Emma Jane Weston (1839-1914) - Life on the Gold Fields and more

Emma Lee (nee Weston)

After journeying from London to the penal colony of Sydney, Australia with her sister Mary Ann, Emma traveled to the gold fields near the small rural town of Braidwood where is thought she may have been in domestic service for the Maddrell Family.  At the age of 18 she married Thomas George Lee, who was one of the many hopeful miners looking for his fortune on the goldfields at Majors Creek, near Braidwood. 

 As Emma was under age permission to marry was given by Robert Maddrell Esquire, Legal Guardian and her sister Mary Ann Weston was one of the witnesses.Thomas and Emma's settled into life on the goldfields, their first son George was born on in December 1858.  Unfortunately George did not  live to see his first birthday.  In the next couple of years two more children, George William and Henry Thomas were born.

Majors creek, was originally a shanty town  that grew up on the site of Elrington's village. The site comprised of stores, sly grog shops and miners tents.  Life was tough not the best environment for women.  In 1851 a police outpost was established.  The gold takings at Majors Creek were originally aluvial with reef mining starting in the late 1860-70's.  We cannot be sure of the reason but sometime between 1862 and 1864 Thomas and Emma left Major's Creek, crossing Clyde Mountain and settling in the small settlement of Nelligen on the Clyde River where Thomas became the local store keeper.

In 1854 the first track was opened from Braidwood across the Clyde Mountain to the small settlement of Nelligen. In the same year the town of Nelligen was official gazetted.  During its early history some alluvial gold was discovered, however the town became more significant as a trading post.  Bringing in goods to be taken over the Clyde Mountain to the mining and rural settlements around Braidwood, and in return receiving timber, wool and gold from this area to be shipped up to Sydney.  Large steamers some up to 10,000 tons traveled up to Nelligen to pick up produce and deliver supplies and equipment to be carried over to the Braidwood district.

Perhaps Thomas Lee recognised that Nelligen was a better environment to raise a family, and that setting up a business as the local storekeeper in this thriving community was a much better option than trying his luck on the gold fields. The 1872 Greville's Report for Nelligen lists Thomas Lee as the Nelligen Store Keeper.  Emma would have been kept busy caring for their children as well as assisting in the store.  Their first daughter Emma was born in 1864 and in the coming years seven more children  (Thomas, Ellen, Albert, Susan, Hannah, Maude and Annie) were born bringing the number of children to ten.  The children attended the local school, which had to be rebuilt after the floods of 1867. In 1874 there were 18 children attending the local school, among these students were Nelly (Ellen), Thomas and Emma Lee.*  Their older brothers George and Henry would have been 14 and 13 at that time and were probably working in the family business.

Clark Brothers

These times were fraught with dangers, besides frequent flooding and bush fires, this was also the period when Bushrangers were very active in the district.  Ben Hall's gang were active on the road between Braidwood and Nelligen in 1865.  Two members of this gang were the notorious Clarke brothers, Tom and John.  The Clarke brothers hid out in the Jingera Ranges preying on the coaches travelling from the goldfields through to Nelligen.  In 1866 the brothers were responsible for the ambush  and killing of a special police gang. In 1867 the brothers were finally captured and taken by coach from Braidwood to Nelligen to be taken by steamship to Sydney.  The brothers were shackled to the "prison tree", which is still stands in Nelligen, prior to their shipment to Darlinghurst goal and subsequent hanging in 1867. Emma and Thomas Lee were witnesses to this event, and I remember my father telling me the story of the Clarke Brothers capture as it had been passed down through our family. 
  
The Lee family settled into the Nelligen district, with Emma and Thomas's children, going to school, marrying and having their families.  Even though, there were many difficulties including the isolation, floods and bushfires, I think Emma would have found the scenic rural environment of life on the Clyde River a pleasant place to raise her family.   

A brief description in the Australian Town and Country Journal in 1897 describes the settlement of Nelligen as: 

 NELLIGEN.
Nelligen is a pretty little town, situated on the south bank of the river. It has two sawmills, one public house, a couple of stores, etc. It has a few small farms and orchards along the course of the Nelligen Creek, and is only fourteen miles distant from Brimbrarnalla Gold Field. It has a coach road to Braidwood, Bateman, and Milton. It is at the head of deep water navigation, and should eventually become an important place as the auriferous resources of the district become developed.
 
