Rosile Dolley was born in 1837 and married Alvin J. Poland (1834–1914) as his second wife, Alvin having previously been married to Martha W. Pennell (1832–1864). By 1880 the couple were living in Biddeford, but by 1889 they had relocated to the West Scarborough area, near the Broad Turn School district (District No. 10). Town records reflect the family’s difficult circumstances in these final years — the 1889 Scarborough Town Report records Mrs. A. J. Poland receiving $2 in support, and Alvin receiving $14 for labor on the town farm buildings, while the 1890 Town Report notes Alvin receiving $10 worth of supplies as a recipient off the Poor Farm. Alvin filed for a Civil War pension on July 20, 1889, suggesting he was a veteran. Rosile passed away in 1890, after which Alvin is recorded as a widower living in Saco in the 1900 census. He lived until 1914. This cabinet card portrait, inscribed on the reverse “A. J. Poland, West Scarboro,” is believed to depict Rosile Dolley Poland, with the photo’s style and clothing suggesting a date of approximately 1887–1890, consistent with her final years in Scarborough.
