John Taylor, ad infinitum

Throughout history, it's been common to name a son after his father. This seems to be the case for our Taylor ancestors.

We don't know how far back the name John Taylor goes in our family history but we know it was the name given to our ancestor, John Taylor (1796-1847) who married Mary Clarke and came to Canada from Norfolk, England in 1836.

John Taylor & Mary Clarke's headstone at Highland Creek Wesleyan Cemetery on Old Kingston Road in the Highland Creek neighbourhood of eastern Toronto.

John Taylor and Mary Clarke had so many descendants that there are numerous other John Taylors, too. For now, I'll list just a handful of them.

John Taylor's son, grandson, and great-grandson were all named John Taylor.

John Taylor (1796-1847). Our forefather who married Mary Clarke and came to Canada from Norfolk, England in 1836. John & Mary settled in Pickering Township, Ontario and raised their family there.

John Taylor (1821-1895) son of John Taylor & Mary Clarke. John married Margaret Jane Mason and they lived in Usborne Township in Huron County, Ontario, not far from Exeter.

John Taylor (1821-1895). Photo from the collection of Barbara Dawn (Agnew) Miller.

John W. Taylor (1847-1933) son of John Taylor & Margaret Jane Mason. John was married twice; first to Mary Case, and later to Charlotte Howard Braden "Lottie" Shinner.They lived in Exeter, Ontario. 

John W. Taylor (1847-1933) of Exeter, Ontario. Photo from the collection of Barbara Dawn (Agnew) Miller.

John Franklin Taylor (1882-1962) son of John W. Taylor and Lottie Shinner was known as Frank rather than by his first name, John. Frank Taylor lived in Exeter but moved for awhile to the United States. It's believed that he married a woman from the USA named Virginia.  

John Franklin Taylor (1882-1962). Photo from the collection of Barbara Dawn (Agnew) Miller.

The four John Taylors listed above were all from a direct ancestral line. John Taylor (1796-1847) was the father of John Taylor (1821-1895) who was the father of John W. Taylor (1847-1933) who was the father of John Franklin Taylor (1882-1962).

Taylors on the Move - Pickering Township and Beyond

Source: www.ontarioplaques.com/

John Taylor and Mary Clarke emigrated from Snettisham, Norfolk, England to Canada in 1836. They spent several months in Toronto where John Taylor teamed grain and flour to and from the mill on the Humber River, now the site of the Old Mill Inn. In the spring of 1837, they moved to and settled in Pickering Township in what is now the Province of Ontario but was then known as Upper Canada.
 

The 100-acre John Taylor-Mary Clarke homestead was located at N1/2 Lot 32, Concession 1 in Pickering Township. Image courtesy of Ron Marshall.

Only four of John and Mary's eight grown children stayed in Pickering Township. The other four children sought land elsewhere in Ontario.

The following list shows where John Taylor and Mary Clarke's adult children lived:

John Taylor and his wife, Margaret Jane Mason moved c1855 to Usborne Township in Huron County. They lived at Lot C, Concession 9.

Photo courtesy of Dorothy (Kerslake) Coolman.

John Taylor and Margaret Jane Mason lived at Lot C, Concession 9 in Usborne Township, several miles from Exeter, Ontario. Image courtesy of Ron Marshall.

William Taylor and his wife, Helen Peat stayed in Pickering Township. They lived at Lot 29, Concession 2. William died at home on this property in 1919.

Robert Taylor and his wife, Frances "Fanny" Dixon moved in 1854 to Lot 11, Concession 13 in Ashfield Township in the northern part of Huron County. Their property was about 2-3 miles from Lucknow, and 22 miles from Goderich. In January, 1875 they sold the property and they were living in East Nissouri Township in Oxford County but it's not known exactly where they lived. In 1878, they moved to Lot 1, Concession 12 in Brooke Township, Lambton County.

Robert Taylor (1826-1915)

Sarah Taylor and her husband, Andrew Annis moved to Lot 1, Concession 1, Port Union, Scarborough Township. Their property was known as Mount Pleasant Farm, and their stone house (built by Andrew Annis) was known affectionately as "The Manor."

"The Manor": home of the Sarah Taylor-Andrew Annis family in Port Union, Scarborough Township at what is now the corner of Lawrence Avenue & Port Union Road. The house was demolished in 1974 to make way for a shopping plaza.

Emily Taylor and her husband, James Lankin moved to Lot D, Concession 9 in Usborne Township, Huron County; the farm adjacent to her brother, John Taylor. The 1871 Census shows that the Emily Taylor-James Lankin family have moved to Blanshard Township, Perth County at Lot 16, Concession W13. Eventually, they moved back to Usborne Township (Woodham) living on part of Lot 12, SE Boundary.

Emily Taylor & James Lankin lived for awhile at Lot D, Concession 9 in Usborne Township. This property was later owned by Emily's nephew, William Taylor and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Bennett. Image courtesy of Ron Marshall.