In the later decade of the nineteenth century Thomas and Emma purchased "Acacia Farm" , a picturesque farm about 6 miles from Nelligen, on the banks of the Clyde River.  This farm stayed in the farm for the next four generations of the Lee family. On the first of November 1906 Thomas passed away at the age of 74.  Emma continued to live on Acacia Farm with her eldest son George and his wife Catherine (nee McGregor) and their children.

Five years later Emma, passed away at the age of seventy five, on the 21 July 1914.  Her death was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald,

death: Lee - July 21, 1914, at Nelligen, Clyde River, Emma J., relict of the late T. G. Lee, Aged 75. 1914 'Family Notices.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 22 July, p. 12, viewed 1 October, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15524286

 The young housemaid who had arrived from London at the age of 17 with her sister Mary Ann had certainly witnessed and experienced life to the full in the new colony.  
________________
*Reynolds, G.T. (1985), The History of The Port of Nelligen, Part 1, Batemans Bay Commercial Printers, Bateman's Bay.

Mary Ann and Emma Jane Weston continued

Mary Ann's Story

My last post finished with my great great grandmother Emma Jane Weston and her sister Mary Ann arriving in Sydney Harbour on board the "Kate" at Christmas time in 1856 under the sponsorship of their uncle Alfred Weston.  Before I continue with the story of my great great grandmother Emma Jane Weston, I thought would write a little about her sister Mary Ann.

I presume that the two sisters would have been met by their uncle Alfred Weston who had arrived in Sydney in the previous year, or it is possible that they travelled by stage coach to Wollongong where their Uncle was living at the time. There was a great shortage of labour in the country, especially female servants and as the passenger list for the "Kate" lists Mary Ann and Emma's occupations as housemaids from London, it could be assumed that they sought work as domestic helpers.

The next record that I can trace for the two sisters is Emma's marriage to Thomas George Lee (1832-1906) on the 22 February 1858 at St Andrews Church in Braidwood, New South Wales.* Thomas's occupation was listed as a miner from the gold mining area of Major's Creek which was in the Braidwood district.

WC- William Pronger and Mary Ann Weston

Mary Ann was listed as one of the witnesses to the wedding, and as Emma was still under the age of 21, permission to marry was given by Robert Maddrell Esquire, Legal Guardian.  Robert Maddrell was one of the "landed gentry" in the Braidwood district who lived on "Mona" and "Bedervale".  It is  possible that Mary Ann and Emma had come to the gold mining district of Braidwood/Araluen with their Uncle Alfred Weston and had gained employment with the Maddell family as domestic servants. (Some wonderful pictures of the Maddrell Family and their home can be found on the National Library Website at this link, http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3044367

Miners in Gold fields of Araluen, http://www.visitbraidwood.com.au/araluen

Six months later it was Mary Ann's turn to wed.  On the 19th August 1858** Mary Ann married William Pronger (1835-1917) a carpenter from Majors Creek.  Their wedding certificate states they were married in a temporary place of worship at Major's Creek under the rites of the Church of England. Mary Ann's uncle Alfred Weston is one of the witnesses at her wedding. Which leads me to believe the girls traveled with their uncle to the NSW mining district of Braidwood. Alfred Weston is listed in the Greville's Post Office Directory in 1872 as living in the mining town of Araluen and his occupation is listed as a miner

Life in the gold fields would have been a very different experience to that of their earlier life in London.  Majors Creek was one of the largest working mine fields in the 1850-1860's.  This short description from the blog "Major's Creek" gives a wonderful description of what life must have been like on the gold fields for Emma, Mary Ann and their husbands.

 "hundreds of men toiling away in the hot sun; panning, digging, pushing wheelbarrow. You hear the mix of accents: the broad drawl of the Australian born, the plums of English, Scot burrs, Irish lilts, European gutturals, languid American cadences and the staccato of Chinese.  

The hills are spotted with canvas tents and temporary structures of all shapes and sizes.  Clothes, in a rainbow of colours flutter in the breeze drying.

