My sisters and I believed that our grandfather was Robert Alexander Taylor (March 1883 - Dec 30 1921) from Great Britain, the US Census records read the same. I ordered a my fathers birth certificate and it said his father was John Taylor from Jamaica. Our gm, Maria Jose Mesquita was born in 26 Jan 1879, Angra do Heroismo, Island of Terceira, Azores Portugal. She was a newborn found by Jacintha Candida on someones doorstep, abandoned, baptised by the church and raised by a Catharina Violante. On 20 November 1902, Se Cathedral in Angre do Heroismo, she married (1) Antonio Nicolau deSousa, a barber, and they emigrated to the US on SS Penninsular arriving April 1905. I am not sure if they divorced but he returned to Terceira and passed away as per an article dated 23 May1962, written in Portuguese, looking for family to claim his belongings. Maria Jose Mesquita deSousa lived at 12 School Street Room 10, Boston Mass in 1909. She met “? Taylor” in Boston, they ended up in Phila, Pennsylvania. Had James Robert Taylor, 3 August 1910, Mary Elizabeth, 18 Oct 1911, John B (dads bro) March 1913, Alice in 1915, Paul in 1916, Ethel in 1917, dad born Ellis Reynolds Taylor, 5 Dec 1919 (changed name to Alexander John Taylor,1938), and the Mildred, 9 Sep 1921. Birth certificate for James Robert Taylor said his dad was John Taylor, Painter from England. Mary Elizabeths birth cert said her dads name, Robert Alexander, Painter from Jamaica. I’ve had no luck locating other birth or death certs for his other siblings, besides his brother Johns death cert which says his dad was John B from England. I’ve been searching for over 2 yrs, Jamaica, England, Portugal, USA...John Taylor is too common a name, and many born around the same month and year . PLEASE, I’M BEGGING, I need help. Thank you,
Lynn Taylor-Buccafuri
