by Thomas Hoffman
Introduction
I stand on the north side of Harmony Grove Cemetery, where the headstones peak out from under a line of live oaks. There is a small plot bordered by a low, lichen covered concrete wall. A large marble monument bearing the names of Chandler and Olive Montgomery stands tall in its center. Six smaller limestone headstones form a neat north/south line, radiating from the larger center piece, marking the location of remains of several family members.
In the northwest corner of the plot, a simple, flat, rectangular, concrete marker is embedded in the earth. In stark contrast to the others, it is discolored and deteriorated, slowly dissolving for nearly nine decades by the lichens that thrive on its surface. Erosion and decomposition, over time, have worked to hide the information on the small marker and, without knowing what it says, deciphering it would prove difficult.
But I know what it says. This is the burial site of Florence Helen Montgomery, and it reads FLORENCE TAGGART 1868-1940. This is her story, a most remarkable one of undying love.
Background
Florence was the tenth of thirteen children born to Chandler Rackliff Montgomery (1821-1905) and Olive Ledbetter Whitmore (1836-1881) at their home just about a mile east of the small town of Lockeford, California on January 1, 1868. Ten of those would survive to adulthood.
Documents1 indicate that Chandler first came to California from Maine in 1850 at the age of 29, giving up the life of a sailor and sea captain to search for gold. He soon learned that there was more money to be made by mining the miners, so he began hauling freight between Sacramento and the mining town of Placerville. Later, in 1852, with money in his pocket, he arrived in San Joaquin County where he acquired land east of Lockeford where he grew grain and raised cattle.2 Late in 1855, he briefly returned to Maine to marry Olive. Then together, in early 1856, the bride and groom steamed down the eastern seaboard, crossed the Isthmus of Panama on the newly built railroad, then took another steamship to San Francisco. They arrived in Lockeford, and soon after, started a family.
Their first child, John Whitmore Montgomery, was born that same year. Over the next twenty- six years, John was followed in rapid succession by twelve brothers and sisters, three of whom would not survive.
The 1880 census shows Chandler, now 59, listed as a farmer, and Olive, 44, as living at home with ten children. John Whitmore, now 24, and a younger brother are listed as farm laborers. All of Florence’s three older sisters are shown as “assisting in the home.” Florence, now twelve, and two younger siblings are attending school. Two babies are “at home.”
Olive passed away the next year, when Florence was just 13, but Chandler persevered, and successfully raised and educated all of the children who survived. By this time, he had established himself as a significant land owner in the area by the 1880’s. A county map of property owners at that time shows he probably owned in the neighborhood of 1580 acres. Documents show he was a member of the school building committee and also a member of the San Joaquin Society of California Pioneers.2 His new home, below, was finished in 1882.
The Story of Florence and William
In 1888, when Florence was a very young woman she met a man named William Everett Taggart and shortly they fell in love. William was older, but he was educated and a well established business man. By all standards, he would have been considered a “good catch.” But fate, for now, was not on their side.
An article about the couple’s romance came out a few years later in 1903, published in both the Stockton Record and Lodi News Sentinel,3 It described, in detail, the series of events that followed. With a some editing of mine, it reads as follows:
“LOVERS RECONNECT AFTER MANY YEARS
A Romance With a Local Tinge Concerning a Lockeford Girl.”
An unusually interesting romance was brought to a climax recently on September 7, 1903 when William Everett Taggart and Florence Helen Montgomery-Merwin were wedded in the Christian church in here in Stockton by Rev. Lawson. Sixteen years ago, in 1888, the couple were lovers and had become engaged. She was just 19 then, the young, pretty and accomplished daughter of C. R. Montgomery, a well to do farmer living near Lockeford. Taggart, in turn, was a handsome and successful 34 year old business man who owned thousands of dollars worth of property.
The wedding day had been fixed and plans were underway when some unnamed person told a cruel lie about young Taggart to his prospective father-in-law, and unfortunately, Mr. Montgomery believed the slanderous story. In a fit of anger, he drove the young man from the house and forbade his daughter to ever see him again. The sorrow of the young couple was great. And while their love for each other remained strong, they despaired of ever standing together at the altar.
Taggart not only left the area, but misfortune pursued him. He suffered reverses, and within a few years lost all of his fortune.
During this same period, Miss Montgomery was woed by a young man named Milton Merwin. She did not love him as she had loved Taggart, but her parents favored this suitor, and their wedding took place at their home in Lockeford on August 12, 1891. Florence was 23 at the time.
Two years after their wedding, on November 12, 1893, the Merwins became the parents of a bright boy whom they named Arthur Leland Merwin. However, over time and as the years passed, Milton became abusive, mistreating Florence and the child. Finally, fearing the worst, she left him, returning home to live with her family. Divorce papers were filed in November of 1900, and the divorce was granted early the next year.
Young Arthur, about five years old, is the small boy in the lower right. Florence sits to the left of Arthur. Chandler is at the top.