After sunset... the white canvas is replaced by the orange-red of camp fires.  The smell of cooking wafts up the valley.  As the evening deepens the loud voices, sounds of merriment and drunkenness escape from the windows of the lamp-lit hotels.  A male dominant place, stranger thrown together with diverse dreams, enjoying the euphoria of success and drowning the disappointment of failure."***
 

Floods in Main Street of Gympie 1870

Mary Ann and Emma continued living with their homes in the mining community of Majors Creek/Araluen, however, Mary Ann's husband William felt that it was time to move on and to seek his fortune in the newly discovered gold fields in Gympie, Queensland. 

Gold was discovered in Gympie by James Nash in 1867. I am not sure how William and Mary Ann travelled to Gympie, however the trip must have been long and fraught with many difficulties and dangers. I do not have the exact date that William and Mary Ann arrived in Gympie but I do know that in December 1868 William Pronger was appointed  by the Queensland Government to the position of the keeper of the Powder Magazine in Gympie**** .  He held this position until 1871 when he resigned to pursue other interests. *****.  In 1873 an article in The Queenslander advises that Pronger in partnership with Mr Rickett were operating a sugar refining mill and were turning out some good sugar. It seems that William Pronger was quite a pioneer and always looking for further opportunities.

Life would have been quite tough for Mary in this new gold mining town, in 1870 Gympie experiences severe flooding with many homes submerged. William and Mary did not have any children and from details on Mary's death certificate, Mary was in poor heath for some years. On the 7th July 1878, Mary passed away and the cause of death is listed as "ovarian dropsy" (in other words, from "ovarian cancer") which she had suffered from for over three years.  This could explain why she was not able to have any children.

On the 8th July 1878 William Pronger buried his young wife in the Church of England portion of the Gympie cemetery. 

William stayed in the Gympie district, becoming a successful business man.  He remarried in 1880 to Charlotte Elizabeth Drew they had a family of two daughters and three sons. Descendants of William and Charlotte still live in the Gympie district. 

As it is with many of our female ancestors, their story is told by researching their male relations and husbands.  Mary's story is a good example of this.  It is through her uncle Alfred Weston and her husband William Pronger's life stories, I have been able to piece together a little of her life story, from a house maid in London, to the gold fields in the southern highlands of New South Wales and then the journey of over 14,000 kms to the newly discovered mining outpost of Gympie, Queensland. I still have a lot of questions?  I wonder if she was able to see her sister Emma again after she left for Queensland? What kind of conditions did she live in when they first arrived in Gympie?  Was her home/tent flooded in the 1870 floods?  The list goes on and I guess these questions will probably never be answered.



_______
       * New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages, 1486/1858
     ** New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriages, 1499/1858
    *** Majors Creek, http://www.majorscreek.org.au/content/history , viewed 18/1/2013
  **** 1868 'THE GAZETTE.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), 7 December, p. 3, viewed 29 January, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1323824
*****1871 'OFFICIAL NOTIFICATIONS.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), 2 October, p. 3, viewed 29 January, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1320642

Amanuensis Monday: Letter re Death of Elizabeth Taylor (nee Rushworth)

Elizabeth Taylor in her Nurses Uniform

Lucy and Joseph Hartley

This morning I was going through my file of family letters looking for some more information on Emma Jane and Mary Ann Weston when I came across a letter about the death of Elizabeth Taylor, so today I am allowing myself to be side tracked a little, as I would like to share this letter as a follow on from my previous posts on Elizabeth.  

The letter was written by Lucy Hartley (Elizabeth's daughter) to her brother Richard Taylor and his family.  Richard had immigrated to Sydney, Australia in the early 1880's. Though he had regular correspondence with his family in England, he had not seen his mother since leaving England. Two of his sons, Richard and William had been able to visit the family in Colne while they were on leave from the Australian Army in World War I. (Lucy mentions this visit in her letter).

The letter is very poignant and provide a wonderful completion to my Blogs Elizabeth, so please forgive my divergence back to previous posts.

