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William Harrison POLLEY

William Harrison POLLEY[1]

Male 1880 - 1923  (42 years)

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  • Photos
    William Harrison Polley Jr.jpg    		William Harrison Polley Jr.jpg

  • Name William Harrison POLLEY  [2, 3, 4, 5, 6] 
    Alt. Birth Feb 1880  Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    • The 1880 census which was enumerated on 9 June for this household states his age as 4/12 (4 months old) and also states "Feb" as the month of birth which would be consistent with being 4 months old in June.

      There is a high likely hood that this was his actual date of birth and that the August date was told to him as part of the cover up surrounding his birth.
    1880 US Census Mary McGuire & William Jr.jpg    		 1880 US Census Mary McGuire & William Jr.jpg
    Residence 9 Jun 1880  Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    William MARSDEN's Boarding House 50 Allen Street 
    • With his mother, under the name of Willie McGuire 4 months old (states Feb as his month of birth) Mother is also using the name McGuire.
    1880 US Census Mary McGuire & William Jr.jpg    		 1880 US Census Mary McGuire & William Jr.jpg
    Birth 6 Aug 1880  Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 5, 6, 7, 8] 
    • See alternate birth as more likely DOB.

      The family story goes that he was born in Rochester New York when his parents were on a boat trip from Trenton to Quebec City. Born on the return trip to Trenton. However this seems to be a story created to cover up the fact that he was born before his parents were married. He is in the 1880 US census as "Willie McGuire" with his Mom living in a boarding house in Rochester. It is likely she was sent over there to give birth as it wasn't uncommon for unmarried girls to be sent away to have their children in those days. It is unclear when or where his parents did end up marrying but they are listed as married in the 1891 census.
    Gender Male 
    _UID 89D4B168A6104471A68A89E307F146450066 
    Immigration Between 1881 and 1884  [5, 6, 9] 
    USA to Canada 
    • 1882 in 1901 census, 1881 in 1911 census, 1884 in 1921 census

      By the time of the 1881 Rochester City Directory his mother is no longer listed, so they may have come back to Canada by that point. It's unlikely they would stay long after he was born.
    Residence 1891  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4] 
    1891 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg    		 1891 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg
    Residence Abt 1891  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    Murphy Street, Sides On Ford, And Backs Onto Division, Trenton, Ontario, Canada 
    Ottawa-53.jpg    		 Ottawa-53.jpg
    Occupation 1901  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    Student 
    1901 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg    		 1901 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg
    Religion 1901  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 6] 
    Church of England / Anglican 
    1901 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg    		 1901 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg
    Residence 1901  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    1901 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg    		 1901 Census William H POLLEY Mary nee McGUIRE and Family.jpg
    Occupation Abt 1903  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    Wharf agent in Trenton for the government 
    Occupation Abt 1905  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [10] 
    Clerk at the Union office in the King Edward Hotel 
    • Began his career
    Occupation 24 May 1906  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [8] 
    Clerk 
    William Harrison POLLEY and Frances May Gertrude NASH Marriage Certificate.jpg    		 William Harrison POLLEY and Frances May Gertrude NASH Marriage Certificate.jpg
    Residence 24 May 1906  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [8] 
    William Harrison POLLEY and Frances May Gertrude NASH Marriage Certificate.jpg    		 William Harrison POLLEY and Frances May Gertrude NASH Marriage Certificate.jpg
    Residence 1909  Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Birth of Son William
    Residence Jun 1911  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [6] 
    60 Fermanagh Ave 
    60 Fermanagh Ave Toronto.jpg    		 60 Fermanagh Ave Toronto.jpg
    1911 Census William H POLLEY Frances MG nee NASH and Family.jpg    		 1911 Census William H POLLEY Frances MG nee NASH and Family.jpg
    Occupation 13 Aug 1911  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [11] 
    Railway Agent 
    Residence 13 Aug 1911  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [11] 
    60 Fermanagh Ave 
    Occupation Bef 1913  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Canadian Pacific Railway at the CPR building at King and Yonge Sts. In Toronto as City Ticket Agent 
    • Letter from 1913 shows he was an Agent at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto
    Occupation May 1913  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [10] 
    Travelling passenger agent for Canadian Pacific Railway 
    Occupation 1 May 1913  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    Travelling Passenger Agent Canadian Pacific Railway Company 
    Occupation Oct 1913  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [10] 
    Assistant city passenger agent for Canadian Pacific Railway 
    Residence 1921  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [9] 
    60 Fermanagh Ave 
    1921 Canadian Census William H Polley Jr and Family.jpg    		 1921 Canadian Census William H Polley Jr and Family.jpg
    Occupation Dec 1918-Oct 1922  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [10] 
    City ticket agent for Canadian Pacific Railway 
    Occupation Abt 1922  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 6] 
    Train Pass Agent Intercolonial Rail Road in Toronto (Employeed for "Life" according to death certificate), Ticket Agent(1911) 
    • Have his ID for 1922 so we know that's what he did then
    Death 1 Jun 1923  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Cause: Lymphosarcoma 
    • Family Home 60 Fermanagh Ave, Cause of death was Lymphosarcoma, Informant was his sister in law Nash (First name unreadable) 42 Years old on death certificate
    William Harrison POLLEY JR Death Certificate.jpg    		 William Harrison POLLEY JR Death Certificate.jpg
    Burial 3 Jun 1923  St George's Anglican Church, Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3] 
    • Undertaker: R.J. Craig

