Who Was W. P. Ellis?

William P. Ellis var min oldefar. Desværre, Han døde, da min bedstefar, Gilbert P. Ellis, was only two years old. Min oldemor vidste ikke meget om William familie. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 eller 2007.

Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. Jeg vil sige 6'4″ til 6'6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ selv. Takket være den digitale tidsalder, I know more about my great grandfather than his own son did, but the journey was complex and illustrates the joys and challenges of the genealogical journey.

I started out knowing William died in St. Louis, Missouri mellem juni 22, 1917, og juni 21, 1918. Min bedstefar var den mest sandfærdige, direct person I have ever known. I knew his information was as correct as his memory allowed. I limited my search to this period even with memory not being 100 procent korrekte.

The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 til 1955 to it’s website, da jeg begyndte denne søgning. The first few times I searched, Jeg kunne ikke finde William P. Ellis. Endelig, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis By i både år 1917 og 1918 med efternavnet Ellis.

Heldigvis, Jeg ramte betale snavs i 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” og efternavn “Ellis”, so I could have search William Ellis throughout the state until the cows came home and never found him. Finding William’s death certificate was like hitting the lottery.

William was born August 1, 1877, til William H. Ellis and an unknown mother in the state of Kentucky. He lived at 5311A Magnolia Avenue, where died of lung disease on December 4, 1917. The death certificate listed his occupation as a clay miner. St. Louis was home to a large amount of clay mines along S. Kingshighway Boulevard and the “Dogtown” neighborhood at the turn of the century.

These mines turned out the bricks that St. Louis er stadig berømt for. William’s death certificate proved that my great grandmother only had limited knowledge of William’s background because she did not know his mother’s name or where she was from. Det er udfordringen for både slægtsforskning og historie. Hvis du ikke fortælle nogen eller ikke optage det, de oplysninger går tabt.

William moved to St. Charles, Missouri, engang før 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, på St. Charles, Missouri. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Light Battery A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.

Min oldemor, Caroline Ellis, lived in St. Charles also. De mødtes engang før 1912, da de blev gift. Den maj 15, 1912, William P. Ellis gift Caroline Leah “Lee” Johan Peter i St. Charles. De ville byde min bedstefar, Gilbert P. Ellis, into the world on Tuesday, Juni 22, 1915, på hvilket tidspunkt, de levede i St. Louis By. They moved to the city to be closer to his work. Clay mines were located within a couple of blocks of their flat on Magnolia Avenue.

Om det var fra arbejderklassen i leret miner, miljøfaktorer, or some other cause, William was stricken with lung problems for six months prior to his premature death on December 4, 1917. Han var bare 40 år.

His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit af Wm P Ellis, St. Louis Indlæg Dispatch, 05 December 1917 Ellis-Indgået hvile på tirsdag, December. 4, 1917, ved 11:20 am på bopæl, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, William P. Ellis, elskede mand af Lena Ellis (nee Johann Peter), kære far Gilbert, vor kære søn, bror, og søn-in-law i en alder af 40 år, 4 måneder 3 dage. Funeral fredag ​​på 2:30 pm fra Blederwieden-Dunkmann Kapel, 1934 St. Louis Avenue, til New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motor.

I årevis, I thought that William’s lineage traced back through Susan Mustain through to the Plantagenet Kings of Cowardly King John and King Edward III. I recently discovered that I may have traced our lineage through the wrong William H. Ellis. Desværre, William Ellis is a quite common name in both Virginia and Kentucky. I don’t know if or when I will be able to verify this side of the family back past William P. Ellis and his father, William H. Ellis.

Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database

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