62 Ackincoates Rd

Colne

Feb 13th 1927

Dear Brother Richard,

Just a few lines to let you know the sad news of Mother's death.  She had not been well for some considerable time, her strength gradually getting weaker and weaker until she could scarcely stand and finally she was compelled to take to her bed through sheer exhaustion, where she lay very patiently until the end came at 4.00, on Monday morning Jan. 31st.  She passed peacefully away in her sleep and her last words were - "Lord have mercy on us".  Matilda and I were present at the last and Father lay beside her, having just got off to sleep for a few minutes.

As you will see from the card we laid her reverently to rest in Colne Cemetery on Thursday same week, amidst many scenes of respect and honour and general regret in the town at the passing of her gentle soul.  We miss her very much now but must not grieve, for it is our loss but her gain.  A great worker, a kingly and sympathetic soul - no one appealed to her in vain for help if it was in her power to give, but above all - a good mother, she will be remembered for many years to come.

In future you must, address all your letters to our house, as we are breaking up the old home.  Father and Matilda are coming to live with us, as we shall be able to look after him better at our house, he has been here since Mother died and bears up very well considering their great attachment to each other when Mother was alive.

Our family will now consist of Joe and myself, our two children - Nellie (19) and Fred (9), Lizzie (19) - sister Lizzie's girl who came to live with us when her mother died 6 years ago, Grandad and Mathilda. Lizzie's boy is living with friends close by.

Father is fairly well considering his great age, but very deaf and rather bad on his props, but his appetite is fairly good, he sits nearly all the time in his chair and smokes his pipe and reads the newspaper, we think he will be now the oldest person in Colne.

I think we have now told you all the news so must now close, remember us to the boys, we often talk about them when they were here, we also hope and trust you are all keeping well.  We receive letters from Jessie and Tilly, also Dicks wife and the photo of John and his bride just came in time for Grandma to see - the week before she died. When is will going to be married, he does not seem to be in much hast about it, does he!

We all join in sending our love to you all and please remember the new address when any of your family write again,

Your affectionately Sister

Lucy and Joe Hartley

Christmas 1856 Arrival - Emma Jane Weston 1839-1914

Emma Jane Weston

It was the 23 December 1856 when the the "Kate" arrived into Sydney after the long journey from Plymouth under the command of Captain Davidson.* Emma Jane Weston and her sister Mary Anne Weston had left Plymouth on the Kate on 7 September 1856. They were 18 and 19 years old (respectively) when they arrived as assisted immigrants under the guardianship of their Uncle Alfred Weston.  Alfred had immigrated to Australia as an assisted immigrant with his wife Maria in the previous year (13 January 1855) on the Bangalore.* The immigration record for Emma and Jane state that he was living in Wollongong at the time of their arrival. 

These two young sisters were listed as being house maids from London, who had journeyed to Australia as part of Government assisted immigration program to provide relief to the colonies labour shortage.

An article published in the Sydney Morning Herald on the 27 December 1856, describes this situation.

"SYDNEY LABOUR MARKET

The arrival of the Kate, from Plymouth, with government immigrants, will afford a temporary relief to the late very great scarcity of country labour.  The immigrants are classified as follows: 49 married couples, 109 single men, 62 single women and 17 children. In the early part of the week the rates going were, in some cases, slightly in advance of the previous week.

OLIVER STAINS, British Foreign Labour Agent, December 26th. 73, Corner of King and Castlereagh Streets."

Under this notice a further article goes on to describe the shortages of labour, especially of female servants.

St Marylebone

"Engagements have been limited in consequence of it being a holiday week.  Orders for country servants are plentiful. There has been one arrival (The Kate) with 300 immigrants of a mixed class.  The harvest now drawing to a close will cause reaction in the supply of labour.  The inhabitants of Sydney have seen much inconvenience in regard to female servants. The demand is great and those for hire are few.  Wages remain firm if quoted rite.  

J.C. GLUE, Labour Agent, December 26, 48 Pitt Street North."


These few articles give you an idea of what greeted my Great Great Grandmother Emma Jane Weston and her elder sister Mary Anne when they arrived in Australia to seek their fortune in a new land.

 Emma and Mary Anne were the daughters of William Weston (abt 1816-1867) and Mary Ann Rolf (abt 1816-1896).  Mary and William were married at St Marylebone, an Anglican Church on the Marylebone Rd, London on the 3 October 1835.

Emma was born on the 25 June 1839 at 9.00am in the family home at 21 Edwards Street Regents Park. Her father's occupation was listed as House Painter.

