User:WillThePotato/sandbox/William Taylor (shipwright)

William Taylor (c. 1774 - date of death unknown) was an English shipbuilder who built 50 vessels over the course of his career in East-the-Water, including 6 for the Admirality. It is unknown as to what happened to him past 1830, although it is believed that he retired to Bristol.

Early life
William Taylor was born circa 1774 in Littleham to William Taylor, a laborer, and Susanna Witheridge, a spinster, both Anglican, after their marriage on the 19th of April, 1767. He was baptized on the 13th of March, 1774, however his date of birth is unknown.

Marriage and family
On the 27th of November, 1801, Taylor, of the parish of Bideford, married Christian Nicholas, who resided within the parish of St. Kerrian in Exeter, by license, at St. Petrock's Church. It was reportedly witnessed by Elizabeth Nichols, Thomas Nicholas [sic] and William Nichols.

The couple's four children, John Nichols, Catharine, Hannah Maria, and William, were baptized in Bideford on the 1st of January, 1803, the 10th of December, 1806, the 25th of July, 1808, and the 31st of August, 1810, respectively.

In 1826, daughter Mary married Captain Gillespie of the ship Cosmo, in Bristol. It is likely to have been the same ship of that name that was built by Taylor in 1825, which Captain Gillespie commanded until at least the 7th of April, 1930. On the 24th of February, 1828, the marriage of John Mollard to Maria Taylor, William Taylor's daughter, was recorded by the parish registers of Bideford in the presence of William and Catherine Taylor after Mollard courted her during the construction of the Saltern's Rock. As their dowry, Taylor gave his daughter a half-share of the vessel.

Career
William Taylor's shipyard was located near Crosspark Rock, either adjacent to, or preceding the pottery located there.

According to Trewman's Exeter Flying Post of November 16th, 1809, the ship-building business of Bideford under the firm of Wheaton and Taylor, had expired and been dissolved on the 25th of September, 1809. From that point on, the business was to be continued solely by William Taylor. As a result of the uncertainties regarding the beginning of this partnership, it is possible that some vessels prior to that date that were attributed to William Taylor may have actually been built by Wheaton and Taylor.

From 1807-1817, William Taylor is said to have built 50 ships at his East-the-Water shipyard. As only 49 have been identified in the chronological list below, it can be concluded that one ship has been totally unidentified.