Great great grandfather James

It's dull, grey, drizzly with a cold wind - the perfect excuse to indulge in some family history. My uncle recently sent me a thrilling parcel of all sorts of interesting bits and pieces including a diary belonging to my great great grandfather James Taylor. He was an interesting character, born in 1832 in Bacup, Lancashire and he started his diary in 1852. He records everything that affects his life from employment, to marriage, to his Christian beliefs  to world events. He originally started work in a cotton mill as a weaver but moved on to account keeping and eventually had his own draper's shop. He was a member of the Ebenezer Baptists and his faith was very important to him - it had to be for he married his first wife Ann, pictured here, and she died in childbirth. He obviously adored her and was heartbroken on her death. Sadly their little daughter also died a few weeks after her mother. He married again, to the rather formidable Lavinia Crabtree, and their first child died after being vaccinated at only 15 weeks old. They carried on to raise another seven children though.  Other interesting snippets include his visit to London where he was much taken with the exhibition at Crystal Palace. He also records world events such as the Crimean War, the American Civil War which had such a huge impact on the cotton mills as no cotton was being exported; and the death of Prince Albert.
The blip shows his diary open at the entry for the death of his wife; the photo is of the two of them. The letter is one he wrote to her rather formally addressing her as Mrs Taylor and signing off Your affectionate husband, James Taylor. Fortunately his writing is good. A treasure trove.