COMPLETE: Mary Elizabeth Webb and William Beswick

When Mary Elizabeth (Polly) Webb was born on November 18, 1881, in Stalybridge, Lancashire, England, her father, William Richard, was 22, and her mother, Elizabeth (nee Dutton), was 22. She was baptized at New St. George Church in Stalybridge on February 4, 1882. Polly had five brothers and three sisters.

I have not located a marriage certificate for Polly. When I originally created this post*, the only document I had was an Ontario birth registration for her son, Herbert. The record, created in 1926, indicates that Polly married William Beswick on June 19, 1896, in Oldham, Lancashire, England. The However, Polly would have only been 14 at that time. As well, Polly appears as a witness to her sister Lily's marriage with her maiden name (Mary Elizabeth Webb) in 1899, but the marriage was five months after the supposed birth of Polly's first son in 1898 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. One would usually assume that a record with a fictitious, earlier birth date would suggest that the registrant wanted to be older for a specific reason (like entering the military), but by the time the record was created, Herbert would have been 26 - well of age, so the purpose of the false record is unknown.

Since the original post, Ancestry user NevilleBennett has posted the birth registration for Herbert Beswick on Ancestry. The English record suggests that Herbert was actually born in Oldham, England on December 28, 1900 (two years later than the Canadian record suggests, but on the same day). Given Herbert's military service, one wonders if the later Canadian record was created so that he could enter the army before he was of age. The couple is living at 23 Glodwick Road in Oldham and William's occupation is "dataller" - a person whose job was to see that coal reach the shaft and was sent to the surface.

Birth Registration, Herbert Beswick (image via Ancestry.com)

I still have not located a record indicating where, when (or if) Polly actually married William Beswick. Presumably, now knowing that the couple lived in England until at least 1905, it would have happened there, but there is no record in the registry.

When William Beswick was born in June 1878 in England, his mother, Ann, was 21.

The family has not been located on the 1901 England Census (there is another family living at the address listed on Herbert's birth registration).

A May 19, 1905, crossing of the Allan Line ship Virginian lists William arriving in Quebec, followed by a July 27, 1905 crossing of the Allan Line ship Bavarian with Polly and four-year-old Herbert as passengers. They arrived in Montreal on August 5, 1905. We find another reference in 1905 the U.S., Index to Alien Arrivals at Canadian Atlantic and Pacific Seaports, 1904-1944 which confirms the couple arrived in Canada in 1905.

The family is also not located on the 1911 Canadian census.

Samuel Edwin Beswick was born in 1912 at 23 Cathcart Street in Hamilton, Ontario (the house no longer exists). The attending physician for the birth is listed as Elizabeth Bagshaw (one of Canada's first female doctors).

Ontario Birth Record
(image via Ancestry.com)

On the 1921 Canadian Census, the family appears to be living in London, Ontario, Canada with William's mother, Ann at 400 King Street (the area is now several large apartment buildings).

1921 Canadian Census (image via Ancestry.com)

The next record we find is the American census in 1940 showing William and Polly living with their two grandsons, Harry and William (mistakenly listed as their sons) at 1004 Elm Street, a rented dwelling in Hopewell, Virginia. The record suggests they moved there in 1935.

1940 US Census (image via Ancestry.com)

1004 Elm Street, Hopewell, Virginia (source GoogleMaps)

William died on February 17, 1953, in West Point, Virginia. Although Polly is listed as surviving William, I have been unable to confirm her death date. Another Ancestry user suggests that Polly died almost ten years later on March 26, 1962, in Hopewell Virginia.


*Originally posted March, 2017. Updated January 2019 to reflect new information regarding Herbert Grant's birth.
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