Who Was W. P. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್?

ವಿಲಿಯಂ ಪಿ. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್ ನನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜನ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಶೋಚನೀಯವಾಗಿ, ಅವರು ದೂರ ಹೋದಾಗ ನನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜ, ಗಿಲ್ಬರ್ಟ್ ಪಿ. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್, was only two years old. ನನ್ನ ಮುತ್ತಜ್ಜಿ ವಿಲಿಯಂ ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 ಅಥವಾ 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. ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸಿನ ಚಿನ್ನದ ನಾಣ್ಯ, 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 correct.

The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 <ಸ್ಪ್ಯಾನ್ bbox_x = "423" bbox_y = "775" bbox_w = "12" bbox_h = "20" fsize = "14" fweight = "3" ಕೆಂಪು = "255" ಹಸಿರು = "255" ನೀಲಿ = "255" ಆಲ್ಫಾ = " 1955 to its website, when I began this search. The first few times I searched; I could not find William P. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್. ಅಂತಿಮವಾಗಿ, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis City in both the year 1917 <ಸ್ಪ್ಯಾನ್ bbox_x = "675" bbox_y = "628" bbox_w = "24" bbox_h = "20" fsize = "14" fweight = "3" ಕೆಂಪು = "255" ಹಸಿರು = "255" ನೀಲಿ = "255" ಆಲ್ಫಾ = " 1918 with the last name Ellis.

ಪುಣ್ಯವಶಾತ್, I hit pay dirt in 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” and last name “ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್”, 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. ಸೇಂಟ್. 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 do not tell someone or do not record it, you lose the information.

William moved to St. ಚಾರ್ಲ್ಸ್, ಮಿಸೌರಿ, 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. ಚಾರ್ಲ್ಸ್, ಮಿಸೌರಿ. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Light Battery A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.

ನನ್ನ ಮುತ್ತಜ್ಜಿ, ಕ್ಯಾರೋಲಿನ್ ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್, lived in St. Charles also. They met sometime prior to 1912, when they married. ಮೇ 15, 1912, ವಿಲಿಯಂ ಪಿ. Ellis married Caroline Leah “ಕಾಪು” Johannpeter in St. ಚಾರ್ಲ್ಸ್. They would welcome my grandfather, ಗಿಲ್ಬರ್ಟ್ ಪಿ. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್, into the world on Tuesday, ಜೂನ್ 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 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, Lung problems afflicted William for six months until his premature death on December 4, 1917. He was just 40 ವರ್ಷ.

His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit of Wm P Ellis, ಸೇಂಟ್. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 1917 Ellis-Entered into rest on Tuesday, ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್. 4, 1917, ಮೇಲೆ 11:20 am at residence, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, ವಿಲಿಯಂ ಪಿ. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್, beloved husband of Lena Ellis (nee Johannpeter), dear father of Gilbert, our dear son, brother, and son-in-law at the age of 40 ವರ್ಷ, 4 months and 3 days. Funeral Friday at 2:30 pm from Blederwieden-Dunkmann’s Chapel, 1934 ಸೇಂಟ್. ಲೂಯಿಸ್ ಅವೆನ್ಯೂ, to New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motor.

ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕಾಲ, 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. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್. ಶೋಚನೀಯವಾಗಿ, 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. ಎಲ್ಲಿಸ್.

Sources: ಸೇಂಟ್. ಲೂಯಿಸ್ ನಂತರದ ಡಿಸ್ಪ್ಯಾಚ್, ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ತಿಂಗಳು 5, 1917, ಪು. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database

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