Bowshall + shipbuilding

[ftaylor]

I am a new user and have joined Rootschat because I am researching about my husband's family history in Scotland.  There is a chance that one of the three Taylor brothers (William, James, Edward) might be my husband's ancestors.  My husband, his father and my husband's grandfather were all born in Australia.  But we think his great grandfather migrated to Australia from Scotland in 1800s.  From his childhood memory, his ancestor was a shipowner/shipbuilder.

I would be grateful if Richard could help us with any additional information or guidance as to where to find more inforation.  Indeed, I would be delighted if anyone could provide some information.

Fiona

[Richard Knott]

Welcome to Rootschat - you will find a huge amount of help on here!

If you click on the website link at the bottom of my post and then click on 'James Taylor and Jean Taylor' on the right hand side, you will be able to read a little more about the Taylor family. I don't know a great deal about them, but I do have some burial/baptism records and Edward Taylor left a will in 1814 which lists his half-siblings: Jean (b1784, my wife's ancestor); Mary (b1786, spinster); James (b1789); and Edward (b1791). Their father's (Edward)  first wife died in 1779 and he re-married Elizabeth Potter in 1782 who was alive in the 1841 census (I think!).

Whether these are your ancestors, I don't know. If you post what you do know about your family and why you think there is a Scottish connection, I'm sure others can help as well. It may be easier You may get more response if you start a new thread.

You will need to make three posts before you can contact people individually on Rootschat via the PM button.

Richard

[ftaylor]

Thanks Richard, first for the tips about how RootsChat works, and second for the additional information about the Taylor family. 

The information we have so far is very little.  My husband can only remember when he was about 6/7 years old, his aunt visited his father with a letter from Scotland stating that his ancestor left a big bequest which was to be distributed to 100 years after his death to a male heir whose name would be William Roy or William John.  My husband's father was too ill at the time and so his aunt went to Scotland but came back stating that she couldn't prove the connection as records were destroyed by fire (somewhere in Scotland).  This was about 1950/1 or 1952.  Now, we just want to prove that this is a real story rather than just a legend, even though there is no bequest left, so that we can pass this beautiful story onto our grandchildren.  By the way, my husband's family (at least in Australia) has a tradition naming the first son William Roy in one generation, then William John in the next generation, so on.

I have visited Scotlandspeople's website and got some information.  But I have not been able to locate any will of Edward (b1791).  I have also not been able to find if William had any descendants. 

I am not sure how I make a post and what questions I should ask.  That's why I came to you first as your threads have all the background information.  Any advice?

Fiona

[Richard Knott]

My grandparents told me lots of family stories when I first became interested in genealogy in the 1970s as a teenager, but nearly all of them turned out to to false, so don't raise your hopes! Leaving a legacy for someone after 100 years seems very odd; but may be true.

Scottish families often stuck to the naming conventions when baptising children, which meant that the eldest son had to be named after his paternal grandfather (the eldest daughter was after her maternal grandmother) so it isn't surprising that the names William Roy and William John alternated.

I can't find any William Roy Taylors in Scotland except one in Crieff, Perthshire, in 1810, so I think we need to go back a stage. In particular, do you have anything that connects your Taylors with Edward Taylor (b1791)? We need to start with the name/dates/places of your earliest known Taylors and then work backwards. For instance, do you know that name/age of the Taylor that emigrated; and where he came from? Any definite information would be good.

Richard

[ftaylor]

I followed your advice and started tracing back the Taylor family history in Australia.  It is very confusing as William Taylor is a very common name, and Roy as a middle name was often left out in the records. 

Below are what I have currently found:
My husband's father - William Roy Taylor was born in 1905 in Victoria, Australia.
My husband's grandfather - William Taylor was born in Victoria, Australia; probably born in 1872.  He married in 1899 whose wife was Isabella McGhie.
Somehow, William Roy Taylor had an older brother, called Donald.  My husband does remember Uncle Don.

I don't know why the first son was not called William Roy. My husband can't understand this either.

I don't have anything that connects my Taylors with Edward Taylor, except for the belief that the ancestor was a shipowner or had a big shipbuilding business.  Do you have access to any of the wills of the three brothers?  If so, would you be able to kindly find out if any mentioned the name Roy or John?

Assuming the '100 year old legacy' is true, my husband's ancestor would have had passed away circa 1850/1.

Meanwhile, I will keep trying to find out definite information available in Australia. Thanks for finding a William Roy Taylor in Crieff, Perthshire for us.

[Richard Knott]

I think adding all the Australian details first is a good thing.

There is a tree on Ancestry which may prove helpful. A number of trees on that site are very unreliable, but certainly the details fit what you say.

It says that Isabella (Elizabeth) McGhie (1879-1955) , daughetr of William McGhie and Catherine Campbell, marrtied William Taylor (1872 - 1945), son of John Taylor (1827 - 1896) and Ellen Harriet Brown (1833 - 1903). It also shows John Taylor's death entry where he names his parents as Robert Taylor and Jane Brown.

IF this is true, then there is a baptismal entry on Scotlands People for a John Taylor, s Robert Taylor and Jean Brown, for 20/2/1825 in Falkirk, Stirlingshire. The only sibling I saw after a brief look was Jean Taylor on 14/5/1820.

There is an 1841 census entry in Falkirk:

Robert Taylor, 51, Mer(chant) S(eaman)
Jean T, 40
Margaret T, 16
John T, 15
Isabella T, 5
Janet T, 5
Robert T, 3

I haven't tried to find the siblings' baptisms but the family seems to fit.

In 1851:

Jean Taylor, 52, b Laurieston
Isbell Taylor, 16, dau, b Laurieston
Jean Taylor, 88, (great) grandmother

Women in Scotland often kept their maiden names, so it appears that John has already left home and Jean/Jane is looking after her mother-in-law.

Possible marriage: 1817 Falkirk  Robert Taylor and Jean Brown

Possible emigration:
Ship: James Foord
1849 from London
John Taylor, 23, blacksmith, b Stirlingshire

All this is very speculative, but it may give you something to go on.

I do have two of the brothers' wills, but neither mentions any of your relations.

Richard

[Forfarian]

Apologies for revisiting an old post, but I'm still trying to pin down where Bowshall is. I have moved on since 2006, so I now know that the Edward Taylor in the first post is actually a miller - somewhat surprising given that all three sons were shipowners - but I'm no nearer finding out about Bowshall.

I have found it in a old newspaper in 1850/1, where Edward Taylor is described as a 'farmer at Bowshall', making it more likely that it is just the name of his farm; and guess it might have something to do with Bo'ness (a corruption of Bo'ness Hall perhaps), but otherwise it's still a blank

If Bowshall was in the parish of Falkirk it could never have been a corruption of Bo'ness, which is an abbreviation of Borrowstounness, and is a separate parish in its own right (in a different county).

[Richard Knott]

If Bowshall was in the parish of Falkirk it could never have been a corruption of Bo'ness, which is an abbreviation of Borrowstounness, and is a separate parish in its own right (in a different county).

Thanks. Yes, I know the corruption and where it is; I had just wondered whether he had called his house after his workplace as he had ships in/near Bo'ness. Fortunately MonicaL found out where it is.
R

[Richard Knott]

All this is very speculative, but it may give you something to go on.
Richard

Just to add to the note about taking care, there is another tree on Ancestry which says that the John (b1825 s Robert and Jean) emigrated to Canada.

Richard