In 1855 William Tom at age 17, tried to emigrate to Canada on the ship John with his sister Mary Philp Tom. The ship was wrecked on the Manacles Rocks, off St. Keverne, on the coast of Cornwall, and Mary was drowned. William survived to return to England where he married his first cousin Charlotte Tom on 14 April 1859. Their eldest child was named Mary Philp Tom, possibly in memory of the drowned sister.

In 1871 William made a successful emigration to Canada where, in 1881, he married Sarah with whom he had 4 children. Charlotte stayed in England with her children and is shown in the censuses until her death in 1903.

In Canada, William lived in Welland Ontario and was a stonemason working on the Welland Canal that bypasses Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. He later farmed. One son was Wilbert Tom.

The English Census of 1871 shows:

Pendrift
Charlotte Tom,Lodger,M,,44,Annuitant,Blisland Cornwall
Mary Philp Tom,Dau,S,,11,Scholar,Blisland Cornwall
Dorothy Ann Nicolls Tom,Dau,S,,9,Scholar,Blisland Cornwall
Joanna Elizabeth Tom,Dau,S,,2,,St Kew Cornwall
Thomas Harrold Tom,Son,S,7,,Scholar,St Kew Cornwall