Roger Ellis Mystery

Roger’s Children

The Questions

This is an analysis of “proof” of Roger’s children. Also, do Roger’s children’s movements, marriages, etc. tell us anything about Roger?

According to Bio of Thomas Marion Elless: His family included: James, John, William, Wesley, Nancy, Polly, Becka and Susanna.

Is it meaningful that David and Martha are not listed? Do they have the same parents? Since there were lots of errors in this article, I don’t read too much into this omission, but it is something to consider.
Polly would have been Mary and Becka would have been Rebecca.
Have a DNA match with descendant of James, but that only shows they are related, not that David was a brother.
The article about the Bible lists children as: James Lewis, John, Nancy, David, William, Martha Jane, Mary Elizabeth, Rebecca, Wesley W, Susannah H.
It is unclear the source of this information. It isn’t written in a way that I can assume it came from the Bible. I am guessing it came from the author’s research.

Census Data

Census Data for Roger Ellis to help explain his children is as follows:

1810 in Shelby County, Kentucky: 2m<10, 1m 26-44, 1f<10, 1f 26-44

This would be James, Nancy, and David
What about John? Was he after 1810?

1820 in Ripley County, Indiana: 2 m<10, 2m 10-15, 1 m 26-44, 3f< 10, 1f 10-15, 1f 26-44

2m 10-15 James, David
2m < 10 John, William
1f 10-15 Nancy
3f<10 Mary, Martha, Rebecca

1830 in Ripley County, Indiana: (According to transcription) 2m 15-19, 1m20-29, 1f < 5 1f 5-9, 2f 10-14, 1 f 40-49. My read of the record adds 1m 5-9 and 1m 50-60 as I believe there are light marks in those columns.

1m 20-29 David (James is already married; where is he?)
2m 15-20 John, William. (Implies William did not marry Betsy Province in 1826, which he would have been very young. If he did, he is back at home)
1m 5-9 Wesley
2f 10-14 Mary, Martha
1 f 5-9 Rebecca
1f < 5 Susannah
Nancy is already married

1840 in Ripley County, Indiana: 1 m 15-19, 1m 20-29, 1m 50-59 1f 15-19, 1f 20-29, 1f 50-59

1m 20-29 John or William
1m 15-19 Wesley
1f 20-29
1f 15-19 Rebecca (Susannah is not listed in the household, but may be with James, who is listed next as he has a female 10-14 in the household)
A James Ellis is listed next to Roger
David is married, but where is he?
1850 in Ripley County, Indiana: Roger, Susan, Rebecca, Susannah
James, Wesley, David all have households near Roger
Nancy is in Dearborn County, IN
William is possibly in Jennings County, IN (See below)
John is ?
Mary is in Ripley County, IN
Martha is believed to have died by now.

1860 Roger has died at this point and in Ripley County is Susannah as head of household with Rebecca (Daughter), Wesley(Son), Susannah H.(Daughter), Rebecca, Andrew, Mary, Jonathan, Martha J (not the daughter Martha)

David and Joseph Ellis (David’s son) households are listed on the same page with Susannah
James is in Minnesota
John is ?
Nancy is in Dearborn County, IN
Mary is in Ripley County, IN
William is possibly in Jennings County, IN

1870

James is in Fillmore, MN
David has died. His wife Lucy is in La Salle County, Illinois with children Stephen, Henry, Susan.
Son Joseph is still in Ripley County, IN
Mary Ellen is married and is in Ripley County, IN
James WIlliam is ?
Wesley W. (Possibly died in the Civil War. There is a Wesley Ellis that did, Can we confirm it is him?)
Amanda (Elizabeth) is ?
Nancy is in Dearborn County, IN
Mary is in Ripley County, IN
John is?
William is possibly in Jennings County, IN
Wesley is ?

Susannah is?

1880

James is in Fillmore, MN
Wesley is in Otter Tail, MN
David’s widow Lucy is in Neosho Co, KS with children Stephen and Susan
Joseph L. is in Neosho Co, KS (We know he went to Illinois first and then to Kansas)
Mary Ellen and husband are in Neosho Co, KS
James William is in Neosho Co, KS
Wesley W. (See 1870)
Amanda (Elizabeth) is married and in Neosho Co, KS
Nancy is in Dearborn County, IN
Mary is in Ripley County, IN
Martha is ?
John is ?
William is possibly in Jennings County, IN
Susannah is ?

