William Taylor - an English baker in Scotland late 1850s

[yelkcub]

This is the first piece of research I've done involving Scotland, and I'm not really sure how to proceed, so would appreciate some expert advice. One of my ancestors was WILLIAM TAYLOR, a 'journeyman baker' born Stockport, Cheshire in 1833. In the 1861 census he was living in Stirling, with a wife ANN (possibly nee Robertson), 27, born Logie, Perthshire. They had three children the eldest of which, Alfred, 3, was born in Stockport in 1857, and the next two (William,2, and Ann, 7m) born in Stirling. I can find no marriage in FreeBMD (covering England and Wales) for William Taylor, so I presume the couple married in Scotland.

THEN in 1871 William was back living in Stockport, but this time his wife was Margaret (probably nee McNab - census gives her birthplace merely as Scotland). I presume William's first wife must have died and he remarried - again, presumably in Scotland. One of the children of William and his second wife Margaret [McNab?] was born in Stockport and given the unusual middle name Galloway.

A family story relates that William had fought in the Crimean War, where he was wounded. I'm wondering why he was in Scotland in 1861. He must have lived in Scotland after his discharge from the army - married and then moved back to Stockport before the birth of his first child, then back Scotland between the birth of his first child and the birth of his next two children.

One possibility for his presence in Scotland in the late 1850s is that he had served with a Scots regiment - apparently regiments recruited widely out of their own traditional areas, so there would have been English men serving in Scots regiments. I would add that the Taylor family, as far as I am aware, had no previous connections with Scotland.

If anyone can offer advice on how I can proceed with this research, I'd be most grateful

[MonicaL]

Hi,

These are the children showing to a James Taylor and Ann Robertson on IGI:

1. WILLIAM TAYLOR Birth 13 FEB 1859 Stirling
2. ANN TAYLOR Birth: 07 SEP 1860 Stirling
3. ELIZABETH TAYLOR Birth: 26 JUN 1862 Stirling
4. PETER TAYLOR Birth: 08 SEP 1864 Stirling

All BMDs are available to view as original images on the pay to view site www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - costs are reasonable. The 1864 birth cert, if the correct family, should include date and place of parents' marriage.

Monica 

[MonicaL]

Possible marriage entry in Stirling, from IGI at www.familysearch.org

WILLIAM TAYLOR and ANN ROBERTSON    
Marriage: 02 JUN 1856 in Stirling

Scottish marriage certs include full parents' details, including mothers' maiden names. Image also available on Scotlands People.

There is also this marriage showing on IGI - note the way it has been indexed as this is how you need to search for it most likely on Scotlands People:

WM. TAYLOR and MAGGIE MCNAB    
Marriage: 14 JUN 1866 in Kilmadock, Perth

No children showing for them on IGI, maybe this was the point they moved to England if we have the right couple?

Monica 

[yelkcub]

That's brilliant Monica - many thanks indeed. I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't looked in IGI and have adminstered myself a sharp slap on both wrists! When in the course of my researches into the Taylor family I met a distant relative in Derbyshire, he told me the story of William Taylor and the Crimean War. It's probably just a family legend, though there may be quite a bit of truth in it. The story goes that when William was wounded he called out in his pain for his mother. The woman standing by his bed said 'Young man, I am not your mother. I am a nurse. My name is Miss Nightingale'. Oh well, all families have their legends!
I found a website listing casualties of the Crimea, and there were several men called William Taylor, one of them in a Scots regiment, and I wondered if that may have been the reason for William having lived in Stirling for a time.
The dates and details you have found will certainly help me make a coherent timeline for William and his family.
Thanks again!
Ian

[MonicaL]

Hi Ian

Maybe the 1856 marriage cert for William and Ann (if the right one!) would throw some light on William's occupation at that point?

If you are ever researching in Scotland, that period between the start of official registration in Scotland, 1855 to 1874ish, when the Mormons stopped loading on data, is pretty complete - great aid for research there 

Monica

[yelkcub]

Hi Monica -
That's certainly a tip worth remembering. I suppose I assumed that since these events were after 1837 IGI wouldn't hold the details, not realising that this was not necessarily the case in Scotland. I'll certainly be sending for the marriage certificate. William was always a baker - thought the date of the marriage ties in with the possibility that he had been in the Crimea: many of the British troops had arrived home by then - especially those invalided out.
Thanks again for your expertise
Ian