Over the ensuing years, Taggart drifted about the world, but did not marry. His heart yearned as much as ever for the only woman he had ever loved but who had been so cruelly torn from him. Finally, in April 1903, he returned to his home town, Stockton, with the idea of opening a jewelry business. He obtained a store-room at 43 South San Joaquin Street, and in due course, opened a neat little store.
It was late August when Mrs. Merwin was passing through this city on her way to San Francisco. Just a few days before, an old friend mentioned that Taggart was back in town and had opened a business. Mrs. Merwin inquired about the location and determined that she would visit him.
It was late morning when she visited the store. She recognized Taggart, who was sitting toward the back, head bend downward, working at a table. But for her, the place was empty. He stood and greeted her. She realized at once that Taggart did not recognize her, and so she began by asking him about some work she wanted done. He approached, responding in a professional tone about how he thought the project could best be accomplished. As she watched him speak, an amused expression crept over her face.
When he finished, she paused, then said, “William, don’t you remember me?”
At that moment he realized who she was. “My God, it’s Florence!” he exclaimed.
The little jewelry store was immediately closed at once for the day as the old lovers became new lovers and retired to discuss old times. Finding that Mrs. Merwin was free and that she still cared for him, Taggart was not long in asking the old but ever new question, and she was equally quick in answering a blissful “Yes.” It was arranged that Mrs. Merwin was to continue on her trip to San Francisco, but upon her return would officially change her name time to Taggart. Fate was kind this time, and the long awaited wedding took place last Monday as stated:
“Mr. and Mrs. Taggart are now living in the rear of his jewelry store, and they seem to be as happy, as thought the sad break up had never occurred in their lives. He is not wealthy, as he once was, but the future is bright before him, and he is a firm believer in the old adage that a bad beginning sometimes makes a good ending.”
Epilogue
Three years after their marriage, a first son, William Everett Jr, was born in 1906, followed by a second son, Everill Montgomery, in 1909. In the 1910 census, the Taggarts are living in the back of his jewelry store, now at 715 East Main Street in Stockton. William Sr is listed as an employer. He is 56 years old, Florence is 40, Arthur is now 16, William Everett Jr is 4 and Everill is 1.
By 1920, William Sr and Florence have purchased a house at 245 W Flora Street in Stockton. William Sr is listed as a 66 year old watch maker who is working at a business he owns. Florence is 49, William Everett Jr is 13 and Everill is 10. No profession is listed for Florence. Both boys attend school.
Arthur, who would have been 26, is now out of the house working on his own as a machinist for the electric company. Previously, he enlisted in the military in 1916, and served among the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe under General Pershing during the first World War. He married in 1918 but divorced in 1919 after his infant son died just after birth. He is shown in the 1920 census as married, although he lives in a boarding house with 19 other men in Los Angeles.
William Taggart Sr died of unknown causes on September 26, 1929. He was 76 years old.
The 1930 census shows that Florence is still living in the house on Flora Street. She is 60 now. All three boys are again with her. William Everett is 24 and is listed as a carpenter, Everill is 21, and Arthur, who is shown as being divorced general mechanic, is 36. The census also indicates he is a veteran of the Great War (WWI). No occupation is shown for Everill (though it is well established he had steady work at a cannery).
The 1940 census, taken in April, has most of the family still on Flora Street. Florence is now 70 years old. William Everett, who would have been 34, is incorrectly shown as 42, while Arthur, who would have been 46, is shown as 39. (If Florence had answered the door when the census taker knocked, her advanced age and associated memory problems may have caused this discrepancy and possibly the reason why Everill was not listed.) Both Florence and Arthur are listed as “Unable to Work”, but both show they have income from other sources. William Everett is listed as unemployed cannery worker.
Everill does not appear in a census that year for some reason, however a voter registration list from the same year lists him as a mechanic living there in the same house on Flora with the others. One year later, at the age of 32, he married a 27 year old woman named Rosamond Durand. Together they would have three children to carry on the Taggart name.
On Oct 18, 1940, just six months after the census taker knocked on her door, Florence passed away. Her obituary read: “TAGGART – In Stockton. Florence Helen Montgomery Taggart, wife of the late William Everett Taggart, mother of Everett and Everill Montgomery Taggart and Arthur L Merwin, all of Stockton; Sister of Winfield S Montgomery, Chandler Montgomery, both of Lockeford, and Carrie M Earl of Los Angeles; a native of Lockeford, Cal; aged 70 years, 9 months, 16 days.”
Florence’s grave in Harmoney Grove Cemetery lies just feet from that of her first son, Arthur Leland, who died from a heart attack just two years later in 1942.
References
- Ancestry.com
- TRemembrance of Pioneers Past by Peggy Ward Engh
- Newspapers.com
Many thanks to to Amy Suzanne Maeder, the great-great-grand daughter of Florence, for her enthusiasm, support, and many contributions to this article.
