Jane Taylor passed away from influenza and related complications at the age of forty-two on January 7th, 1919, at Easter Fannyside Farm in Cumbernald. Her untimely death came just a week after her son, James, succumbed to the same illness. She is buried alongside her son and husband in Old Cumbernauld Cemetery.
Jane Stewart was born at Fannyside Mill on August 16th 1876, to Peter, a miller, and Agnes (nee Maxwell). She was the couple’s fourth surviving child and second daughter.
When the Census was taken in 1881, Jane, aged four, and her family still resided at Fannyside Mill. Her younger sister Agnes Jr was born two years before. Ten years later, Jane, aged fourteen, lived at Hillend Farm in Stirlingshire and was employed as a live-in domestic servant for the Steel family. She would later return to her native Cumbernauld.
On June 21st 1899 (the Summer Solstice), Jane, aged twenty-two, married ploughman James Taylor in Cumbernauld. Two years later, the couple lived at Fannyside Cottage with Jane’s sister Agnes and brother Charles. Their eldest child, Peter, was born two months before the 1901 Census was taken. James Jr arrived on March 3rd 1905, and their daughter (also Agnes) in 1908. In 1911, the family had relocated to Easter Fannyside Farm, where Jane would spend the rest of her life. Their family grew even further before Jane’s death. In 1921, the family was still at Easter Fannyside Farm. Along with Peter and Agnes, both still resided in the family home, along with Peter’s wife Mary, James lived with his ten-year-old daughter Cecilia (with whom Jane would have been expecting when the 1911 Census was taken), seven-year-old Jane Jr, four-year-old John and two-year-old William. His infant grandchildren, Isabella, James and John, also lived on the farm. They also employed a live-in servant. The loss of a wife, mother and grandmother would have been a devastating blow to the family, who were freshly grieving a son, brother, and uncle. With young and infant children of his own, James likely faced a challenging transition into single parenthood during a time and in a profession where childcare was predominantly seen as a woman’s responsibility. I believe Mary would have helped care for her siblings-in-law while also raising her children.
James did not remarry after Jane’s death. He survived her by forty-two years, dying of stomach cancer on October 1st 1961, at Easter Fannyside Farm, aged eighty-nine.
Sources: Ancestry, Scotland’s People
Broken Columns 