Mary Robinson (Bartlett) Taylor (abt. 1796 - 1865)

Born about 1796 in Maugerville, Sunbury County, New Brunswick

Ancestors

Wife of James Taylor Jr. — married 29 Jan 1815 in Maugerville, Sunbury, New Brunswick

Descendants

Died 19 Oct 1865 at about age 69 in Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Pat Miller [send private message]

This profile is part of the Bartlett Name Study.

Biography

Mary was born about 1796 in Maugerville, Sunbury County, New Brunswick, the daughter of Richard Bartlett III and Mary Holly. In January 1815 she married her first cousin, James Taylor Jr. (*) "m. Sunday eve, by Rev Pidgeon, James Taylor, Jr., Maugerville/ Mary d/o Richard Bartlett of this city." Mary's new husband was the son of her father's sister, Margaret Bartlett and Margaret's husband James Taylor Sr. The couple had at least four children and possibly a son James who drowned in 1840. Mary's husband was wild in his youth and along with his brother Richard Taylor was brought up before magistrates on charges of assault. He most likely settled down as he grew older. Mary and James Jr. relocated to St. Stephen, Charlotte County on the border with Maine where James was a farmer. From there they moved to Portland, Maine. James died after 1851 but before 1865 when Mary was listed as a widow. She died of "consumption" (Tuberculous) and was buried in Western Cemetery in Portland.

Tuberculous "consumption"

The disease was called consumption because the person's weight dropped drastically as the disease progressed. It seemed to "consume" them. The name tuberculosis was first used by Johan Lukas Schonle in 1839 from the Latin tuberculum but it wasn't until 1882 that Dr. Robert Koch discovered the tubercle bacillus. The bacteria can attack any part of the body including kidney and brain; it has been found in the spines of Egyptian mummies, but it usually attacks the lungs. By 1815 one in four deaths in England were due to "consumption." In the late 1800s patients were encouraged to seek fresh air and treatment centers called sanatoriums were created, but 50% of those who entered were dead in five years. At the turn of the 20th century it was the leading cause of death in the United States. In 1943 Selman Waksman discovered a compound streptomycin that acted against the disease. In November 1949 the first human given the compound was cured of the disease. Hopes of eliminating the disease were dashed in the 1980s when drug-resistant strains of Tuberculous appeared. In 2019, 1.4 million people worldwide died of Tuberculous.

Fort Allen Park, Portland, Maine

During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 Fort Allen was in use. After the wars it was abandoned and only earthworks remain today. In 1836 the waterfront area became a park designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted who designed Central Park in New York. The 68.2 acre park is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fort Allen Park, Portland, Maine

Sources

• Daniel F. Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics: Saint John, City Gazette, Jan 31, 1815 (*)
• https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/NewspaperVitalStats/Details.aspx?culture=en-CA&guid=df96ba45-256f-4fde-b8d6-a463598a9a97&r=1&ni=23370
• 1851 Canada Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, St. Stephen, Charlotte, New Brunswick, James Tayler (Taylor) 58, farmer, Mary 56, wife, Maryann 34, daughter, Ann 24, daughter, Emely (Emily) 14, daughter
• Maine Death Records, 1617-1922, place Portland, widow of James Taylor, 69 years, cause of death, Consumption, MARY R. TAYLOR, death 19 Oct 1865
• U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s-current, Mary R. Taylor, 19 October 1865, burial Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, Western Cemetery
• Wikipedia.org, Fort Allen Park, Portland, Maine
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography, D M. Young, University of Toronto, Biography of JAMES TAYLOR, father-in-law and uncle of Mary Robinson (Bartlett) Taylor. From this text: "...two of his sons James and Richard were farming independently. His sons became known in the countryside for their intimidating ways; each of them appeared before magistrates one or more times on charges of assault."
• Tuberculous, Wikipedia.org
• Tuberculous (T B), Basic Facts- CDC, https://www.cdc.gov
• todayifoundout.com Tuberculous