“The Aunt I Never Knew”

Mount Airy, Philadelphia and Chesnut Hill, PA.

Sarah Ann Taylor was in born Dec. 14, 1893 in Manchester, Lancashire, England. She died at age 24 in October 9, 1918 in Philadelphia a victim of the Spanish Flu. She came to the United States with her family in 1910. Her father, John, initially came to the US in 1908 and was sexton of Sr. Martin’s in the Field Episcopal Church in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. He was sponsored for that job by the Church of England. Ge spent two years living in the church itself to raise enough money to bring his family to the U.S. They resided on Highland Avenue in Chestnut Hill, eventually buying a home at 215 W. Mt. Pleasant Ave. in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia (in the early 1920s).

In 1910 (on the USS Haverford) the family came to stay. His wife, Mary Ann Hill (1871 – 1953), Sarah (1893 – 1918), John Joseph (1901 – 1988), Florence Elaine (1902 -1954) and my father, Henry (known as Jack) (1901-1949). They resided on Highland Avenue in Chestnut Hill, eventually buying a home at 215 W. Mt. Pleasant Ave. in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia (in the early 1920s).

John was 27 when Sarah was born, Mary Ann was 22. As an additional note of irony, John (Sarah’s father) died on May 4, 1933 suffering a massive heart attack on the platform of the Wildwood NJ Railroad Station. He was at the station seeing my parents (Henry Jack and Helen Roth) off on their honeymoon; they were going to Niagara Falls. My parents came to Wildwood from their wedding, spent the time at John& Mary Ann’s summer cottage at 639 W. Maple Ave., Wildwood NJ. My parents did not learn of his passing until they got to Niagara Falls.

Story and photo contributed by Henry (Ted) Taylor, nephew of Sarah Ann Taylor.