Who Was W. P. ఎల్లిస్?
విలియం పి. ఎల్లిస్ నా గొప్ప తాత. అనుకోకుండా, అతను చనిపోయినపుడు నా తాత, గిల్బర్ట్ పి. ఎల్లిస్, was only two years old. నా గొప్ప అమ్మమ్మ విలియం కుటుంబం గురించి పెద్దగా తెలియదు. The actual information Grandpa had on him was sparse, so William was the real mystery man in the family history up until 2006 లేదా 2007.
Grandpa had a picture of William sitting on a fake moon. William was a giant of a man. నేను 6'4 చెబుతా″ 6'6 కు″. My grandfather was 6’4″ తాను. డిజిటల్ వయస్సు ధన్యవాదాలు, 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. లూయిస్, జూన్ మధ్య Missouri 22, 1917, జూన్ 21, 1918. నా తాత చాలా నిజాయితీగా ఉంది, 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 to 1955 to its website, నేను ఈ సెర్చ్ ప్రారంభమైంది. The first few times I searched; నేను విలియం పి దొరకలేదు. ఎల్లిస్. చివరకు, I decided I would search for every death certificate from St. రెండు సంవత్సరంలో లూయిస్ సిటీ 1917 మరియు 1918 చివరి పేరు ఎల్లిస్ తో.
అదృష్టవశాత్తూ, నేను దుమ్ము చెల్లించాలి హిట్ 1917. You see my great grandfather’s death certificate listed his first name as “W.P.” మరియు చివరి పేరు “ఎల్లిస్”, 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.
విలియం ఆగస్టు జన్మించాడు 1, 1877, విలియం H కు. 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. సెయింట్. 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. లూయిస్ ఇప్పటికీ ప్రసిద్ధి చెందింది. 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. ఇది వంశవృక్షాన్ని మరియు చరిత్ర రెండు సవాలు. If you do not tell someone or do not record it, you lose the information.
William moved to St. చార్లెస్, Missouri, కొంత ముందు 1900 because he mustered into one of the volunteer units going to fight the Spanish-American War on July 9, 1898, సెయింట్ వద్ద. చార్లెస్, Missouri. He served in the 6th Volunteer Missouri Regiment, లైట్ బ్యాటరీ. He served for two years and mustered out on May 10, 1899.
నా గొప్ప అమ్మమ్మ, కెరోలిన్ ఎల్లిస్, lived in St. Charles also. వారు కొంత ముందు కలుసుకున్నారు 1912, వారు వివాహం చేసుకున్నారు. మే న 15, 1912, విలియం పి. ఎల్లిస్ కారోలిన్ లేహ్ వివాహం “గాలికి మరుగున నుండు తట్టు” సెయింట్ Johannpeter. చార్లెస్. వారు నా తాత స్వాగతం చెప్పారు, గిల్బర్ట్ పి. ఎల్లిస్, into the world on Tuesday, జూన్ 22, 1915, by which time, వారు సెయింట్ నివసిస్తున్న. లూయిస్ సిటీ. 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 సంవత్సరాల వయస్సు.
His obituary was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on December 5, 1917: Obit of Wm P Ellis, సెయింట్. లూయిస్ పోస్ట్ డిస్పాచ్, 05 Dec 1917 Ellis-Entered into rest on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 1917, వద్ద 11:20 am at residence, 5811 Magnolia Avenue, విలియం పి. ఎల్లిస్, beloved husband of Lena Ellis (nee Johannpeter), dear father of Gilbert, our dear son, brother, and son-in-law at the age of 40 సంవత్సరాల, 4 months and 3 రోజులు. Funeral Friday at 2:30 pm from Blederwieden-Dunkmann’s Chapel, 1934 సెయింట్. Louis Avenue, to New Bethlehem Cemetery. Motor.
సంవత్సరాలు, 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. ఎల్లిస్. అనుకోకుండా, 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. ఎల్లిస్.
Sources: సెయింట్. లూయిస్ పోస్ట్ డిస్పాచ్, డిసెంబర్ 5, 1917, p. 17 and Missouri Death Certificate Database
