Wは誰だったのか. P. エリス?

ウィリアム·P. エリスは私の曽祖父だった. 残念ながら, 彼は私の祖父が亡くなった, ギルバートP. エリス, まだ2歳だった. 私の偉大な祖母はウィリアムの家族についてはあまり知りませんでした. おじいさんが彼について持っていた実際の情報はまばらでした, つまり、ウィリアムは家族の歴史の中で真の謎の男だったのです。 2006 または 2007.

Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. I would say 6’4″ to 6’6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ himself. Thanks to the digital age, 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. ルイ, Missouri between June 22, 1917, and June 21, 1918. My grandfather was the most truthful, 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 accurate.

The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 へ 1955 to it’s website, when I began this search. The first few times I searched, I could not find William P. エリス. 最終的に, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis City in both the year 1917 と 1918 with the last name Ellis.

幸いにも, I hit pay dirt in 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” and last name “エリス”, 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, to 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 is still famous 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. It is the challenge of both genealogy and history. If you don’t tell someone or don’t record it, the information is lost.

William moved to St. チャールズ, ミズーリ州, sometime before 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, at St. チャールズ, ミズーリ州. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Light Battery A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.

私の偉大な祖母, キャロライン·エリス, lived in St. Charles also. They met sometime prior to 1912, when they married. 日に 15, 1912, ウィリアム·P. Ellis married Caroline Leah “リー” Johannpeter in St. チャールズ. They would welcome my grandfather, ギルバートP. エリス, into the world on Tuesday, 6月 22, 1915, by which time, they were living in St. Louis City. 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.

Whether it was from the working in the clay mines, environmental factors, or some other cause, William was stricken with lung problems for six months prior to his premature death on December 4, 1917. He was just 40 歳.

His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit of Wm P Ellis, ST. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 12月 1917 Ellis-Entered into rest on Tuesday, 12月. 4, 1917, に 11:20 am at residence, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, ウィリアム·P. エリス, beloved husband of Lena Ellis (nee Johannpeter), dear father of Gilbert, our dear son, brother, and son-in-law at the age of 40 年, 4 months and 3 日. Funeral Friday at 2:30 pm from Blederwieden-Dunkmann’s Chapel, 1934 ST. ルイ·アベニュー, to New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motor.

長年, 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. エリス. 残念ながら, 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. エリス.

Sources: ST. ルイ·ポストディスパッチ, 12月 5, 1917, P. 17 およびミズーリ州死亡証明書データベース

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