Birth Certificate - Emma Jane Weston 25 June 1839

What was in store for Emma and her sister Mary Anne once they disembarked from the Kate, in Sydney?  Would they find employment or perhaps a husband? You have to reflect on how foreign life in the new colony would have been to the two young sisters who had been brought up in London. Imagine how different it was to celebrate Christmas on the other side of the world!
-----------------------

* New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896

Sunday's Obituary - Elizabeth Taylor (Rushworth) - Part 5

William and Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth and William spent their remaining years at 9 Duke street Colne. In their retirement they continued to be involved with their local Parish Church.

Elizabeth's ill health prevented her from continuing to work with the St John's Ambulance and she was no longer well enought to be involved in the fund raising projects she worked so hard on in her younger years.

Their surviving children lived close by and their eldest daughter Mathilda who didn't marry continued to live with them.  They were in contact with their son Richard who had now established himself as a stone mason in Sydney, Australia.  During WWI, two of Richards sons, Richard and William were members of the Australian Army and when they were stationed in England were able to finally meet their grandparents.

Elizabeth Taylor in Nurses Uniform

On the 31 January 1927 Elizabeth sadly passed away and in the following year, 30 May 1928 William joined her.  The following tribute was posted in the Colne Times following Elizabeth's funeral.

THE LATE MRS TAYLOR 

Tribute by the Rector

"On Sunday morning the private mourners who were present at the funeral of the late Mrs Taylor of Duke Street, Colne - the veteran ambulance worker whose death we recorded last week - attended the service at the Colne Parish Church.  As a tribute of respect to the deceased lady a large number of members of the St. John Ambulance association and the Nursing Division in Colne were also present, and they were accompanied by representatives from Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley, Trawden, foulridge, Earby and Barnoldswick.  They were under the command of Corps Supt. W. Heap, with whom was Reserve Supt. E. Scott, the Lady Corps Supt, Miss Hartley.  As the Girl Guides were also present at their usual monthly parade, there was a large congregation, the Church was well filled.

"Our Mother"

The Rector made an appropriate reference to the late Mrs Taylor, and said that last week had been the departure of one of the most familiar figures in the town.  Although he was not very well acquainted with her ambulance work, he thought it was fitting that he should say something about her.  Continuing, he remarked, 

"The presence with us this morning of the St. John Ambulance Association, gathered in such large numbers from so many districts, is an eloquent reminder to us of the deep respect in which she was held.  Their presence here is no mere post mortem terabyte to her usefulness, for she was he first lady in Colne to be made - many years ago - an Honorary Serving Sister of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England, and it was with a common feeling of reality that we named her in the funeral service last Thursday, not "This our sister" but "This our mother", for she was indeed the mother of this noble  Order in this town of Colne. Of her work with the Colne Auxiliary Military Hospital during the war she often loved to speak, and judging from the number of doctors under who she served - long before the day of District Nurses - she seems to have had the world as her parish.

Our sympathy is with her family and her many friends, and especially with her aged husband, who is still with us after a married life of over 68 years.  I can only conclude this short tribute to her by saying to you all the words with which the Parable of the Good Samaritan concludes: "Go and do thou likewise".

During the Service the hymn "The King of Love my Shepherd is" was sung.

After the Service the members of the Ambulance Association and Nursing Division returned to the Ambulance hall, where lunch was served to those from a distance."

As I type the last few words of Elizabeths story, I have come to the realisation that she was a pioneer in her times, caring for the ill and needy in their homes long before the concept of district  nurses was even thought of.  Her journal lists the names of 29 doctors from the districts of Rossendale, Burnley, Barroford, Boothfold, Waterfoot, Rawtenstall, Newchurch, Colne, Nelson to name a few.   Some of the ailments that she tended were: injury by lightening, maternity, stroke, Brights Disease, typhoid fever, dislocated elbow, tumor on big toe, senile decay, change of life, mild fever, dog bite, cancer.

I hope readers have enjoyed the short summary of Elizabeths life and if any reader can add to this story, either with informtion about the St Johns Ambulance, the district of Colne and Barnoldswick or the Taylor and Rushworth families, I would love to hear from them.

