Who Was W. P. 엘리스?

윌리엄 P. 엘리스는 내 할아버지의 할아버지였다. 불행하게도, 그는 멀리 통과 할 때 할아버지, 길버트 P. 엘리스, was only two years old. 내 할머니가 윌리엄의 가족에 대해 많이 알고하지 않았다. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 또는 2007.

Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. 나는 말할 것 6'4″ 6'6에″. My grandfather was 6’4″ 그 자신. 디지털 시대에 감사, 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. 루이, ~ 6 월 미주리 22, 1917, 6 월 21, 1918. 할아버지는 가장 진실이었다, 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 %의 정확한.

The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 에 1955 to it’s website, 나는이 검색을 시작했을 때. The first few times I searched, 나는 윌리엄 P를 찾을 수 없습니다. 엘리스. 최종적으로, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. 올해 모두 루이시 1917 과 1918 마지막 이름 엘리스와.

다행히, 나는에서 대박을 칠 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” 이름과 성 “엘리스”, 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, 윌리엄 H에. 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. 생. Louis was home to a large amount of clay mines along S. Kingshighway Boulevard and the “독 타운” neighborhood at the turn of the century.

These mines turned out the bricks that St. 루이는 아직도 유명합니다. 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. 그것은 계보와 역사 모두의 도전. 당신이 누군가를 말하지 않는하거나 기록하지 않은 경우, 정보가 손실됩니다.

William moved to St. 찰스, 미주리, 언젠가 전에 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, 세인트에서. 찰스, 미주리. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, 라이트 배터리. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.

내 큰 할머니, 캐롤라인 엘리스, lived in St. Charles also. 그들은 이전에 언젠가 만나 1912, 그들이 결혼 할 때. 월에 15, 1912, 윌리엄 P. 엘리스 캐롤라인 레아와 결혼 “바람이 불어가는 쪽” 세인트에서 요한 피터. 찰스. 그들은 할아버지를 환영합니다, 길버트 P. 엘리스, into the world on Tuesday, 6월 22, 1915, 이 시간에 의해, 그들은 성에서 살고 있었다. 루이시. 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.

그것은 점토 광산의 작동 여부, 환경 요인, or some other cause, William was stricken with lung problems for six months prior to his premature death on December 4, 1917. 그는 그냥 .. 40 세.

His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: 백만원 P 엘리스의 기일, 생. 루이스 포스트 디스패치, 05 12월 1917 화요일에 나머지에 엘리스 - 체결, 12월. 4, 1917, 에 11:20 거주에있어, 5811 매그놀리아 애비뉴, 윌리엄 P. 엘리스, 레나 엘리스의 사랑하는 남편 (옛 요한 피터), 길버트의 친애하는 아버지, 우리의 친애하는 아들, 형제, 과 사위의 나이에 40 년, 4 달 3 일. 금요일 장례식에서 2:30 Blederwieden-Dunkmann 예배당에서 오후, 1934 생. 루이스 애비뉴, 새로운 베들레헴 묘지. 모터.

수년간, 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. 엘리스. 불행하게도, 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. 엘리스.

Sources: 생. 루이스 포스트 - 디스패치, 12월 5, 1917, 피. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database

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