Who Was W. P. Ellis?
William P. Ellis was mijn overgrootvader. Helaas, he passed away when my grandfather, Gilbert P. Ellis, was only two years old. Mijn overgrootmoeder wist niet veel over William's familie. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 of 2007.
Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. Ik zou zeggen 6'4″ naar 6'6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ zichzelf. Dankzij het digitale tijdperk, 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 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 naar 1955 to it’s website, when I began this search. The first few times I searched, I could not find William P. Ellis. Eindelijk, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis City in both the year 1917 en 1918 with the last name Ellis.
Gelukkig, I hit pay dirt in 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” and last name “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 is nog steeds beroemd om. 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. Het is de uitdaging om zowel de genealogie en geschiedenis. Als je niet iemand te vertellen of niet opnemen, de informatie verloren.
William moved to St. Charles, Missouri, ergens vóór 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, bij St. Charles, Missouri. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Licht Batterij A. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.
Mijn overgrootmoeder, Caroline Ellis, lived in St. Charles also. Ze ontmoetten ergens voorafgaand aan 1912, toen ze trouwde met. Op mei 15, 1912, William P. Ellis trouwde Caroline Leah “Luwte” Johan Peter in St. Charles. Ze zouden mijn opa welkom, Gilbert P. Ellis, into the world on Tuesday, Juni 22, 1915, by which time, ze werden in St wonen. Louis Stad. 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. Hij was gewoon 40 jaar oud.
His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit van Wm P Ellis, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 December 1917 Ellis-Aangegaan rust op dinsdag, December. 4, 1917, bij 11:20 ben in de residentie, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, William P. Ellis, geliefde echtgenoot van Lena Ellis (nee Johann Peter), lieve vader van Gilbert, onze lieve zoon, broer, en zoon-in-wet op de leeftijd van 40 jaren, 4 maanden 3 dagen. Begrafenis vrijdag om 2:30 pm van Blederwieden-Dunkmann's Chapel, 1934 St. Louis Avenue, naar New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motor.
Voor de jaren, 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. Helaas, 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, December 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database