Elizabeth Taylor (Rushworth) - Part 4

William and Elizabeth Taylor - 1918

Diamond Wedding Anniversary and  Honorary Serving Sister of St John

The year 0f 1918 was a big year for the residence of No. 9 Duke Street, Colne.  On 17th July William and Elizabeth celebrated 60 years of marriage and just prior to this celebration Elizabeth received the honor of being awarded the Honorary Serving Sister of St John of Jerusalem. Elizabeth describes this auspicious occasion with a little excitement in her journal. 
To start with she talks about receiving a medal for 15 years service in 1909 with a number of other nurses.

 "I was appointed Lady Superintendent in 1894 and resigned in 1922.  In 1909 for 15 years service a medal that was pinned me by the Hon. Prince of Wales, now King George the 5th.  After this ceremony, I with other Ladies, who attended Head Quarters for the same purpose had a first class lunch and a Waggonetee drive to view the principle sights of London.

On being made an Honorary Serving Sister of St John of Jerusalem, in 1918 I was met by the Chaplain, who Prayed, and went through all the Services appropriate for the occasion"

Her rather formal summary of what must have been two amazing experiences makes me smile.
I think I shall finish this blog by sharing with you an article that was posted in the Colne Times on the occasion of William and Elizabeth's Diamond Wedding anniversary.

"Hearty Congratulations will be extended this week by many people in Colne and district, and particularly by those connected with the ambulance movement, to Mr and Mrs William Taylor of 9 Duke Street, Colne, who celebrated their diamond wedding on Wednesday.  Both Mr and Mrs Taylor are well-known and highly-respected in the town, in which they have lived for about 32 years. 

The aged couple were married at Gill Church, Barnoldswick on July 17th 1858, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. J.C. Miller.  Mrs Taylor was born Greenbank, Barnoldswick and was the daughter of the late George Rushworth, of Whitemoor, Barnoldswick.  Mr Taylor was born at Burnley and is the son of the late Mr Richard Taylor of Lower Hood House, Burnley.  Mr and Mrs Taylor have had 16 children, six of whom are still living and they also have nine grandchildren.  Mr Taylor is now 85 years of age and his wife is 77.  They have been connected with the Colne Parish Church and the Mission Churches - St James, Waterside and St George's, Alkincoates - since they came to Colne and it is an interesting link to the past to recall the fact that Mrs Taylor's parents were married in the Colne Parish Church over 100 years ago.

Despite their advanced ages Mr and Mrs Taylor both enjoy fairly good health and although the later has recently had a severe illness we are pleased to state  that she has now recovered.  Mr Taylor was formerly in the employ of the Colne Corporation and prior to the incorporation of the borough, of the old Colne Local Board as Building and Streets Inspector. He held that position for a period of about 20 years, retiring about 10 years ago.

Mrs Taylor worked for the ambulance movement in Colne - of which fuller particulars will be found below - is well-known.  She has been connected with the association for 28 years  and for 20 years has been lady superintendent of the Nursing Division. 

Mr and Mrs Taylor will entertain a number of relatives and friends in the Ambulance Hall tomorrow, when a social evening will be held to celebrate the notable event.  we feel sure our readers will join with us in wishing Mr and Mrs Taylor a happy and pleasant time during the remaining years of their married life.

AMBULANCE HONOUR FOR MRS TAYLOR

It is surely a happy coincidence that we are able to announce Mrs Taylor has received a well deserved ambulance honour at the same time as we record the 60th anniversary of Mr and Mrs Taylor's wedding anniversary.  The secretary of the Colne Ambulance Association has received information that Mrs Taylor has been elected an Honorary Serving Sister of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England, which is one of the highest honours that can be granted for Ambulance work.  It will be remembered that Alderman Hewitt-Dean, President of the Colne Association and Mr  E. Scott, the superintendent of the Brigade were elected Honorary  Serving Brothers of the Order sometime ago.   Some years since, Dr Dickey was elected an Honorary Associate of the Order, so that it will be seen that the Colne Centre of the St Johns Ambulance Association has been highly honoured by the recognition given by the headquarters of the Association to the valuable work done for the movement by several  local stalwarts.