An Analysis By Person

James Lewis Ellis

One consideration is that James was born in May 1805 and Roger only married in February 1805. It is possible that Susannah was 6 months pregnant when they married, but typically marriages of necessity happened earlier in pregnancy. Since his descendants have David’s Bible and the dates don’t quite align, I wonder if he could be the son of David and was raised by Roger. He was clearly close to Roger since he named a son after him. Still this seems unlikely because James has the middle name Lewis and one would guess it came from Susannah.
I have seen a different marriage date in 1804, which would make James a normal first born son. (Need to get a look at that original marriage record)
The Bible entries end in 1807. Why? Did David die soon after 1807?
The Bio of T.M.Elless is also wishy-washy about the ancestry and they should have known Roger’s name.
Married Matilda Harris 1826 in Ripley County (age 21)
Where is he in 1830?
I checked Harris families in the area and did not find him with them and he is not with Roger.
In 1840 a James Ellis is listed next to Roger. This is likely James Lewis Ellis although the census has his age as 40-49 and he would have been under 40. However, this could have been a wrong column issue. He has m<5, m 5-9, m 40-49, f 10-14, f 30-39. They boys are the right age for his sons, but I can not explain the female child although he had been married long enough to have a daughter in this age range. If this is not him, where was he?
1850 listed on the prior page to Roger
Moved to Winneshiek County, Iowa in 1853 (According to Bio of Thomas Marion Elless) What took him to this location? Land? Other reasons?
Moved to Fillmore County, MN by 1857. According to the Bio of Thomas Marion Elless, this happened about 1855. What took him to this location?
Middle names of two boys Roger and David, which makes him a likely candidate to be Roger’s son (or David’s son)
1860-1880 Census in Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota

John Ellis

Both the bio and the article about the Bible list a son John
Not sure if any of the following are this John or not
John Ellis married Nancy Dowers 1848 in Ripley, IN. A George Dower lived near Roger Ellis.
I found a John and Nancy Eller (or possibly Elles) in Ripley County in 1850 with son Barnabas. This John was born about 1826 and is too young to be our John. I assume this might be the John and Nancy matching the marriage record.
John Ellis married Cynthia Faught 1828 in Ripley,
This is a reasonable possibility if John was born by 1814 at the very latest.
A William Ellis 12 born in Kentucky is living with William and Amanda Faught in Jefferson County, IN in 1850. Could he be a son of John? Or is her perhaps Amanda’s son with a prior husband?
In 1870, a 10 year old born in Indiana is living with William and Amanda. The record says the name is James Elles. It appears it could be Eller.
John Ellis married Eliza Skeen in 1843 in Ripley, IN.
This appears to be John Ellis (3) listed in the Ellis families nearby, who was a son of Joseph in the Stephen Ellis line.
What happened to John?

Nancy Ann Ellis

Married Isaac East 1826 Ripley, Indiana (Do we have proof that she is our Nancy?) ***
1830 – Isaac 1 m 20-29, 1f 20-29 2 f<5 in Ripley
1840 – Isaac 1 m 30-39, 1f 30-39 1 f<5 1 f 5-9 2f 10-14
1850 – Isaac, Nancy, Matilda(16), Martha J.(11), Eliza J.(5) & John Ellis
Who is John Ellis age 9 (b. 1840-1841) was living with Nancy and Isaac – Who’s son is he?
Stephen Ellis Jr. had a son John in 1843. The age isn’t quite right, but possibly.
Was it another Ellis that may have not been related, but lived in the area.
1860 – Nancy, Martha (21), Elizabeth (17)
She remained in Dearborn County the rest of her life.
Nancy Ellis married George Cooper 1828 Dearborn, Co. – which family did she belong to?
Born 1796 Kentucky, which means she is not Roger’s daughter
Nancy Ellis married Samuel Rolston in 1830 in Switzerland Co – which family did she belong to?

