The Tragic Tale of Timothy Taylor, Yarmouth MA (1831-1881) Wounded Civil War Veteran, Drowned and Buried in Virginia (Edited)

Timothy Taylor was born 13 November 1831 at Yarmouth, Massachusetts to Timothy Taylor (b.1785) and his wife Nancy.  In 1832, a year after Timothy's birth, his father was "supposed to be lost at sea."  His mother Nancy, then married Joshua Ellis.  These two marriages were in fact the third and fourth marriages for Nancy.
A Little About Timothy’s Mother Nancy
Nancy was born Nancy Nickerson on 9 October 1794 to John and Deborah (Studley) Nickerson at Yarmouth.  She married first Thomas Greenough Brooks (a grandson to Thomas Greenough of Yarmouth) with whom she had two daughters —  Julia A., and Nancy Jane.  Thomas and Nancy Brooks are my three times great grandparents; Nancy Jane Brooks and her husband George Washington Chase are my two times great grandparents.

                 

Thomas Greenough Brooks was probably lost at sea before February 1826 when his wife Nancy married Moses Montcalm (marriage registered 1 November 1826). According to Yarmouth records, Moses Montcalm died in 1829.  Moses and Nancy had one son named Anthony.



Timothy Taylor (b.1785) and Mrs. Nancy Montcalm were married in March 1831; Timothy (b.1785) was lost at sea approximately 1832.  Timothy and Nancy had one son Timothy - the subject of this report - who was born November 1831. Nancy Taylor married fourth Joshua Ellis January 1836 and the couple had one daughter, Hannah.



In 1850 at Yarmouth, Timothy Taylor, aged 18, and his half brother Anthony Montcalm aged 22 are identified as sailors, sharing last name of Ellis, in the household of their step father Joshua Ellis aged 42, mother Nancy aged 35, and half sibling Hannah aged 13. Also in the household, is 89 year old “Deborah Ellis” although in reality this is probably Nancy’s mother Deborah (Studley) Nickerson who died in 1854 at age 93 (death date based on information provided in the revolutionary war pension files for John and Deborah Nickerson).  


Timothy Taylor (b. 1831) married Ellen Dennis in February 1854, intentions filed 14 February 1854. They had one child named Arthur born in September of that same year.  Ellen, aged 21, died of consumption in February 1855.





In 1855 Timothy, aged 23, is identified as a boarder, seaman, in the home of  Enoch Lewis (seaman) and his family at Yarmouth. It is unclear where his young son Arthur may have been living, possibly being taken care of by relatives.  In 1857 Timothy married Elizabeth (Nickerson) Cash; it was a second marriage for both.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Greenough) Nickerson making her a descendant of Thomas Greenough; Elizabeth's father, Thomas Nickerson, was a brother to Timothy Taylor's mother - Nancy Nickerson, making Timothy and Elizabeth cousins.  Elizabeth was first married to Ensign Cash in 1848. Ensign Cash died in 1853. Elizabeth and Ensign Cash had three children:  George F., Oren, and Ensign who died at age two in 1854. Together Timothy Taylor and Elizabeth had sons Timothy born in 1856, and Joseph born in 1858.


In 1860, Timothy and Elizabeth are enumerated at Yarmouth with a household combining all their children - Arthur E., Timothy, Joseph, Frank Cash, and Orin Cash.  Timothy is identified as a Master Mariner.


In October 1862, the following article is posted in the Fall River Daily Evening News; several notices related to fire insurance payments, etc., are noted in the Yarmouth and Barnstable newspapers.


On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1863 at Sandwich, Massachusetts, Timothy Taylor, 33 year old seaman, enlists in the army for three years. Records describe him as 6 feet 1 inches tall, dark complexion, gray eyes, and brown hair.  He will serve as a private with Company A, of the 58th Infantry of the Massachusetts Regiment. On hospital admittance papers dated 24 May 1864 Timothy is identified as "married," wife Elizabeth living at Barnstable.  The records indicate he had received a serious gun shot wound to his left arm resulting in a compound fracture. It is noted in newspaper notices that Timothy's arm was amputated. This is the last record currently located regarding Elizabeth.  It is possible that acquiring the Civil War Pension and/or medical files for Timothy may provide further information on Elizabeth, i.e., date of death.

According to records, Timothy was wounded in action on 6 May 1864 at the Battle of Wilderness in Virginia.  He was hospitalized at Satterlee Hospital in Virginia.  He was ultimately discharged on 10 April 1865 for disability and mustered out in June from the Satterlee Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.



