Wilfred Hornby was born on June 10, 1889 in New Bedford, Massachusetts to Richard Hornby and Sarah Gregson, two English immigrants. He had four brothers and two sisters, and worked as a laborer.
Mr. Hornby was incarcerated in the Massachusetts State Prison on November 24, 1913. He died there at 5:45 P.M. on September 25, 1914, from pneumonia and purulent pleurisy, at age 25.