by W. Wallace Austin, Jr.

Tales of Taunton is a short collection of papers prepared by W. Wallace Austin, Jr. while he was secretary of the Old Colony Historical Society. It was published in May 1989 by his children: Mabel Duntley, Elinor Lane, and Roswell W. Austin. The cover shown at left was designed by his granddaughter Nancy Austin.
     
"Wally" Austin (1882-1964) was a descendant of Jonah Austen of Taunton, MA. While Jonah is mentioned briefly a few times, the book is more to be valued for the insight it provides into the area and conditions in which Jonah Austen and his Taunton descendants lived, rather than as a source of genealogical information.
    
The papers cover a variety of subjects relating to early Taunton, providing insights into its formation and its transformation from an early colonial settlement into a city in the Twentieth Century. Wally Austin wrote about the early business and industry, about the people who were the leaders of the town, and described how our ancestors lived and travelled.

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