In 1865, a Timothy Taylor aged 9, and Joseph Taylor aged 6 are enumerated at Barnstable in the home of Abby Cook and her young children Flora and Charles.  Abby was the wife of Charles Cook, who apparently was also serving in the Civil War at this time.  (There is a record of an Arthur Taylor, mulatto, aged 10, enumerated in Barnstable in the home of Samuel and Charlotte Childs, one other individual William Coffin, black - more research needed. In 1870 an Arthur E. Taylor, aged 15, farm laborer, is enumerated in Lakeville in the home of farmer Horatio Sampson, identified as white.  Arthur E. Taylor, son of Timothy and Ellen, did in fact end up residing and marrying in this area.)


On 5 December 1868, there is a marriage record entered at Boston for Timothy Taylor of Yarmouth, "34" year old son of Timothy and Nancy Taylor (a third marriage) to Caroline Cobb, aged 23 of Yarmouth (first marriage), daughter of Samuel and Polly Cobb. Research is continuing into this marriage but at the time of this report having no other records to discuss.  I do see that Samuel Cobb and Polly Nickerson of Yarmouth had a daughter, Mary Caroline on 6 August 1845.  Polly Nickerson was the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Greenough) Nickerson.  Making Timothy and (Mary) Caroline cousins - Polly was the sister of both Timothy's mother, Nancy Nickerson, and Thomas Nickerson, father of Timothy's second wife Elizabeth. Please reach out to me with any information pertinent to this marriage and my understanding of these relationships (my head is spinning!).  Noted in the 1850 Federal Census at Yarmouth, Polly Cobb and her children, to include Caroline, are identified as "mulatto" for race. It should also be noted that in the 1869 Earle Report, several of these families are identified as part of the Tribe at Yarmouth. Specifically,Timothy is identified in this report as White, but his wife Elizabeth and children, and possible future wife Caroline, are identified as Indian.
  

On 15 October 1875 Timothy Taylor of Yarmouth was admitted to the U.S. National Home for Disabled Veterans at Togus, Kennebec, Maine, Eastern Branch.  Identified as a relative/friend is James Smith of Yarmouth. James Smith was the husband of Timothy's half sister Julia (Brooks) Smith.  Timothy Taylor is shown to have served with Company A, 58th Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers, disabled at Wilderness with a gun shot wound to left arm on 6 May 1864. He was discharged at his own request in October of 1876.  In 1877, Timothy is listed at the U.S. National Home for Disabled Veterans at Hampton, Virginia, aged 48, relatives or friends "none." Timothy is identified as having been born in Massachusetts, was a member of Company A, 58th Massachusetts Regiment, received a gunshot wound to left arm. Timothy Taylor, single, was admitted to the facility on November 1877; he was readmitted on 10 December 1877 on condition he assign half his pension to the Home for three months, the conditions were accepted.  Timothy Taylor was discharged at his own request August 1878; again readmitted March 1879, and July 1879 accepted similar pay conditions. 

On 15 June 1880 Timothy Taylor, disabled, aged 49, is enumerated in the Federal Census living in Hampton, Elizabeth City County, Virginia, National Home for Disabled War Veterans, marital status marked as single, born in Massachusetts, as were both his parents.  On 20 May 1881 Timothy Taylor drowned in the Hampton Creek.  He is buried in grave number 5417 at the Hampton National Cemetery.  The Find-A-Grave memorial provides no information/history identifying Timothy Taylor in this cemetery.

U.S. National Home for Disabled Veterans at Togus, Kennebec, Maine, Eastern Branch.



U.S. National Home for Disabled Veterans at Hampton, Virginia, Roseburg Branch.




Sources:

Dennis, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCBQ-KLN?view=index : Oct 30, 2024), image 49 of 288; Dennis (Massachusetts). Town Clerk. 004269927.


Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z1-NJS : Thu May 23 02:29:58 UTC 2024), Entry for Timothy Taylor and Ellen Rebecca Dennis, Feb 1854.


U.S., National Home for Disabled Volunteer Veterans, Register of Members, 1866-1934, Timothy Taylor, Residence Years 1875, 1877, p. 867, Fold3.com.


Ancestry.com. U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Original data:

Interment Control Forms, 1928–1962. Interment Control Forms, A1 2110-B. NAID: 5833879. Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985. The National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.

U.S., National Home for Disabled Volunteer Veterans, Register of Members, 1866-1934,  


Source Citation

The National Cemetery Administration; Hampton National Cemetery, Burial Register, 1833-1935

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Original data:

Burial Ledgers. The National Cemetery Administration, Washington, D.C. (Original records transferred to NARA: Burial Registers, compiled 1867-2006, documenting the period 1831-2006. NAID: 5928352. Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773–2007, Record Group 15. The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Barnstable Patriot and Yarmouth Register Notices, accessed on SmallTownNewspapers.com.

Vital Records on Ancestry.com, Familysearch.com, and Americanancestors.org, as well as multiple records on Fold3.com for Timothy Taylor, Yarmouth, MA.




















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