Taylor, Samuel (Sam)
Sergeant
No. 136240, 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles
Died of wounds on Saturday 5 October 1918 (aged 39)
Buried:
St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France (Grave S. II. H. 20)
Commemorated:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Donaghadee and District War Memorial
First Donaghadee Presbyterian Church
BIOGRAPHY
At attestation Samuel Taylor declared that he was born on 15 July 1880 in Donaghadee; in the Taylor family bible, Samuel James Taylor’s date of birth is recorded as 29 July 1879. He also declared that he was a son of James Taylor who lived in the townland of Carryreagh, Donaghadee; family sources believe that he may have been an adopted son of James Taylor. Samuel Taylor had an older sister named Agnes.
James Taylor and Ellenor Jane McMillen were married on 3 October 1867 in Ballygrainey Presbyterian Church. James Taylor, a farmer from Cannyreagh was a son of James Taylor, a farmer. Ellenor Jane McMillen from Ballyhay was a daughter of James McMillan, a farmer.
James and Ellenor Jane Taylor (nee McMillen) had at least seven children:
Jane (born 3 September 1868 in Cannyreagh)
Elizabeth (born 31 October 1869 in Cannyreagh)
Catherine (born 20 April 1871 in Cannyreagh)
William (born 20 July 1872 in Cannyreagh)
Mary (born 28 June 1873 in Cannyreagh)
Isabella Watson (born 21 January 1875 in Cannyreagh)
John (born 30 October 1876 in Cannyreagh)
Their mother, Ellenor Jane Taylor (nee McMillen), died on 12 November 1876 (aged 36), some two weeks after giving birth to John.
James Taylor and Margaret McCracken were married on 27 September 1877 in First Donaghadee Presbyterian Church. James Taylor, a widowed farmer from Cannyreagh was a son of James Taylor, a farmer. Margaret McCracken from Donaghadee was a daughter of John McCracken, a farmer.
James and Margaret Taylor (nee McCracken) had two children:
James (born 14 June 1878 in Cannyreagh)
Susan (born 7 August 1879 in Cannyreagh)
Their mother, Margaret Taylor (nee McCracken), died on 21 June 1880 (aged 40).
James Taylor and Elizabeth (Eliza) Martin were married on 21 January 1881 in First Newtownards Presbyterian Church. Eliza Martin from Cannyreagh was a daughter of Samuel Martin, a labourer.
James and Eliza Taylor (nee Martin) had at least six children, all of whom were baptised in First Donaghadee Presbyterian Church:
William (born 27 August 1881 in Carryreagh, Donaghadee)
Andrew (born 26 March 1883 in Carryreagh, Donaghadee)
David (born 18 October 1884 in Carryreagh, Donaghadee)
Elizabeth (Lizzie, born 20 June 1886 in Carryreagh, Donaghadee)
John (born 10 November 1887 in Carryreagh, Donaghadee)
Miriam (born 22 May 1889 in Carryreagh, Donaghadee)
Sam Taylor worked on the Taylor family farm before he moved to Toronto in Canada in 1903. There he worked as a teamster (driver) and he and his wife Maria lived at 548 King Street West and later at 1084 St Clarens Avenue, Toronto.
Sam Taylor and Maria Jane Bell were married on 23 September 1909 in Toronto. Maria Jane Bell was born on 17 July 1884 in Glenavy, Co Antrim and she was a daughter of William Alexander and Jane Bell (nee Cormican). Maria moved to Toronto in 1909. Sam and Maria Taylor (nee Bell) had four children – William, James (Jim), John (Jack) and Lillian (Lil). Maria died on 28 April 1963 in Toronto.
Sam Taylor enlisted in Toronto on 7 September 1915 and it was noted in his attestation papers that he was 5 feet 7¼ inches tall with a dark complexion, blue eyes and dark brown hair.
Private Sam Taylor was wounded by a gunshot to the right leg on 17 August 1916 and re-joined his unit ten days later. On 14 February 1917 he was admitted to a field hospital for eight days with bronchitis. He was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 5 May 1917 and promoted to Sergeant on 22 September 1917. On 2 October 1918, he was mortally wounded and died of his wounds on 5 October 1918.
Sergeant Sam Taylor (No. 136240) served with the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles and it was the Rev Willis in Donaghadee who was informed by the Canadian Record Office that Sergeant Sam Taylor had died of wounds. At that time, the Rev Willis was the County Director of the British Red Cross.
Sergeant Sam Taylor was 39 when he died in hospital at Rouen and he was buried in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, France. There is an inscription on his CWGC headstone:
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS
THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE
FOR HIS FRIENDS
Sam’s family placed a For King and Country notice in the Newtownards Chronicle. Sergeant Sam Taylor (No. 136240) is commemorated on Donaghadee and District War Memorial and in First Donaghadee Presbyterian Church.