Another property owned by James Lankin & Emily Taylor. Lot 16, Concession W13 in Blanshard Township, Perth County, Ontario. Photo courtesy of Ron Marshall.

James Clark Taylor (Jimmie Clark) and his wife, Eleanor Helen Fawcett stayed in Pickering Township. They lived at first on a section of the Taylor homestead with Jimmie's mother, Mary (Clarke) Taylor at NW1/4 Lot 32, Concession 1. Later, Jimmie, Eleanor, their children, and Jimmie's mother moved to N1/2 Lot 29, Concession 2.

The James Taylor-Eleanor Fawcett family lived on the north half of Lot 29, Concession 2 in Pickering Township, near the hamlet of Cherrywood.

 
Fanny Taylor and her husband, Jabez Collins stayed in Pickering Township, farming at Lot 33, Concession 1; the lot next to the John Taylor-Mary Clarke homestead. 

Fanny Taylor's husband, Jabez Collins. If anyone has a photo of Fanny Taylor, please contact me.

Mary Ann Taylor and her husband, James Brander stayed in Pickering Township. They lived on a 50-acre farm at Lot 27, Concession 2, across from the Erskine Church & Cemetery.
 

Erskine Church & Cemetery across the road from the Mary Ann Taylor-James Brander property. Erskine Church is near the corner of Finch Avenue and Fairport Road in the Dunbarton neighbourhood of Pickering, Ontario.

Note: If you have additional photos of any of these families, please contact me at this email address:

The John Taylor - Mary Clarke Property in Pickering Township

Following an ocean crossing of more than six weeks, our ancestors, John Taylor and Mary Clarke arrived in Quebec on 2 July 1836. They spent several months in Toronto where John Taylor teamed grain and flour to and from the mill on the Humber River, now the site of the Old Mill Inn. In the spring of 1837, they moved to and settled in Pickering Township in what is now the Province of Ontario but was then known as Upper Canada. In Pickering Township, they settled on the north half of Lot 32, Concession 1. The nearest hamlet was Cherrywood.

At the time, it was a wilderness of pines and hardwood trees. The appearance of the area has changed dramatically since the family settled. Thankfully, in the midst of today's urban landscape there remains an area of natural beauty: the Altona Forest. The Altona Forest has been designated an environmentally significant area due to its ecological and historical importance.

An 1860 landowner's map shows that the north section of Lot 32, Concession 1 had been further subdivided and that half was owned by John Taylor and half by S. Hollinger. 

Here is an approximate outline of the Taylor property if go looking for it today. You can see that the modern boundaries are Finch Avenue and Altona Road in Pickering...

2018 map showing location of John Taylor's property.

The History of Cherrywood by George Cober contains an error on page 7, saying that the Taylors settled on Concession 2 when in fact it was Concession 1. Page 4 of a monograph entitled, History of Pickering lists the correct information for Taylor's property as Lot 32, Concession 1...

Thanks to Becky George, Local History & Genealogy Librarian at the Pickering Library for her assistance in locating John Taylor's property.

John Taylor's Will - 1847

John Taylor died on 18 Aug 1847, age 51.  Nine days earlier on 9 Aug 1847, he had made the following will.[1]

"In the name of God, Amen, I John Taylor, Yeoman, do hereby give, grant, alein, convey and bequeath at my decease to William and Robert Taylor, my sons, all the right title and interest that I have to the north half of that lot of land, number Thirty-two in the first Concession of Pickering Township, and likewise all my stock and other goods, who are to manage and farm the said property for the space of five years after my decease, under my Executors, Thomas and Andrew Peat, his son, Yeomen in the Township of Pickering, and Mary Taylor, my lawful wife, for the support of my family not herein yet particularly named, and also are hereby appointed to carry my will into effect.  That said William and Robert Taylor to pay  from my estate hereby conveyed to them, the following Legacies.  John Taylor, my oldest son, to be paid fifty pounds lawful money of Canada, first thereof to be paid on the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty three years, and the remaining installment of twelve pounds, ten shillings cash annually on the same day of the month of the following years till the whole be paid.  James Taylor, my youngest son, to be paid Fifty pounds lawful money of Canada West on attaining the full age of twenty-one years.  Sarah Taylor to be paid five pounds when she arrives at the ate of Twenty-one years and another five pounds three years thereafter, making a total thereof of the sum of Ten pounds.  My other daughters, Emily, Fanny and Mary Ann Taylor to be paid ten pounds each on arriving at the full age of twenty-one years, all lawful money of Canada West.

In witness whereof these presents written on this and the preceding page of paper by George Taitt, Yeoman of the Township of Pickering and inscribed with my hand and my seal affixed hereto in the First Concession, Township of Pickering and lot aforesaid this Ninth day of August one thousand eight hundred and forty seven years, before these witnesses, the said George Taitt and George Brown, Yeoman, in the said township, Mary Taylor, my wife, being hereby understood to retain her right of maintenance as according to law."     

