Working back in time, these are the documents I have:

I have a copy of Gran’s Death Certificate, dated 11th June 1963, age 85. It lists her husband as George Martin Fallon. The death was reported by my father, who could never have met Mr Fallon, so it’s no surprise he got the name wrong. Fallon, Evelyn [Death Certificate].jpg

I have no date for Mr Fallon’s Death, but this is the best entry I have: BMD-1934-Q1 [Fallon William][Death].jpg At age 77, this fits mom’s recollection of her father as an old man in his seventies. (To get a copy of a death certificate, you need to provide the actual date. It is easier to get copies of birth and wedding certificates, with just the volume and page reference)

My mother’s Birth Certificate: Fallon, Audrey [Birth Certificate].jpg This confirms her parents’ names: William Martin Fallon and Evelyn Laura Fallon (Taylor)

Working from Uncle Ray’s birth as the first child BMD-1903-Q3 [Fallon, Raymond][birth].jpg , I assumed the wedding would be only a short time before: BMD-1902-Q4 [Taylor][marriage].jpg, but no sign of Fallon in that quarter. BMD-1902-Q4 [Fallon][marriage].jpg (The page has no entries for Taylor which match “Fallum”.) Another typo? When you see the wedding certificate, it’s understandable: Fallon, William & Eveline [Marriage Certificate].jpg. It also shows Martin Fallon as his Father.

From there, I obtained Gran’s Birth Certificate: Taylor, Eveline [Birth Certificate].jpg, which confirms her parent’s names: Benjamin John Taylor and Maria Taylor (Her name is clearer on the wedding certificate as a witness).

I found this entry in the 1881 Census 1881 Census [Taylor][possible].jpg; Gran age about 3. Judging by the place of birth of each child, they moved around quite a bit. Oddly, I haven’t been able to find them in the 1901 census, nor any likely Fallons.

Old Mr Fallon’s origins are proving more elusive. The marriage certificate shows he was a widower, so confirms the family mythology, that there is another Fallon family somewhere. The name Rubin Fallon[1] also scored no hits. If he truly emigrated from Ireland, then he will be almost impossible to trace as all records were destroyed by fire.

Brian Jones – December 2006

Well, it’s looking as though old Mr Fallon wasn’t an Irish Tinker[2] after all, but a Brummy. Born, lived and died in Birmingham’s fair city. I can’t be absolutely certain, but the evidence is pointing that way.

Granny Fallon’s death certificate may be inaccurate, since the details were registered by my father, who could never have met Mr Fallon, but it does give her full name Evelyn Laura (Elizabeth) Fallon, which helped find their marriage in 1902 and also Grandma’s maiden name of Taylor. The death certificate for Mr Fallon in 1934, age 77, confirms his name as William Martin Fallon (note the address 31 Farndon Road). Also of note on the wedding certificate is Mr Fallon’s condition being declared as widower, age 44 and his father Martin Fallon.

That was almost the end of the line, if Mr Fallon had come from Ireland, as all records from this period were destroyed by fire. However, there is the 1901 census.
There is a Mr William Fallon, age 43, with quite a large family, wife Rachel, living in Aston. Further, there is a death of Rachel Fallon in Aston, same address, in early 1902, wife of William Fallon. I can find no other William Fallon in the census in Birmingham, which is no proof it’s the right person, I cannot find Evelyn Taylor at all, but it’s a good fit. I have the census records for both addresses from the marriage certificate and they are not at those addresses the year before.

If this is our Mr Fallon, then he must have been in a hurry to find a wife to take care of his younger children. Widowed and married within 7 months.

Following back the census records, William and Rachel with a younger family appear in 1891 and again in 1881, still in Birmingham. Further back, in 1861, William Fallon, age 4, with parents Martin and Rebecca. This matches the record of the birth of William Martin Fallon, in Birmingham in 1857. We’ve yet to acquire this certificate, but all the dates and ages fit well. There is still hope for the Irish Tinker theory, William’s father, Martin Fallon was born in Castlerea, Ireland, which is in Country Roscommon.

There is still some work to do on the Taylor side, to locate them in 1901. There is a nice snapshot of the Taylor household in 1881 census, with Eveline age 2.

It could all be wrong, but it would be one hell of a coincidence.

Brian Jones – April 2007

I’ve now found William Fallon in the 1871 Census. A few transcription errors and an ambiguous age, but I think it shows William (15) and his father, Martin in lodgings in Birmingham. It would appear Martin’s wife, Rebecca, died a few years earlier. It looks like Martin and Rebecca married in 1854, I will know better, from William’s birth certificate if Silvester is his mother’s maiden name, but again it looks like a good match.

Brian Jones – 2008

I believe I have now located the Taylors in the 1901 Census. Gran and her father appear to be in digs in Birmingham( 1901 England Census - Taylor [possible].jpg ), while her mother was with her eldest (married) daughter Alice in Leicester 1901 England Census - Taylor, Maria [possible].jpg. A number of facts cross check, but none more so than the two photos of Gran and this man. Ashted Row links the census and photos. The photographer, H.W.Cottrell is recorded at 176 Ashted Row only in 1901 – 1902, there is no record after that date. So the photos date before Gran’s marriage to Mr Fallon. Which would suggest the man is Mr Taylor, rather than Mr Fallon. This is a much later photo of Mr Fallon, outside 31 Farndon Road.

Brian Jones – June 2009

The 1911 Census is now available and I have located the Fallons. There is no mistaking this combination of names and ages. Old Mr Fallon made quite a mess of completing the form, but this only helps confirm it is the correct family. He started to enter dates of birth, rather than age. These match the know dates. He also wrote addresses for place of birth, Bracebridge Street matches gran’s birth certificate. In addition, there is a 26 year old son, which the number of children for this marriage (4), confirms he must be from the first marriage. The name Arthur, nicely verifies the Fallon entry for the 1901 Census.

Brian Jones – January 2017

Corrected image links and added footnotes to clarify a couple of points.

The photo claimed to be of Gran(22) has always bothered me. Around this time 1901/2, I’m sure it would have been considered improper for a single woman to dress this way and then to have kept such an image for so long. In my opinion, this is more likely to be a photo of her younger brother Leopold(16), who was with her in Ashted Row. Keeping a photo of her little brother, makes more sence. It was also not unusual for young boys to have long blond hair or dress up for photographs. The other photo also appears to have W H Cottrell embossed at the bottom, although cropped, seems to match the tops of the lettering on the first photo.
I understand that 114/115 Asted Row was the Clock Tavern. You can see from the census record, that the resident at 115 is a "Beer Retailer".

I've been contacted by a second cousin, Deborah Wall, on Ancestry, as a result of our DNA connection through the Taylor line. Having shared the photo, her response was "he really does look like a Taylor"!

Uncle Raymond Fallon's Death Certificate confirms his date of birth as 24th June 1903, 6 months after his parents wedding on 28th December 1902.

Brian Jones – August 2023

Brian Jones – July 2024 Added thumbnail popups for image links, image filenames rationalised.

Brian Jones - January 2025 Minor corrections and presentation changes.

 

[1] It is David Baxter’s recollection, that after the death of William Fallon, a person named Rubin called at Farndon Road, claiming to be related to Mr Fallon. He was given a quick send off. This would have come from his mother Ethel.

[2] It is Fallon family tradition that William Fallon was an Irish Gypsy. Mentioned by both my mother and repeated by David.

Last changed: 01st March 2026