Michael Taylor
My 2nd great grandfather
BIRTH ABT. 1852 • Ennistymon, Clare, Ireland
DEATH 22 OCT 1935 • Desailly’s Flats, Sale, Victoria, Australia
Michael Taylor has been a fascinating man to research and provided me with many surprises along the way! The first being, that his surname was originally Brennan, not Taylor, but more on that later.
Born in about 1852, I have been unable to find Michael’s birth record, but believe it to have been in Ennistymon based on the records.
Ennistymon (or sometimes recorded as Ennistimon) is a country market town in County Clare, near the west coast of Ireland. It is currently the largest town in the North of Clare. When we visited Ireland in 2019, we stopped at a town only 30 minutes from there called Ennis. It’s a beautiful part of Ireland and just over an hour from Galway.
Michael’s mother, Ann Foley, came to Australia without him on board the ship Epsom, which departed Liverpool 20th January 1855, and arrived in Geelong on 27th April 1855. While it’s not something that I could do myself, we need to remember that the famine devastated County Clare, and I can only imagine she was doing this to build a better life for them. It is interesting to note, that Ann travelled using the surname Foley. This is the first of many little puzzles in this part of my tree that i’ll explain a bit further down. It was also noted on the record that she could neither read nor write, was 28 years of age and would be living with her sister.
The sister mentioned was Honora, who had married in Ireland to Edward Tyrell and arrived to Australia on 22nd Jan 1854 aboard the ship ‘Boomerang’. It is interesting that Honora and Edward brought across only 4 of their then 5 children, leaving their youngest Bridget behind in Ireland. This will be somewhat explained soon.
It was in Melbourne, that Ann met a man called George Taylor. George was from Middlesex, England, and was a labourer. They married on 28th July 1855 in Essendon, Victoria, Australia, when Ann was 28 years, and George 32 years. It is on this marriage record, that we learn that Ann was a widow with one son. It is also noted, that it appears they incorrectly recorded Georges age as 23, not 32.
It appears that George and Ann settled in Flemington, as it is here they have a son on 28th April 1857. No name was recorded on the birth record. Sadly, just 6 days later on 5th May 1857, he died. The death certificate says simply, ‘infant’. The cause of death, infantile convulsions. I can only imagine the sadness they must have felt.
The following year, Ann is finally reunited with her son Michael, who travelled to Australia with Bridget Foley and cousin Bridget Tyrell. They left Liverpool, England, on 21st November 1857 and landed in Hobson’s Bay, Victoria on 19th February 1858. I’m sure you will notice something about Michael’s surname in this document, it is Brennan.
Bridget is listed as a housekeeper and 47 years of age. Michael was 6 years and cousin Bridget just 4 years old. Young Bridget is, of course, the daughter of Honora and Edward Tyrell. The elder Bridget is believed to be Ann’s mother, although she would not have been 47 years of age in 1858, which made me question this originally. Bridget is however confirmed to be in Australia and died in Carlton on 7 September 1880 at the age of 86 years. She is buried in the Melbourne Cemetery with her niece, Margaret. I continue to look at this as new records appear.
I’ve often wondered what it would have been like for Ann to be reunited with her son. So much had happened since she left Ireland when he was just 3 years old; her marriage to George and a sibling born and lost. From everything I have read, George was a very good man, who took Michael in and treated him as his own. This included giving Michael his surname. Given that Ann was a widow when she travelled to Australia, I do wonder that she didn’t use her married name of Brennan rather than her maiden name Foley. The only other thought I have, is that she and Michael’s biological father never married.
The family move from Flemington and settle at Desailly’s Flat in Sale, Gippsland, Victoria. It is here that Michael meets Alice Jacobs. Alice was born in Sale, but her parents Henry Jacobs and Ann Elizabeth Fetridge were from Norfolk, England.
Michael and Alice married on 16th March 1876 at the Primitive Methodist Parsonage in Sale. It is interesting that Michael’s mother is Roman Catholic, but that he has followed George’s faith and married through his church instead. Michael is listed as a labourer, and Alice a dressmaker. It also incorrectly states that Michael was born in England. I wonder if he knew that George was not his biological father, as he was listed as Michael’s parent with the occupation of bricklayer.
Michael and Alice have a large family of 16 children!! Sadly some died in infancy, but that is still an impressive number of pregnancies.
- Ann 1877-1877
- George Henry 1878 – 1947
- Margaret ‘Madge’ Alice 1880-1949
- John James 1880 – 1881
- Edward James 1881 – 1965
- Clara Annie 1884 – 1952
- Essie Violet Victoria 1886 – 1974
- Charles John 1886 – 1942
- Jasper ‘Gil’ Gilbert 1888 – 1958
- Ernest Harold 1890 – 1966
- Walter Clifford 1892 – 1892
- Laurel Rubina 1893 – 1976
- Katherine Ivy Gladys 1895 – ?
- Allan Clyde 1899 – 1970 (my great da)
- Frederick Taylor 1903 – 1903
Michael and Alice had a home called “Wattle Grove”. A quaint looking weatherboard home, that I’m sure was packed to the rafters with their large family.
George left this life on 19th January 1886 in Desailly’s Flat. It wasn’t until I found the Will and Probate for George, that I learnt of Michael’s original surname. I’ve searched for records to tell me about his biological father with no success. At first when I read ‘son-in-law’ I was left wondering who the daughter was, it was not until I researched, that I found that a person was referred to in this way when they were not the biological child. I would love to know if this was the first time that Michael learned of this.
Ann died on the 2nd April 1906 in Desailly’s Flat from paralysis of the brain. She was buried in the Sale Public Cemetery with her husband. The death certificate indicates Ann’s age to be 89, when really she would have been 79. It is on this certificate that we also learn that the unamed child who died in infancy was given the name James. I am assuming this was after George’s father, who was James Taylor.
On 3rd January 1924, at their property “Wattle Grove”, Alice passed away after a lengthy illness at the age of 63 years. At her death, 12 of her 16 children were still living. The photo below is the only one I have been able to identify as being Alice so far. I live in hope that more may appear.
Michael lived a few years longer, passing away on 24th October 1935 in Desailly’s Flat, at the age of 83. His cause of death was senile decay and exhaustion. It was through his death notices, that I learned he was a dairy farmer. It was amusing to see on his death certificate that they were forced to use two lines of the document in order to fit all of the children’s names. It is interesting to note, that on his death certificate, Michael’s place of birth is Ireland, not England as previously placed on his marriage document.
A few years ago I was fortunate to be given access to some old family photo albums. I literally cried with joy when I discovered photos of Michael and Alice. After spending so many hours researching, I finally could put a face to the names. What a gift for a genealogy addict to have access to such treasures. I hope you enjoy the photos below as much as I do.
Michael’s story is one that I have spent countless hours discovering and verifying with documents and records. I hope you have enjoyed learning more about my Taylor Ancestry.
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