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b.1880-d.1917
The Story
We researched William’s story at the request of a descendant (Terry Vanhinsbergh) who had traced William back to his marriage in 1902 but had got no further. It’s a common name, and while we knew his age (22) and the name of his father (Charles), he was not the only William Ellis born around 1880 in Bethnal Green with a father named Charles.
The key to this story was the address on the marriage record: 47 Moneyer Street.
When we checked that address in the 1901 Census, we didn’t find William but we did find his parents, and a nephew.
Here is William’s story:
Childhood
William was born in Bethnal Green in London’s East end on 15 May 1880 to Charles and Mary Ellis of 7 Digby Street. Charles was working as a box cutter.
His parents Charles Ellis and Mary Ann Carney had married in August 1870 at St James’ church in Bethnal Green, and already had two children that had survived infancy: Sarah Ellen (1873) and Charles junior (1875).
The 1881 Census records the family at the same address in Digby Street.
Charles Ellis seems to have had a number of business activities over the years. By the time of the 1891 Census, he was an oilman, and Charles junior was his assistant. The family had moved to tenement accommodation in New Model Buildings in Dufferin Street.
When William’s sister Sarah Ellen was married in 1895 to John Hoare, Charles’ occupation was described as “Sells in street”; and when Charles junior was married in 1897 to Jemima Pryor, his father’s occupation was recorded as “General dealer”.
In the 1901 census, Charles is listed as a coal hawker (a “coal hawker” purchased coal from wholesale merchants and resold it in small quantities. They typically drove horse-drawn carts or hand-pushed barrows along fixed neighbourhood rounds, directly delivering fuel to homes for domestic heating and cooking). Sarah Ellen’s son John Hoare (aged 5) is with Charles and Mary on this census, but there is no sign of William.
It was the time of the Boer War, and it’s possible that William, like many other young men, was in South Africa with the army. If so, his army records have not survived.
Marriage, and children
In June 1902, William was married to Edith Amelia Harper at Holy Trinity Church in Hoxton.
Our family contact Terry told us that:
William’s wife, my great-grandmother Edith Ellis (nee Harper), died in 1965 at the age of 85, when I was eight years old. Her and William had ten children, five of whom were either stillborn or died in infancy. The other five, Edith, Sarah, Emily, William and Amelia survived into old age.
We’ve found 8 registered births:
| Child | Year of Birth |
|---|---|
| Edith Amelia | 1902 |
| Sarah Elizabeth | 1903 |
| Emily Louise (Terry’s grandmother) | 1905 |
| William | 1908 |
| Amelia Christina | 1910 |
| Charles | 1912 |
| John William | 1914 |
| Mary Helena | 1917 |
The family is pretty sure that daughter Edith (Terry’s Aunt Edie) had a twin brother that was stillborn. The three children born after 1910 – Charles, John, and Mary – all died in infancy.
Baptism records reveal that William (who had been a mattress maker at the time of his marriage) worked variously as a porter and a furniture packer.
Insanity, and death
At some stage William’s behaviour must have become erratic. The family story was that
he had hit his head on a lamppost which affected his sanity, resulting in him, amongst other misdemeanours, sleeping with a knife under his pillow.
We do not have any medical records for William but the records of Holborn workhouse reveal that he was admitted to the infirmary on 2 January 1917 (the day that his daughter Mary was born). He was discharged at his own request on 4 January, readmitted on 10 January, and on 19 January he was transferred to Long Grove Asylum, where he died on 19 March.
The cause of his death was general paralysis of the insane, which is caused by late stage syphilis.
William is buried at Horton in grave 1182b.
From Terry, William’s great grandson
Thank you so much for providing me with my great-Grandfather William’s story, it reads really well, albeit sadly, knowing how his life panned out….
Thanks for your work on this; it’s been wonderful to fill in many blanks, but more importantly, to have my great-Grandfather William’s life documented in such a way, making him a real person.
Terry sent a photo of William’s four daughters,
Here are her and William Ellis’ four daughters who survived childhood – Edith (Aunt Edie, or Teedie as Terry called her), Emily (My Nan, or Aunt Emmy as others called her), Sarah, and Amelia (Auntie Milly, or Mil-Mil as Terry called her!).
This is William’s only son to survive, also called William
Copyright
If you use the published stories, partly or completely, written by volunteers of the Friends of Horton Cemetery charity (Reg. No. 1190518), please acknowledge the volunteer who wrote the story by name, acknowledge the Friends of Horton Cemetery expressly and its registration number, and include this link to the STORIES section of the website https://hortoncemetery.org/the…/horton-cemetery-stories/
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