Lavinia Taylor (1869-1955) née Wortley

Lavinia Wortley was the wife of dyer and laundry proprietor Hartley Taylor.

Biography

She was born on 4 February 1869 at Moldgreen, the daughter of Ben Wortley and his wife Mary (née Senior), and was baptised on 10 December 1885 at All Hallows, Almondbury. The family were living at Rushfield Cottage at the time they baptised Lavinia and four of her sisters.[1]

By the time of the 1891 Census, the family had moved to Arkenley Lane, Almondbury, and Lavinia (aged 22) was working as a woollen cloth mender. Her father's occupation had changed from woollen spinner and slubber to a hay and straw dealer.

She married dyer Hartley Taylor of Spinkfield Road, Birkby, son of finisher John Taylor, on 15 July 1898 at St. John's Church. Her father died the following year.[2]

The couple did not have any children and by 1901 had moved to 5 Norman Road, Fartown, where Hartley worked as a cotton cord dyer.

By the time of the 1911 Census, they had moved to 70 Hollings Street, Cottingley, Bingley, where Hartley ran a laundry business with both Lavinia and her nephew Harry Wortley assisting him. According to handwritten notes on the reverse of the studio portrait of Lavinia, Harry was the son of her late sister Edith (who died in childbirth) and had been raised by Hartley and Lavinia since infancy:

LAVINIA WORTLEY (TAYLOR) 80 in 1949. Born 1869. My oldest aunt of mother's sisters who married Hartley Taylor. She was childless and ran the Cottlingley laundry but took on all the family "waifs" as her pleasurable duty, notably Harry (Devanney), son of Edith Wortley who died when he was born. He had 3 girls named Mildred, Muriel and Hazel, and his wife Grace was a darling. They all lived at Cottingley.

Hartley Taylor of 202 Halifax Road, Birchencliffe, died on 23 December 1927, aged 60. He left an estate worth £1,725 9s. 11d. to his widow.

Lavinia Taylor died in Huddersfield on 6 December 1955, aged 86.

Notes and References

  1. Three more of Lavinia's siblings were baptised a couple of days later on 12 December 1885.
  2. Ben Wortley of Spinkfield Road died on 25 November 1899, leaving an estate worth £273 13s.