W.D. LeRoy

W.D. LeRoy
Born	William Davis Le Roy August 05, 1862 LaSalle, Illinois
Died	June 10, 1919 (age 56) Boston, Mass.
Resting place	Oak Grove Cemetery, Gloucester, Massachusetts

W. D. Le Roy (b.1862-d.1919) was a Boston area illusionist and manufacturer. In 1906 he altered the spelling of his name from Le Roy to Leroy, the reason for doing this is not known.

Biography

At the age nine, Le Roy moved to Chicago. Studying music at sixteen, he visited Virginia City, Nevada, playing the violin. By nineteen, he was in San Francisco teaching and playing violin. He also started studying and practicing magic, making his first appearance at the Fountain theatre.

In 1887, he visited Boston and ended up staying there. He started to manufacture magic props. By 1893, he opened his own shop and "School of Magic" at 103 Court Street, Boston, which remained his business address until his death. It was one of the largest stores devoted to the sale of magical apparatus at the time.

As a correspondent for Mahatma, he wrote the "Boston Items" and "Boston Notes" columns. Later was also the Boston Correspondent for The Wizard magazine.

Le Roy was very active in magic organizations. In 1895 he organized The Magic Mystics Fraternity, although it never grew past the founding members. He also organized and became the first President of The Conjurers' Club in Boston. When the Society of American Magicians was founded in 1902, Le Roy became member number 33. The MUM stated that in the first fifteen years of the SAM, he was responsible for recruiting one of every six memberships.

Le Roy stated in the December, 1902 issue of Mahatma that his recent acquisition of a conjuring library, gave him what was likely to be the largest in Boston. Le Roy was also an avid stamp collector.

The spelling of his surname was altered to "Leroy" within Mahatma in 1906, though no reason was given.

Le Roy died at his home at 10 Hancock Street, Boston, after a long illness. He was buried at Oak Grove Cemetary, Glouster, Massachusetts.

References

• Cover, Mahatma, Vol. 1, No. 5, July 1895, Mr. W. D. LeRoy, page 1
• Conjurers' Monthly Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 9, May 1907, Dealers in Magic – Past and Present, 12. W. D. Leroy, page 293
• Cover, The Sphinx, Vol. 7, No. 12, February 1909, Biographical, W. D. LEROY, page 155
• M-U-M, Vol. 9, No. 75, June 1919, William Davis Leroy, by John W. Sargent, page 2
• The Sphinx, Vol. 18, No. 5, July 1919, With the passing of W. D. LeRoy…, Letter by James William Elliott, page 117
• The Perennial Mystics, Vol. 1, ca. 1983, A Gallery of Early Dealers, by James Hagy – W. D. Le Roy, page 24