William Edward Robey was the son of Daniel Robey and Hannah Ennison. He grew up in Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan where his father worked as a carpenter. William followed his friend Albert J. Coonley and wife Evelyn up to Saginaw, Michigan around 1890. William appeared in the city directory working for the Charles S. Grant & Company as a shoe salesman. During 1894-95, he worked as a clerk for the SAGINAW COURIER-HERALD newspaper. In 1896, his friend Albert J. Coonley committed suicide in front of his wife Evelyn at their Detroit home. After his death, Evelyn took their daughter Thelma and moved back to Saginaw. On the evening of May 24, 1896, William E. Robey and Evelyn (Stehle) Coonley were married at her Saginaw home. The Rev. William Knight from the First Congregational Church performed the ceremony while Evelyn's brother Al Stehle of Linden (who was present when Albert J. Coonley killed himself) and Stella Bruce of Saginaw served as witnesses. Over the next several years, William attended classes at the International Business College in Saginaw and worked for numerous shoe stores in Saginaw. For a brief time, he owned the Robey Shoe House on South Washington Avenue in downtown Saginaw. Thelma Coonley, Evelyn's daughter from Albert J. Coonley, had her name legally changed to Thelma Robey. On July 18, 1897, Evelyn gave birth to a son named Ralph Jones Robey, named after a family friend from Alpena, Michigan. William was doing so well in his various shoe retail ventures that he could afford to take the family on vacations. On one occasion they stayed at a vacation home on Lake Michigan near Chicago. On another trip, they went to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York. The Robey family stayed in Saginaw until 1906. They then moved to Rochester, New York where William was offered a job, it is assumed, in the shoe business. Their stay in Rochester was brief, as they moved to Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1908. This stay was equally brief. The family moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1909. Once again, William worked at a number of shoe stores while the family moved frequently within the city. In 1916, the family left Richmond and moved to Boston, Massachusetts. William worked at different shoe stores in the city as well as the Jordan Marsh department store. In 1925, the Robeys left Boston for the Bay area of California. Here they bought a home in Berkeley while William started his own real estate business. In 1944, Evelyn (Stehle) Robey died at an Oakland hospital from a cerebral hemorrhage. She was cremated and her remains were placed in Oakland's Chapel of the Chimes Columbarium and Mausoleum. William remarried. His second wife was named Emma, but nothing more is known about her. William E. Robey suffered from dementia towards the end of his life. He died at his Berkeley home on April 25, 1951, from a cerebral thrombosis. His remains were cremated and placed next to Evelyn at the Chapel of the Chimes.
Biography compiled by Jeff Stehle. Please credit appropriately.