Who Was W. P. Ellis?

William P. Ellis foi o meu bisavô. Desafortunadamente, el faleceu cando meu avó, Gilbert P. Ellis, was only two years old. A miña bisavó non sabía moito sobre a familia de William. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 ou 2007.

Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. Eu diría 6'4″ a 6'6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ se. Grazas á era dixital, 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 entre xuño 22, 1917, e xuño 21, 1918. O meu avó foi o máis sincero, 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 por cento exacto.

The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 para 1955 to it’s website, cando comecei esta investigación. The first few times I searched, Eu non podería atopar William P. Ellis. Finally, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis Cidade, tanto o ano 1917 e 1918 co último nome Ellis.

Afortunadamente, I tiveron éxito en 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” e apelidos “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, 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. Luís aínda é famosa pola. 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. É o reto de ambos xenealoxía e historia. Se non diga a alguén ou non gravalo, a información é perdida.

William moved to St. Charles, Missouri, algún tempo antes 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, en St. Charles, Missouri. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Luz da batería A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.

A miña bisavó, Caroline Ellis, lived in St. Charles also. Eles se coñeceron nalgún momento antes de 1912, cando se casaron. En maio 15, 1912, William P. Ellis casado Caroline Leah “Sotavento” Johan Peter en St. Charles. Eles quere recibir meu avó, Gilbert P. Ellis, into the world on Tuesday, Xuño 22, 1915, momento no que, eles estaban vivindo en St. Louis Cidade. 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.

Se foi a partir do traballo nas minas de arxila, factores ambientais, or some other cause, William was stricken with lung problems for six months prior to his premature death on December 4, 1917. Era só 40 anos.

His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit de WM P Ellis, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 Decembro 1917 Ellis-Entrou en descanso o martes, Decembro. 4, 1917, en 11:20 estou en residencia, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, William P. Ellis, amado marido de Lena Ellis (nee Johann Peter), querido pai de Gilbert, noso querido fillo, irmán, e fillo-de-lei coa idade de 40 anos, 4 meses e 3 días. Funeral venres 2:30 am da Capela de Blederwieden-Dunkmann, 1934 St. Louis Avenue, a Nova Belén Cemiterio. Motor.

Durante anos, 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. Desafortunadamente, 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, Decembro 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database

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