Who Was W. P. Ellis?
William P. Ellis era il mio bisnonno. Sfortunatamente, morì quando mio nonno, Gilbert P. Ellis, was only two years old. La mia bisnonna non sapeva molto sulla famiglia di William. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 o 2007.
Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. Direi 6'4″ a 6'6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ se stesso. Grazie al nell'era digitale, 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 tra giugno 22, 1917, e giugno 21, 1918. Mio nonno era il più veritiero, 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 cento accurate.
The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 a 1955 to it’s website, quando ho cominciato questa ricerca. The first few times I searched, Non riuscivo a trovare William P. Ellis. Infine, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis città sia dell'anno 1917 e 1918 con il cognome Ellis.
Per fortuna, Mi ha colpito la sporcizia di paga in 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” e cognome “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. Louis è ancora famosa per. 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. E 'la sfida sia di genealogia e la storia. Se non dici a qualcuno o non si registra l', l'informazione viene persa.
William moved to St. Charles, Missouri, qualche tempo prima 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, a St. Charles, Missouri. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Batteria Light A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.
Mia bisnonna, Caroline Ellis, lived in St. Charles also. Si sono incontrati qualche volta prima 1912, quando si sono sposati. In maggio 15, 1912, William P. Ellis ha sposato Caroline Leah “Sottovento” Johan Peter St. Charles. Avrebbero benvenuto mio nonno, Gilbert P. Ellis, into the world on Tuesday, Giugno 22, 1915, Con tale tempo, vivevano in St. Louis Città. 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 era dal lavoro nelle miniere di argilla, fattori ambientali, or some other cause, William was stricken with lung problems for six months prior to his premature death on December 4, 1917. Era solo 40 anni.
His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit di Wm P Ellis, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 Dicembre 1917 Ellis-Entrato in riposo il Martedì, Dicembre. 4, 1917, a 11:20 am presso la residenza, 5811 Magnolia Viale, William P. Ellis, amato marito di Lena Ellis (nee Johann Peter), caro padre di Gilbert, nostro figlio caro, fratello, e il figlio-in-law, all'età di 40 anni, 4 mesi e 3 giorni. Funeral Venerdì alle 2:30 pm dalla Cappella di Blederwieden-Dunkmann, 1934 St. Luigi Viale, New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motore.
Per anni, 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. Sfortunatamente, 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, Dicembre 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database
