Not a lot is known about my great-great grandfather Joseph Lewis Ellis’ brother Stephen. However, his life and the life of those around him must have been very challenging.
Stephen’s Illness
Stephen E. Ellis (Elless) was born August 5, 1841 in Ripley County, Indiana. He was the fourth child and third son of David and Lucy Ann (Storms) Ellis. David and Lucy Ann would go on to have 4 more children after Stephen was born.
Apparently, Stephen was a normal little boy until around age two or three when he had spinal fever (spinal meningitis). It affected his limbs and left them useless. At the same time, he became totally blind although his hearing remained intact. The fever also resulted in him being epileptic and what was described at the time as “idiotic.” The latter term appears to have been used to described a variety of mental issues. It was used for everything from depression to someone who was mentally disabled. Thus, it is unclear as to Stephen’s exact mental state. However, his obituary states,
“[H]is life was mingled with deep sorrow on account of the loss of his eyes and the use of his limbs. For fifty-two years in total darkness. The days, weeks, months and years went wearly by. The clouds, the deep blue sky, the sun, the verdant plains, rolling hills, the murmuring brooks and the beautiful and romantic scenes of this fairy world had no charm for him.”
It is hard to imagine a playful young boy whose ability to run and play was so quickly snatched away from him.
Life Afterward
The census stated that when he was eight that he was attending school alongside his older brothers and sisters. However, this appears to have been an error as it seems he never had that opportunity. His days it appears where spent at home with his mother and younger siblings that were not in school. Without use of his arms and legs, he couldn’t play with his siblings, help around the house, or even do basic care of himself.
Move to Illinois
By 1870, Stephen’s father David had died. Lucy Ann, Stephen, his younger brother Henry, and his younger sister Susan had moved to Rutland, La Salle, Illinois, which was about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. I can’t imagine making that move in that era with a grown man who was both blind and physically disabled. It is unclear if he even fully understood what was happening. Making a move like that must have been a bit unnerving for him with the change in routine, his bed, and all the movement.
Moving Again
A few years later, Lucy Ann would make another big move. This time moving from Illinois to Galesburg in Neosho County, Kansas. Lucy Ann’s son James had previously relocated to Neosho County, arriving there prior to 1870. Galesburg had been created the following year with the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas (MK&T) Railroad extending to the small village.
By the mid-1870s, some of Lucy Ann’s other children came up to La Salle County. My great-grandmother Rosa Isabella (Ellis) McCracken Apt was a young child and she had her photograph taken by J. A. Wilson, whose studio was above the 1st National Bank on the corner of Maine and La Salle streets in nearby Ottawa, Illinois.
In September 1876, the La Salle Board of Supervisors recognized Lucy and Stephen as paupers. Thus, they allocated money to the town of Rutland to provide them railroad fare to Neosho County if the leaders of Rutland felt so inclined. It seems that it would have been very difficult for Lucy to travel alone with Stephen. Perhaps Susan or some other member of the family traveled with them.
All of Lucy and David’s living children ended up relocating to Neosho County except Henry, who spent time back in Indiana before moving to South Dakota. However, it is unknown how the others traveled and if they traveled together. In any case, all of Lucy’s children that moved to Neosho County ended up arriving there by 1880 with her daughter Ellen and her husband William H. Nicholson making the trip sometime between May 1876 and May 1877. So, they traveled close to the time Lucy did, but it is unknown if they traveled from La Salle County, Illinois or elsewhere.
Kansas
In Galesburg, Lucy Ann, Stephen and Susan lived with her daughter Amanda and Amanda’s husband John Kirkpatrick. Their household made up 8% of the village, which had only 63 inhabitants in 1880. The women were Stephen’s primary caretakers, as John worked for the railroad.
Lucy received money from the county to help with expenses. The county would continue to assist the family from time to time throughout the remainder of Stephen’s life.
In December 1880, Susan married Ormas Doolittle. By 1885 Susan and her husband, who was a Civil War veteran turned plasterer, were living in a separate home. Similarly, Amanda and her husband, who had quit the railroad to become a hotel keeper, had a separate property. Lucy and Stephen are not listed in the 1885 state census, but it is clear that they are not living with either Lucy or Susan. Thus, it is most likely that they were living in a separate residence in Galesburg since Lucy was not known to live anywhere else.
It would seem that the care-taking of Stephen fell squarely on Lucy’s shoulders. Likely, Susan and possibly Amanda continued to help care for Stephen part-time. However, having a hotel, Amanda would likely not have been able to get away often. By this time, Lucy’s son Joseph and her daughter Ellen had moved to other nearby counties. Leaving James, who lived in Osage Mission, as the only other of her children nearby.
In The End
After Lucy died at age 71 in October 1886, Stephen lived with Susan and her husband until his death on June 26, 1897. He was only 55, but death must have come as a relief to him. Finally, Stephen could once again run, play, and see the world. He was buried next to his mother at Mt. Hope Cemetery and he shares a gravestone with her.