Welcome to my website!
Charlotte Taylor – Her Life and Times features The Charlotte Taylor Story (CT’s Story) in five unique chapters, anchored by a wealth of cited narratives and images. Charlotte Taylor was an early British settler, “entitled to rank among the remarkable women of New Brunswick” according to Dr. W.F. Ganong, botanist and historian. She certainly is worthy of notice and recognition!
The website was first introduced in August 2000 at Old Home Week in Tabusintac, N.B. Charlotte resided there during the latter half of her lengthy life, after migrating from the ‘banks’ of the Miramichi River with her husband Philip Hierlihy and members of their blended family.
To mark this 20th anniversary Charlotte Taylor – Her Life and Times was transferred to https://charlottetaylor.ca on 1 August 2020. Visitors can now enjoy the website’s blend of added and past content, and its refreshed look.
Upon reflection, had Charlotte Taylor’s origins been revealed early on, the discovery and learning adventure that produced Charlotte Taylor – Her Life and Times would not have happened! Updates to my Story, and new website content, will be incorporated when new insights about this early New Brunswick settler are revealed.
Mary Lynn Smith
The Mighty Miramichi
Two short and dignified obituaries were published in 1841 New Brunswick newspapers. The St. Andrews Standard edition of 27 April 1841 informed that “Charlotte HIERLIHEY, age 89, Third British Settler in the banks of the Miramichi, North Co.” had passed away. The Royal Gazette dated 5 May 1841 recorded the death of Charlotte Hierlihey [nee Taylor] “At Tabisintac, . . . Mrs. Charlotte Hierlihey, in the 89th year of her age . . . was an old and much respected inhabitant, and was the third British settler on the banks of the Miramichi.”
The wording of both obituaries, with inconsequential reference to gender and clear focus on placement, revealed how Charlotte wanted to be remembered. She ranked third in order of British settlement on the ‘banks’ of the Miramichi, a distinction of which she and her family were obviously proud.
The Miramichi wilderness confronted her as early as 1775, when the American Revolutionary War flared. Black Brook, near the mouth of the Miramichi River, became her home for over twenty turbulent years. The mighty Miramichi gave Charlotte a start in British North America, and the Tabusintac River took her home.
Thank you Tabusintac, New Brunswick
Since 1950 Tabusintac has faithfully hosted Old Home Week reunions at five year intervals. These have drawn descendants of early settlers, and others, from far and wide. I understand this homing instinct, for while I was wrenched away from this lovely little village at the age of four, my fondness for Tabusintac endures. ‘Tabu’ will always be home to me, though I now live as far from it as Charlotte Taylor did from her ancestral birthplace in England. Thank you Tabusintac for your community spirit, and for the sense of nostalgia that permeates every Tabusintac Old Home Week experience.
Unfortunately, the 2020 OHW event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Homage to the cast of Charlotte Taylor Her Life and Times
To turn a phrase, notably one authored by John Donne in the 17th century:
No ‘woman’ is an island!
My maternal ancestor, Charlotte Taylor, and an extensive cast – partners, children, descendants, neighbours, and contemporaries – are part and parcel of Charlotte Taylor – Her Life and Times. Such an interesting lot! Each one fascinating in her/his own right! Players in a pageant that continued for almost one hundred years, their vignettes help to shine some light on the ever-darkening pathways of Charlotte’s world.
So, the full cast deserves to take a bow. Many thanks to all for contributing to the extraordinarily interesting histories of the Miramichi and Tabusintac areas!