Who Was W. P. Ellis?
William P. Ellis var min oldefar. Dessverre, han gikk bort da min bestefar, Gilbert P. Ellis, was only two years old. Min oldemor visste ikke mye om William familie. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 eller 2007.
Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. Jeg vil si 6'4″ til 6'6″. My grandfather was 6’4″ selv. Takket være den digitale tidsalder, 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 mellom juni 22, 1917, og juni 21, 1918. Min bestefar var den mest sannferdige, 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 prosent nøyaktig.
The Missouri Secretary of State uploaded most Missouri death certificates from 1910 til 1955 to it’s website, da jeg begynte dette søket. The first few times I searched, Jeg kunne ikke finne William P. Ellis. Endelig, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. Louis City, begge året 1917 and 1918 med etternavnet Ellis.
Heldigvis, Jeg traff betale skitt i 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” og etternavn “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 er fortsatt kjent 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. Det er utfordringen med både slektsforskning og historie. Hvis du ikke fortelle noen eller ikke ta det opp, informasjonen går tapt.
William moved to St. Charles, Missouri, en gang før 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, ved St. Charles, Missouri. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, Lett batteri Et. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.
Min oldemor, Caroline Ellis, lived in St. Charles also. De møttes en gang før 1912, når de giftet seg. Mai 15, 1912, William P. Ellis giftet Caroline Leah “Lee” Johannpeter in St. Charles. De ønsker velkommen min bestefar, Gilbert P. Ellis, into the world on Tuesday, June 22, 1915, etter som tiden, de bodde i St. Louis by. 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.
Om det var fra arbeiderklassen i leire gruver, miljøfaktorer, or some other cause, William was stricken with lung problems for six months prior to his premature death on December 4, 1917. Han var bare 40 år gammel.
His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit av Wm P Ellis, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 05 Desember 1917 Ellis-Inngått hvile på tirsdag, Desember. 4, 1917, på 11:20 er på bolig, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, William P. Ellis, elskede mann av Lena Ellis (nee Johann Peter), kjære far til Gilbert, vår kjære sønn, bror, og sønn-i-lov i en alder av 40 år, 4 måneder og 3 dager. Begravelse fredag på 2:30 pm fra Blederwieden-Dunkmann kapell, 1934 St. Louis Avenue, til New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motor.
For år, 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. Dessverre, 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, Desember 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database
