the marriage of Anne and William Young.......

(7 & 8) Richard & John Taylor - twins - (both christened 1840, both died as infants).

(9) William Taylor (christened 1841). There are a couple of entries on the 1881 census, but at this stage nothing definite to qualify him as the “right” William.

(10) Sarah Taylor (christened 1843 - died as infant).