Mary Deyell




George Andrew Duncan was born May 17, 1857, in Canada West, and died December 22, 1934, in Millbrook, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada, at age 77. Buried in Gardiner's United Cemetery, Cavan Twp., Peterborough Co., Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Andrew Duncan of Scotland, and Rebecca Edgecombe of Scotland.

Mary "Polly" Deyell was born May 11, 1858, in Millbrook, Canada West, and died due to Diabetes January 5, 1918, in Millbrook, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada, at age 59. Buried in Gardiner's United Cemetery, Cavan Twp., Peterborough Co., Ontario, Canada. She is the daughter of James Deyell of Cavan Twp., Peterborough Co., Upper Canada, and Mary Jane Sloan of Upper Canada.

George Andrew Duncan and Mary "Polly" Deyell were married December 19, 1877, in Millbrook, Cavan Div., Durham Co., Ontario, Canada.

George Andrew Duncan and Mary "Polly" (Deyell) Duncan had two children:

  1. Charles Henry "Harry" Duncan: Born November 11, 1878, in Millbrook, Cavan District, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada; Died June 10, 1967, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH (age 88). Immigrated in 1901 and Naturalized in 1914. Married to Isabella "Isabelle/Nellie" Lawrence: Born about 1885 in New York; Died Unknown. Her parents: Joseph Lawrence of English Canada and Mary Unknown of New York. Daughters of Charles and Isabella: Katherine I. Duncan: Born about 1908 in Connecticut; and Marguerite M. Duncan: Born May 15, 1912, in Ohio; Died March 2, 2005, in a Nursing Home in Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH (age 92). Never married.
  2. Hattie May Duncan: Born July 3, 1880, in Millbrook, Cavan District, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada; Died December 21, 1951, in Canada (age 71). Buried in Gardiner's United Cemetery, Cavan Twp., Peterborough Co., Ontario, Canada.



TIMELINE

Ontario was known as: Upper Canada from June 10, 1791, to February 10, 1841; Canada West from February 10, 1841, to July 1, 1867; and Ontario after July 1, 1867.

George Andrew Duncan was born May 17, 1857, in Canada West.

Mary "Polly" Deyell was born May 11, 1858, in Millbrook, Canada West.

The 1871 Canadian Census shows James Deyell (age 40) born in Ontario is a Head of Household married Carpenter with Canadian Presbyterian religion and is living in Cavan Twp., Durham East, Ontario, Canada. Living with him is Elizabeth Deyell (age 30) born in Ontario, who is married. Also living there are the following, all unmarried and born in Ontario: Ann E. Deyell (age 19); Sarah J. Deyell (age 15); William J. Deyell (age 13); Mary Deyell (age 12); and David Deyell (age 10). A widow, Ann Armstrong, and her family live nearby.

The 1871 Canadian Census shows Ann Armstrong (age 38) born in England and of English Origin is a Head of Household Widow with Church of England religion and is living in Cavan Twp., Durham East, Ontario, Canada. Living with her are the following females, all unmarried and born in Ontario, Canada, with Irish Origin and with Church of England religion: Mary A. Armstrong (age 16); Susan S. Armstrong (age 12); Ida Armstrong (age 10); and Frances C. Armstrong (age 7).

George Andrew Duncan and Mary "Polly" Deyell were married  December 19, 1877, in Millbrook, Cavan Div., Durham Co., Ontario, Canada.

The 1881 Canadian Census shows George Duncan (age 24) born in Ontario and of Scotch Origin with C. Methodist religion is a married Baker and is living in the Village of Millbrook, Durham East, Ontario, Canada. Living with him are the following, all born in Ontario, Canada: a married female, Mary Duncan (age 23) born in Ontario, Canada and of Irish Origin; Henry Duncan (age 3) and of Scotch Origin; and May Duncan (age 1) and of Scotch Origin.

The 1891 Canadian Census shows George A. Duncan (age 33) born in Ontario to Scotland and England-born parents and with Methodist religion is a married Barber and is living in the Village of Millbrook, Durham East, Ontario, Canada. Living with him are the following, all born in Ontario to Ontario-born parents: his wife, Mary Duncan (age 32); his son, Charles Henry Duncan (age 12); and of Scotch Origin; and Hatty May Duncan (age 10).

