| Notes |
- The 1900 marriage record of Robert McKay and Blanche Ellen Passmore shows two witnesses: Charles G. Hall and Sadie Rankin. The minister listed was R.A. McKay.
The McKays lived first at 650 Church St. until 1911, then moved to 263 Russell Hill Road. The McKay couple have not been found in the 1911 census (there was someone else living at 650 Church St., and 263 Russell Hill Road was not enumerated).
Robert and Blanche were listed in the 1921 census in sub-district 37, Ward 4 of Toronto North (page 22). The address was 263 Russell Hill Road. The clearly listed age of both Robert and Blanche was 42 (thus they both claimed to be born around 1879!). Their household included a domestic servant, Maria Crawford, 28, born in Newfoundland. Both Robert and Blanche claimed to have Scottish racial origins.
Robert McKay's death record has been found. He died in Nov. 6, 1921 in Toronto. His birth, in Toronto, is listed as Aug. 23, 1868, and his occupation is listed as Kings Counsellor. The informant was his brother.
His Globe and Mail obituary is as follows: "On Sunday morning, Nov. 6, Robert McKay, KC, beloved husband of Blanche Passmore, son of the late Robert McKay. Funeral Tuesday at his residence, 263 Russell Hill Road." During 1921, there were many articles in the Toronto Star which described Robert's activities as the lead counsel in the "hydro-radial enquiry" and also the "grocers' combine case". He was evidently heavily engaged in these cases at the time of his death. There was a lengthy article about him and his courtroom activities in the "Spotlight" column in the Toronto Star on April 29, 1921. He was said to be "of mixed Scotch and Irish blood", a Liberal party supporter, and he was said to have been further described in "Canadian Men and Women of the Time" in 1911. His obituary in the November 7 Globe and Mail stated that among his lifelong hobbies was "electrical engineering".."Hours of his scant leaisure he was wont to devote to a close technical study of the problems of applied electricity." This was of great benefit to his handling of two legal cases at the time of his death: the Hydro Radials investigation and the Toronto Street Railway case.
Robert McKay's will [Archives of Ontario MS 584 reel 37, #44025] mentions no children, so presumably, he and Blanche had no offspring. The will was drafted in December of 1920, and probated 5 Nov., 1921. The executors were Blanche and Robert's brother Frank Maughn McKay. He died a relatively wealthy man, with a total estate value of $332,000, including the house at 263 Russell Hill Road (worth $16,000), and a 3/4 interest in property at 226-228 Yonge St. (worth $185,000 - including a $35,000 mortgage) that he had inherited from his father. He left an annuity to his wife (paid from income accruing from the Yonge St. property), as well as the Russell Road house. The details of the will were published in the Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 1921. An annexed paper to the will, dated 23 March 1944, relieved Blanche (now named Blanche Ellen Brodigan) from her executrix obligations, giving sole executor status to National Trust Company. It was in 1944 that Blanche Ellen Brodigan was legally declared to be "a person incapable of managing her affairs."
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1868 - 1921 (53 years)