David Ellis

Married Lucy Ann Storms 1834 Ripley, Indiana
Where was he in 1840? He is not in Roger’s household. There are two David Ellis households in Dearborn County in 1840, but if the children of David and their birth years are correct. Neither of these men are our David. He is not with Lucy’s father or either of Lucy’s grandfathers.
Joseph’s obituary says that he was born in Jefferson County. Is that where the family was in 1840? With whom?
Listed next to Roger in the 1850 census
1850 Ripley County 41. With Lucy A., Ellen E., Joseph L., James W, Stephen E, Westley W, Henry D, and Amanda
1860 Ripley County 52. With Lucy, Stephen, Henry, Elizabeth (Amanda), Susan
1870 David is not with the family, assumed to have died: Lucy, Henry, Susan, and Stephen are in Rutland, LaSalle, Illinois
1880 Lucy with Susan and Stephen in Galesburg, Neosho, Kansas
Joseph L. is in Neosho Co, KS (We know he went to Illinois first and then to Kansas)
Mary Ellen and husband are in Neosho Co, KS
James William is in Neosho Co, KS
Wesley W. (See 1870)
Amanda (Elizabeth) is married and in Neosho Co, KS
Henry is in Jasper County, Indiana and would later move to South Dakota.
What happened to David?

William Ellis

Married Betsy Province 1826 Ripley, Indiana. I think this marriage is too early to be Roger’s son. At least it makes it unlikely because William would have been quite young.
Married Jane Gordon 1842 Ripley, Indiana. This family lived in Jennings County. William (1) from the Ellis families nearby. ***
This seems like a more likely match for David’s son.
1850 in Jennings County 30 born in Indiana with Jane, James, Marion, Philip, Martha, Infant
1860 in Jennings County 45 born in Kentucky with Jane, James, Francis M, Martha, Philip, Newton Kissiah, Susannah, Rebecca Jane, David P
1870 in Jennings County 56 born in Indiana with Jane, William N, Kiziah A., Mary S, Rebecca J., David L, Sarah F., Nancy E, Ann E. Also, Martha J. Reice/Rice (their daughter Martha), John P. Reice/Rice (Martha’s husband it is assumed)
1880 in Jennings County 66 born in Kentucky with Jane, David L, Sarah F, Nancy E, Ann E.; father born North Carolina, mother born Virginia. The father being from North Carolina would not be a match to Roger.
Some people list him as the son of Matthias (who they have no information about), but I find no evidence of a Matthias or Matthew Ellis in Indiana or Kentucky in 1810 or 1820.
Used the spelling Elles
Jun 16, 1814 – Feb 26, 1900
Have DNA match with a descendant

Mary Elizabeth Ellis

Married James Benham 1835 Ripley, Indiana
Lived her entire life in Ripley County.

Martha Jane Ellis

Married Strawder Long 1838 Ripley, Indiana.
They had a son Andrew in 1840.
It is believed she died about 1842.
He remarried in 1844, had a large family, and moved west ending up in Missouri.

Rebecca Ellis

1850 – In Roger’s household
1860 – In Susannah’s household
1870 – Both parents have died and she is listed alone in the household
She married Rue O’Neil in 1875. They moved to Iowa where he had been living and are found there in the census until 1900. He is with a Rebecca and the information matches our Rebecca as far as age, birthplace, and parents birthplace. Note: He lost his first wife in 1874.
1880 – Buchanan Co, Iowa
1885 – Fayette Co, Iowa
1895 – Fayette Co, Iowa
1900 – Fayette Co, Iowa
Note: Her husband’s probate papers (all 150 pages) are on ancestry.com. Bottom line is that she was taken care of until she died and then his kids got everything. So, nothing was left to her heirs, which would have been her siblings or their descendants as it is believed she never had children.

Wesley W. Ellis

Married Rebecca Wise 1847 Ripley, Indiana
Listed on page prior to Roger in 1850 census
1860 in same household with Susannah. Roger had died by this time.
1870?
In 1876 to Otter Tail, MN
Lived remainder of his life in Otter Tail, MN

Susannah H. Ellis

1850 – In Roger’s household
1860 – In Susannah’s (her mother) household
She may have married George Mauch in 1877. However, I can not find her after 1860. What happened to her?

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