by Rocky Macy
William J. Ellis was born around 1840 in the state of Georgia to Joshua Calvin ELLIS and Sarah (KELLY) ELLIS. William moved with his family to northwest Arkansas, probably in 1859, and there he met and married Matilda Jane COOK, a native of that area. William ELLIS passed away sometime after the 1880 Federal Census was taken, probably in Northwest Arkansas.
William J. ELLIS was my great-great-grandfather.
William and Matilda had seven children: Sarah Elizabeth (born in 1861 and probably named after her father’s mother, Sarah Elizabeth KELLY ELLIS), Josephine (born circa 1863), Mary Jane (1866-1936), Jessie Richard (1868-1917), Jacob Ward (1870-1941), Isaac Nut (1871-1935), and William Thomas “Tommy” (1876-1938).
The children of William and Matilda married the following individuals: Sarah Elizabeth (Miles Franklin PHELAN), Josephine (unknown at this time), Mary Jane (Alexander SREAVES), Jessie Richard (Orpha Unknown), Jacob Ward (Nancy Adeline BYNUM), Isaac Nut (Ella Hannah DRAKE), and William Thomas (Florence DRAKE).
Of the children, Sarah Elizabeth, Josephine, and Isaac are thought to have spent their lives in northwest Arkansas. Jacob Ward ELLIS and his family were residents of the state of Kansas at the time of his death in 1941. Mary Jane and her husband, Alex SREAVES, relocated their family to McDonald County, Missouri, in 1901, and later her brothers, Jessie Richard and William Thomas, also settled close to them in extreme southwest Missouri.
Not much is known of the life of William J. ELLIS, and what is known is based primarily on U.S. census records. He was listed as a 10-year-old living in the household of his parents along with four younger siblings on the 1850 census of District 31 of Forsyth County, Georgia. By 1860 he was listed as 20-years-old and still living in the household of his parents with six younger siblings. At that time the family was residing in “War Eagle and Walnut,” Benton County, Arkansas.
By 1870 William ELLIS had married Matilda Jane COOK and they were residing in Clear Creek Township of Washington County, Arkansas, along with their three oldest children, and when the 1880 census was taken William and Matilda and all seven of their children were residents of War Eagle Township in Madison County, Arkansas.
Beyond that no official record of William J. ELLIS has been located, and no obituary has been found. When his next younger sibling, Hiram Kelly ELLIS (named for their maternal grandfather, Hiram KELLY) passed away on April 10, 1912, his widow, Susan LANE ELLIS, sent the following note to the local newspaper requesting that it be printed. It ran in the “Springdale News” of Springdale, Washington County, Arkansas, on August 2, 1912. From that obituary one can possibly surmise a bit about what the life of the deceased’s brother, William J. ELLIS, may have been like, as well as the time William probably arrived in Arkansas.
“Ellis, H.K. – Hindsville, Ark., July 26 – Mr. Editor: Will you please give me space for a short write up of my husband who departed this life April 10 at 4 o’clock a.m. H.K. Ellis was born Jan. 22, 1842, came to Arkansas in 1859 from Georgia. He serviced 4 years in the Confederate army, was married to Susan Lane Oct. 5, 1865. Was converted in Sept. 1867, was a devoted member of the Free Will Baptist church until death and was a deacon in the church for many years. To this union was born nine children, seven of whom are still living, all present but two and T.N. Ellis who live in Beaver Co., Okla. He seemed to realize that the end was very near and all that appeared to worry him was his children that were not prepared to meet him in the great beyond. He was a great worker in the Sunday School and church. S.L.”
An obituary for William J. ELLIS may have not made it into print, but his presence on this earth is still witnessed by the words and deeds of hundreds of his descendants who exist today because William made the long trip north from Georgia all those many years ago.
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