      The Polley's are buried in Section F-183 2-1 to F-183- 3-4 A total of 8 grave sites.
    Polley Family Tombstone.jpg    		 Polley Family Tombstone.jpg
    Person ID I7583  Ryeland Family Tree
    Last Modified 10 Dec 2021 

    Father William Harrison POLLEY,   b. 4 Mar 1844, Paris, Brant County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 16 Nov 1931, Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 87 years) 
    Mother Mary MCGUIRE,   b. 7 Feb 1859, Murray Township, Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 17 Jun 1935, Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 76 years) 
    Marriage 5 Jan 1883  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [12] 
    • William and Mary do not seem to be married in Ontario, as of April 2008 I can't find any record of that marriage, they may have married in Rochester.

      The census records from 1880(US) and 1881(CAN) show them as single and show their son William Jr as using the surname McGUIRE in 1880.

      So if they got married it is more than likely in late 1881 or later, William Jr's immagration to Canada took place at either 1881(1911 census) or 1882(1901 census) so they may have been married before he and Mary came back to Canada.
    William Harrison Polley and Mary McGuire Marriage Record.jpg    		 William Harrison Polley and Mary McGuire Marriage Record.jpg
    Family ID F2444  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Frances May Gertrude NASH,   b. 19 Apr 1876, Dulwich, , Surrey, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 3 Oct 1965, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 89 years) 
    Marriage 24 May 1906  Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [8, 13] 
    • Date & location recorded on William Francis Harrison Polley's birth certificate (1907 on this certificate but 1906 on marriage certificate)

      Recorded at May 24 1907 on Alice's birth certificate as well
    William Harrison POLLEY and Frances May Gertrude NASH Marriage Certificate.jpg    		 William Harrison POLLEY and Frances May Gertrude NASH Marriage Certificate.jpg
    Children 
     1. Frances POLLEY,   b. 23 Jul 1907, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 23 Jul 1907, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 0 years)
    +2. William Francis Harrison POLLEY,   b. 10 Jan 1909, Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1990 (Age 80 years)
    +3. Alice May Polley POLLEY,   b. 13 Aug 1911, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
    +4. Gordon Bradbury POLLEY,   b. 20 Apr 1915, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Jul 2006, Mississauga, Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 91 years)
    +5. Robert Knowlton POLLEY,   b. 2 Apr 1918   d. 22 Oct 1988, Oakville, Halton Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years)
    Last Modified 27 Nov 2014 
    Family ID F717  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsAlt. Birth - Feb 1880 - Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - William MARSDEN's Boarding House 50 Allen Street - 9 Jun 1880 - Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 6 Aug 1880 - Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1891 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Murphy Street, Sides On Ford, And Backs Onto Division, Trenton, Ontario, Canada - Abt 1891 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Student - 1901 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsReligion - Church of England / Anglican - 1901 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1901 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Wharf agent in Trenton for the government - Abt 1903 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Clerk at the Union office in the King Edward Hotel - Abt 1905 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Clerk - 24 May 1906 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 24 May 1906 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 24 May 1906 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1909 - Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 60 Fermanagh Ave - Jun 1911 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Railway Agent - 13 Aug 1911 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 60 Fermanagh Ave - 13 Aug 1911 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Canadian Pacific Railway at the CPR building at King and Yonge Sts. In Toronto as City Ticket Agent - Bef 1913 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Travelling passenger agent for Canadian Pacific Railway - May 1913 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Travelling Passenger Agent Canadian Pacific Railway Company - 1 May 1913 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Assistant city passenger agent for Canadian Pacific Railway - Oct 1913 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 60 Fermanagh Ave - 1921 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - City ticket agent for Canadian Pacific Railway - Dec 1918-Oct 1922 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Train Pass Agent Intercolonial Rail Road in Toronto (Employeed for "Life" according to death certificate), Ticket Agent(1911) - Abt 1922 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - Cause: Lymphosarcoma - 1 Jun 1923 - Toronto, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - 3 Jun 1923 - St George's Anglican Church, Trenton, , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • Year of naturalization 1900

