Who Was W. P. Ellis?
William P. Ellis ήταν ο προπάππους μου. Δυστυχώς, πέθανε όταν ο παππούς μου, Gilbert P. Ellis, was only two years old. Η προγιαγιά μου δεν ήξερε πολλά για την οικογένεια του William. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 ή 2007.
Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. Θα έλεγα 6'4″ σε 6'6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ ίδιος. Χάρη στην ψηφιακή εποχή, 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.
Picture of William Ellis, his wife Caroline and her parents, Frederick and Johanna Johannpeter
I started out knowing William died in St. Louis, Missouri μεταξύ Ιουνίου 22, 1917, και τον Ιούνιο 21, 1918. Ο παππούς μου ήταν η πιο ειλικρινής, 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 percent correct.
The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 να 1955 to its website, όταν άρχισα αυτής της αναζήτησης. The first few times I searched; Δεν μπόρεσα να βρω William P. Ellis. Τελικά, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis Πόλη τόσο στο χρόνο 1917 και 1918 με το τελευταίο όνομα Ellis.
Ευτυχώς, Χτύπησα pay βρωμιά 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” και επώνυμο “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, στο 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 εξακολουθεί να είναι διάσημη για. 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. Είναι η πρόκληση τόσο γενεαλογία και την ιστορία. If you do not tell someone or do not record it, you lose the information.
William moved to St. Κάρολος, Μιζούρι, λίγο πριν 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, στο St. Κάρολος, Μιζούρι. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Φως μπαταρίας A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.
Προγιαγιά μου, Caroline Ellis, lived in St. Charles also. Συναντήθηκαν κάποια στιγμή πριν από την 1912, όταν παντρεύτηκε. Τον Μάιο του 15, 1912, William P. Ellis παντρεύτηκε Caroline Leah “Lee” Johan Πέτρου στο St. Κάρολος. Θα καλωσορίσω τον παππού μου, Gilbert P. Ellis, into the world on Tuesday, Ιούνιος 22, 1915, κατά τον οποίο χρόνο, ζούσαν σε St. Louis Πόλη. They moved to the city to be closer to his work. Clay mines were within a couple of blocks of their flat on Magnolia Avenue.
Είτε ήταν από την εργατική στα ορυχεία πηλού, περιβαλλοντικούς παράγοντες, or some other cause, Lung problems afflicted William for six months until his premature death on December 4, 1917. Ήταν απλά 40 ετών.
His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit της Wm P Ellis, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 Δεκέμβριος 1917 Ellis-Τέθηκε σε ανάπαυση την Τρίτη, Δεκέμβριος. 4, 1917, στο 11:20 είμαι στην κατοικία, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, William P. Ellis, αγαπημένος σύζυγος της Λένας Ellis (γένος Johann Peter), αγαπητέ πατέρα του Gilbert, αγαπητέ γιος μας, αδελφός, και ο γιος-το-δίκαιο σε ηλικία 40 χρόνια, 4 μηνών και 3 ημέρες. Κηδεία Παρασκευή στις 2:30 pm από Chapel Blederwieden-Dunkmann του, 1934 St. Λούη, στο New Bethlehem Cemetery. Μοτέρ.
Για χρόνια, 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. Δυστυχώς, William Ellis is a quite common name in both Virginia and Kentucky. I do not 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, Δεκέμβριος 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database