"John Taylor"

Geo. Taitt - Witness
Geo. Brown - Witness

The following passage is taken from Grant W. Taylor's book, "A History of of the John Taylor-Mary Clark Family and Their Descendants 1836-1987, v.1"

It is clear from the Land Records of Pickering Twp. held at the Registry Office in Oshawa, that John Taylor did not own N /2 Lot 32, Con 1 at the time of his death.  All 200 acres of Lot 32 had been purchased for 200 pounds by a Henry Cowan on 24 Dec. 1832 and it appears he had been leasing the north half to John.  Apparently the lease gave John the right to purchase, and that he had been building some equity with his payments.  Nevertheless, it is not until 15 Oct 1849 - over two years after John's death - that William and Robert were able to purchase the 100 acre property from Henry Cowen for 300 pounds.  It has taken the family 13 years to acquire title to the homestead.

The only one of the Taylor children who was married when their father died was John.  In 1846, he had married Margaret Jane Mason, an Irish girl who had been born in Londonderry, Ireland.  The second child to marry was Robert who married Frances (Fanny) Dixon, an American-born girl, on 8 Mar. 1849.  The following year there were two marriages.  On 29 Oct. 1850, William married Helen Peat, a Scottish girl who had been born at Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland, and whose parents farmed on Lot 29, Con 2, Pickering.  Two weeks later on 12 Nov. 1850, Emily married James Lankin, a labourer who had been born in Pickering and whose parents farmed in that township.

Although the terms of their father's will called for William and Robert to manage and farm N 1/2 Lot 32, Con 1 for five years after his death, evidently they modified this requirement to include their older brother John.  In the 1851 personal census of Pickering Twp. shows that John, his wife Jane and two children were living in one log house; Mary (Clark) Taylor, Sarah, Mary Ann and James were living in another; and Robert with his wife Fanny were living in a log shanty -- all on Lot 32, Con 1.  No mention was made of 13 year old Fanny Taylor.  Possibly she was living with some other family -- perhaps was a maid.  John's occupation was shown as farmer and Robert's as labourer.

William, along with his wife Helen and their infant daughter, were living with Helen's parents on Lot 29, Con 2.  Emily, her husband James Lankin (whose occupation was given in the census as carpenter) and their infant son were living near Dunbarton.

Footnotes:
[1] REGISTRY OFFICE RECORDS - Pickering Township, Concession 1, Lot 32, N 1/2, Will by John Taylor, 9 Aug 1847 - Oshawa, Ontario.

The 8 Branches of the John Taylor–Mary Clarke Family

This mural depicts the construction of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1867. It's located at the Wesleyan Cemetery at Highland Creek, Scarborough Township where John Taylor and Mary (Clarke) Taylor are buried.

Each branch of the John Taylor-Mary Clarke family represents one of John and Mary’s children and their descendants.

The 8 branches of the John Taylor-Mary Clarke family are as follows:

Branch 1: The John Taylor-Margaret Jane Mason branch.

Branch 2: The William Taylor-Helen Peat branch.

Branch 3: The Robert Taylor-Frances Dixon branch.

Branch 4. The Sarah Taylor-Andrew Annis branch.

Branch 5. The Emily Taylor-James Lankin branch.

Branch 6. The James Taylor-Eleanor Fawcett branch.

Branch 7. The Fanny Taylor-Jabez Collins branch.

Branch 8. The Mary Taylor-James Brander branch.

For detailed information on the 8 branches of the John Taylor-Mary Clarke family, consult the three volumes written by Grant W. Taylor, “A History of the John Taylor-Mary Clark Family and their descendants 1836-1987.”

Grant W. Taylor’s book is divided into three volumes as follows:

V. 1. Branch 1, The John Taylor-Margaret Jane Mason branch and Branch 5, the Emily Taylor-James Lankin branch. v. 2. Branch 3, the Robert Taylor-Frances Dixon branch. v. 3. Branch 2, the William Taylor-Helen Peat branch; Branch 4, The Sarah Taylor-Andrew Annis branch; Branch 6, the James Taylor-Eleanor Fawcett branch; Branch 7, the Fanny Taylor-Jabez Collins branch; and Branch 8, the Mary Taylor-James Brander branch. Note: Branches 1 and 5 are grouped together in the same volume because these are the two branches that left Pickering Township in the mid-1850s and moved to Usborne Township in Huron County, Ontario. Copies of Taylor’s book can be found at the following locations: Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. Western University in London, Ontario. Vaughan Memorial Library at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. If you’re interested in consulting these books, call ahead as they may be housed off-site or in storage. Some locations may house reference copies only that cannot be borrowed.