Mexborough and Swinton Times March 7, 1930
Golden Wedding.
Happy Old Conisboro’ Couple
Preached To Sheep And Turnips.
Mr. and Mrs. G. Taylor, of Church Street, Conisboro’, this week-end will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. They were married on March 8th, 1880, at the Doncaster Register Office, Mrs. Taylor being then only seventeen and her husband eight years her senior. They have had six children, five of whom are living, two daughters and three sons. The three sons all enlisted on the outbreak of the Great War, and fought through to the Armistice, two of them being wounded and the other gassed.
Mr Taylor is a native of Bolton-on-Dearne, and Mrs. Taylor was born in Barnburgh.
Mr Taylor began work at the age of 10, and Thorley, crate manufacturers, Bolton, not a three years with them went to Manvers Main. Freight years he was at Manvers, but when the new Swinton and Knottingley joint line was under construction he left the colliery, and was the first man to carry bricks for the erection of Bolton station. Later he was transferred to Clayton. It was while engaged on this work that he went to live at Mexborough. In 1890 he and his wife left Mexborough for Conisborough, where for seven years Mr Taylor returned to his former trade as a crate maker at Kilner brothers. 30 years ago he opened a greengrocer’s shop in Conisborough and is still happily settled there.
Mr Taylor has for 60 years been connected with the Primitive Methodist Church, first at Bolton and later at Conisborough.
“When I was only 16 years of age,” and said, “the Wesleyan minister at Bolton asked me if I would like to give an address to the scholars, after a lot of hesitation I consented. My first congregation was a field of turnips, and here I cultivated my mind. My second was a flock of sheep, they were very quiet and quite seem to enjoy it. The day came for the real test. I chose the text ‘in the valley of decision,’ and I spoke for 40 minutes. Since then I’ve been all over the country lecturing and preaching.”
Mr Taylor has been the superintendent, a teacher and a steward of the colliery Primitive Methodist Church, is the proud possessor of a framed diploma presented to him by the P.M. Sunday School Union in 1927.
“We have been readers of the Mexborough and Swinton Times forgotten many years,” he said.