      MANY TRIBUTES TO LATE W.H. POLLEY
      Obsequies Largely Attended Service at St. George's Church on Sunday

      The remains of the late William Polley, Jr., reached Trenton on Saturday and were removed to the family residence on Murphy Street, from whence the cortege moved on Sunday afternoon to St. George's Church for service.

      The church where the deceased attended as a boy and young man was filled with his many friends, who gathered to pay the last tribute to his memory. Many friends, fellow workers of the C.P.R., and brother Masons of both Toronto and Montreal joined with his numerous Trenton friends in attending the obsequies.

      The Church of England service was conducted by the Vicar, Rev. A. L. McTear. Rev. Canon Armstrong, Rector of St. George's Church for so many years and an intimate friend of the deceased and family, read the lesson. The choir rendered appropriate music and Mr. G. H. Cobley sang "One Sweetly Solemn Thought."

      The pall-bearers were his intimate friends of Toronto. The honorary W. A. Bleecker, R. G. Weddell, W. H. Ireland, H. F. Whittier and W. House.

      The floral tributes were numerous and beautiful and covered his grave in St. George's cemetery.

      W. H. Polley, aged 43, former city ticket agent of the Canadian Pacific Railway, died early yesterday after a serious illness extending over a period of eight months, at his home at 60 Fermanagh Avenue. The funeral will be held from the home of his parents in Trenton, on Sunday. St. Alban's Lodge, 514, A. F. and A. M., of which he was a member, will have charge of the service. The body will be shipped to Trenton to-day. A Masonic service will be held in his home in Toronto at noon to-day. Mr. Polley began his railroad career as a clerk at the Union office in the Kind Edward Hotel, succeeding Christopher Bunting later as agent. In May 1913, he was appointed traveling passenger agent for the Canadian Pacific and in October, 1913, assistant city passenger agent. In December, 1918 he was appointed city ticket agent but was forced to leave his position in October on account of an illness which became aggravated, later causing his death. He is survived by his widow and four children, William, Alice, Gordon and Robert; a sister, Mrs. A. Maguire, and his parents in Trenton, where his father is employed in the customs office. Mr. Polley was a member of the Western Golf Club and was deservedly popular among a very wide circle of acquaintances.

      Witness at wedding:

      007383-99 Harry Niles JARMAN, 24, L'Amable, Trenton, Mail Clerk, s/o John C. JARMAN & Elvira NILES married Sarah Elizabeth SPURR, 23, L'Amable, same, d/o Benj SPURR & Mary HILL. Wtn: W.H. POLLEY Jr. of Trenton and Hessie JARMAN of Bancroft on February 8, 1899 at Bancroft

      Had spent 5 months in school at the time of the 1901 census

      Death certificate incorrectly states place of birth as Canada.

      Worked 52 weeks of 1910 at 50 or 60 hours per week earning $1100 that year

      In 1911 he had $2000 worth of life insurance which cost him $65 that year [6]
    • (Medical):Lymphosarcoma for 4 years before death.

  • Sources 
    1. [S783] 1880 United States Federal Census.

    2. [S657] Gordon Bradbury Polley.

    3. [S931] William Harrison Polley Jr Death Certificate, (Location: LDS Family History Center Kitchener, Ontario).

    4. [S246] 1891 Canadian Census.

    5. [S422] 1901 Canadian Census, (Location: http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/NationalSummary.jsp).

    6. [S561] 1911 Canadian Census, (Location: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/1911/index-e.html).

    7. [S932] Polley Family Tombstone, Trenton, Ontario, Canada.

    8. [S23] Ancestry.ca Ontario Marriage Records.

    9. [S652] 1921 Canadian Census.

    10. [S933] William Harrison Polley Jr Obit.

    11. [S598] Ontario Birth Registrations, (URL: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~births/index.htm).

    12. [S1227] William Harrison Polley and Mary McGuire Marriage Record.

    13. [S106] Ancestry.ca Ontario Birth Records.


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