1853 – 1932

Isabella Taylor Bone was born in 1853 in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. She was the sixth of nine children born to Hugh Taylor and Elizabeth Henderson, both of whom were born in the North of Ireland. Hugh and Elizabeth married and immigrated to Scotland between 1847 and 1848, during the worst of the Great Famine. The family eventually settled in Inch, Wigtownshire, Scotland. It was in Inch that Isabella would meet her husband, Charles Bone.

In 1861, when she was just eight years old, Isabella lost her mother. She remained at home with her father and siblings until her immigration to the United States in July of 1870. On December 27, 1871, Isabella married Charles Bone at the Congregational Church in Little Compton.

Isabella and Charles had ten children over 24 years. Their first daughter, Eliza, was born in 1872, followed by son Robert in 1874. Three of her sons (Charles (1875), Samuel (1878) and Edward (1889) died before the age of three. Their headstone is sited in the back of the cemetery at the Old Commons Burial Ground, next to the headstone of their daughter Jennie who died at the age of 21. Additionally they had a daughter, Isabella in 1877.

Their initial residence in Little Compton is uncertain, but in October of 1894, Isabella and Charles purchased the home of Thomas Brightman on what is now Peckham Road, near Long Highway. It was in this home that Isabella raised the youngest of her children (Samuel (1885), Lena (1887) and Edward (1896).) The 1900 census shows their oldest son Robert living nearby with his wife Fanny and their daughter Fanny.

In 1899, Charles was seriously injured after he was assaulted in the Commons, nearly losing his life. Though the details of the extent of his recovery are unclear, it would seem likely that his injuries led to his inability to continue working as a farmer and the family eventually lost their home. Despite the very difficult situation, Isabella saw her youngest daughter Lena married in 1910 and went on to live with her sons, with her son Edward until he was married in 1925 and then with Samuel until her death in 1932. State and Federal Census records after 1910 do not show Charles living with his family, though we know he lived until 1932. While our family research continues, Isabella undoubtedly would have been proud that generations of her family continue to call Little Compton home nearly 150 years after her arrival.

Sean and Shelley Bowen

April 2020

Back to Table of Contents

No tags for this post.