The 1901 Canadian Census shows George A. Duncan (age 43) born May 17, 1857, in Ontario and of Scotch Origin and with Methodist religion is a married Barber and is living in the Village of Millbrook, Durham East, Ontario, Canada. Living with him are the following, all born in Ontario: his wife, Mary Duncan (age 42) born May 11, 1858, and of Irish Origin; his unmarried son, Charles H. Duncan (age 22) born November 11, 1878, and of Scotch Origin, a Drugs Clerk; and his unmarried daughter, Hettie M. Duncan (age 20) born July 3, 1880, and of Scotch Origin.

The 1911 Canadian Census shows George Duncan (age 54) born May 1857 in Ontario and of Scotch Origin and with Methodist religion is a married Barber and is living in the Village of Millbrook, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada. Living with him are the following, all born in Ontario: his wife, Mary Duncan (age 53) born May 1858 and of Irish Origin; and his unmarried daughter, Hattie May Duncan (age 30) born July 1880 and of Scotch Origin.

Mary "Polly" (Deyell) Duncan died January 5, 1918, in Millbrook, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada, at age 59.

George Andrew Duncan died December 22, 1934, in Millbrook, Durham Co., Ontario, Canada, at age 77.


The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH, March 6, 2005

Marguerite Duncan, founded ballet studio

Author: Richard M. Peery; Plain Dealer Reporter

Marguerite Duncan founded the Cleveland Civic Ballet in 1945 and taught her dancers traditional classical ballet for more than five decades. She retired reluctantly six years ago when the downtown building containing her studio was slated for demolition. Duncan, 93, died Wednesday at Parma Care Center. She was a dancer, a teacher and a choreographer. You almost never see that in one person, said Nancy Arcury, a dance teacher who was associated with Duncan for 50 years. While Duncan was growing up in Lakewood, instructors hailed her as a born dancer. After graduating from St. Augustine High School, she went to New York and trained in the Russian technique, but her career was cut short by illness. She returned to Cleveland and opened the Marguerite Duncan Studio of Dance Arts in the Arcade with the dream of launching a local ballet company. The studio later moved to a nearby building. Her company was called the Cleveland Civic Ballet and later was known as the North Coast Ballet Theatre. The company stayed alive over the decades with presentations at college and civic functions. Duncan choreographed all of the performances. We had practically every major ballet company in the world visit our studio, Arcury said. Many of the performers that Duncan trained moved on to such leading companies as the Ballet Russe and the Royal Ballet. Duncan lived in Cleveland�s West Park neighborhood most of her adult life. Services will be at 5 p.m. today at the Busch Funeral Home, 15800 Detroit Ave. Memorial donations may be made to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, 5001 Angel Canyon, Kanab, Utah 84741-5000.


 

 

 

The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH, March 2005

Marguerite Duncan, who died March 3 at the age of 93, was the toast of the town when she returned to Cleveland in the early 1940s to open a downtown ballet studio. She had studied Russian ballet technique in New York, and she became acquainted with brilliant ballerinas such as Alexandra Danilova and Alicia Alonso. When international touring companies performed at Public Music Hall, the dancers stopped by the Duncan studio to chat or take classes. Debra Popovich Dinse (nicknamed “Poppy” because of her jumping abilities) remembers being patted on the head by Rudolf Nureyev when he and Margot Fonteyn visited the studio. Duncan’s ensemble, Cleveland Civic Ballet, was regarded as the city’s first professional dance company. But in fact, it was a community ballet made up of student and adult dancers who rehearsed at night and on weekends and performed with community orchestras. Duncan choreographed the repertory herself, and she stuck to classical vocabulary. When the dance boom swept the country in the 1960s and ’70s, Duncan did not seek public money, nor did she join state or regional dance associations. Preferring to remain independent, she resisted trends that blended ballet with contemporary techniques, and she denounced the showy style of Cleveland Ballet. Ginger Shane, a Duncan student and Cleveland Ballet costume designer, said the experience of entering the Duncan studio was like stepping back into an earlier era when ballet was a sacred art form and the teacher was a cult figure adored by her students. Duncan’s company, renamed North Coast Ballet Theatre in 1982, quietly faded away, a victim of insufficient funding. But her studio continued until 1999. About 40 Duncan students danced with major companies, and hundreds became ballet teachers. Although members of the arts community might have questioned Duncan’s aesthetic, nearly everyone who visited her studio admired her devotion to her students and her lifelong dedication to dance as she knew it. Salisbury is dance critic of The Plain Dealer.