Maria Dyer Taylor (1837-1870): Daughter of one of
the first missionaries to China, she was orphaned at the age of 10. She was a
missionary to China when she married Hudson Taylor, January 20, 1858. They had
seven children: Grace, Herbert Hudson, Frederick Howard (who would later
co-author Hudson's biography), Samuel, Maria, Charles Edward, and Noel. Being
fluent in the Ningpo dialect, she helped Hudson with translation work. They had
been married for 12 1/2 years when at 33 yrs. of age, Maria died of cholera in
1870. She was a "tower of strength" and a comfort to her husband. In her own
words, she was "more intimately acquainted than anyone else can be with his
trials, his temptations, his conflicts, his failures and failings, and his
conquests."
Jennie
Faulding Taylor (1843-1904): Another CIM missionary, she became the second
wife of Hudson Taylor in 1871. They had two children (a son, Ernest, born in
1875 and a daughter, Amy, born in 1876), plus the four from his previous
marriage and an adopted daughter. Jennie cared for her husband through injury
and illness, edited the periodical China's Millions for the China Inland
Mission, had a special ministry among the women. In her later years she traveled
with Hudson Taylor, speaking, writing, and organizing the work of the Mission.
She died in 1904, preceding Hudson Taylor who died in 1905.Jennie
in 1866