Amongst these Mrs Taylor, along with Superintendent Scott and Miss Hartley, has played a prominent part.  she joined the ambulance movement in Colne in 1891, and has an unbroken membership down to the present.  She has passed all the inspections and re-examinations.  She served in the capacity of First Officer and Inspector of Stores for two or three years before she was appointed Lady Superintendent in 1898.  She has held that position since and had taken a prominent part in the development of the movement in Colne, including the organising of work and collection of funds for the new Hall in Swan Croft, and in all the social efforts arranged by the Association for the purpose of raising funds to carry on its work.

Since the opening of the Colne Military Hospital,  Mrs Taylor has done much useful work in connection with that institution, and has done a great deal to make the lot of the patients as happy and pleasant as possible during their stay in the town.  During her ambulance career Mrs Taylor has rendered first aid in over 100 cases, some of which were very serious.  In onc instance the promptitude and skill of Mrs Taylor and Drill Sergeant Burrell of the Colne Association undoubtedly saved the life of a boy at Morecambe who had his arm run over by tramear, and who would probably have bled to death but for their timely assistance.  

The honour accorded to Mrs Taylor is certainly well merited, and reflects credit not only on herself, but also on the organisation with which she has been connect so long."

Elizabeth Rushworth 1841-1927 - Part 3

Elizabeth Taylor in Nurses Uniform

At the beginning of the 20th Century, William and Elizabeth Taylor lived at 9 Duke Street Colne with five of their six surviving children, William, Lucy, Elizabeth, Matilda and Joseph.  The girls were all employed as cotton weavers and William Jr worked in an iron foundry.  William Snr enjoyed a position of clerk to the Colne Corporation Yard ( or local council).
 Their elder son Richard had emigrated to Sydney, Australia in the sometime in the 1880's. We can only assume that he decided to seek his fortune in a new country having heard about life in Australia from his uncle and Elizabeth brother Joshua Rushworth (who had moved to Australia with his wife and family in the early 1860's).

 Richard married Marion Millar McNair a native of Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland, in 1891 and William and Elizabeth's first grandchild  William  was born on the other side of the world in 1892 in St Peters, Sydney, Australia.  This must have seen such a long way away to Elizabeth.  We do however know that they family kept in touch as a number of family letters written by William Taylor senior in his beautiful script have survived to this day. 

The Australian Connection- Richard and Marion Taylor and children

Elizabeth continued with her work with the St John's amulance, supporting local doctors, delivering babies and caring for the sick and old.  She continually played her part in seeking donations to support the Ambulance.  One paper article recalls:

"She has taken a prominent part in the development of the movement in Colne including the organising and collection of funds for the new hall in Swan Croft, and in all the social efforts arranged by the association (St Johns Ambulance) for the purpose of raising funds to carry on its work."

When War broke out on the 4 August in 1914 the menfolk were quick to volunteer to join the armed forces while at home the women were drawn into working more and more into the mills, taking over the position previously held by the men.*  The Colne Military Hospital was established in Albert Rd in 1915 and Elizabeth played an important part in its establishment and resourcing equipment for the Hospital. There is a wonderful picture on the web site of  The Lancashire Lantern which shows the nurses outside of the Colne Military Hospital and if you click to enlarge this photo you will see Elizabeth Taylor in her Superintendant Uniform on the left hand side of the picture.  She does give an imposing presence. 

Nurses and patients infont of the Colne Military Hospital near the end of WWI

This wonderful battered photo has been passed down through the family and shows nurses, doctors, and recovering soldiers in front of the Colne Military Hospital. Elizabeth Taylor is sitting on the left hand side of the Mayor (man with chain) in the front row.

This picture would have been taken around the time of the end of WWI and Elizabeth at the age of 77 was still working hard organising the collection of funds to enable the continued service to the community of the St Johns Ambulance in Colne. The young woman who became interested in nursing through caring for her family and friends had come along way.  In her own words, she writes:

"I became interested in nursing when I was 19 years of age, amongst my own Famly, Relatives and Friends, by whom I was almost considered to be the Family Nurse, which was mostly gratuitous up to about two years after coming to reside at Colne in 1886" .

 
 ___
* Harrison, D. 1988, The History of Colne, Pendle Heritage Centre, pp.65-68.