When Ellis was 2 years old his mother died. Although his father had five children to raise, he chose to raise them alone for the next fourteen years. Ellis was 16 when his father remarried. Ellis remained on the home farm until he was of age. This farm bounded the village of Saint John's on the west, fronting north on the Wapakoneta Road and abutting Ashburn Road on the west. He was educated as a schoolteacher and taught school for several years. His father's philosophy tended to alienate many in the community so Ellis, like each of his siblings found it prudent to move from the area and chose Lima, Ohio as his home. It was in Lima that he met Agnes Black and chose her for his bride. They were married June 6, 1903 in Lima in the Saint Rose Catholic Church, although Ellis himself had been raised in a religious void.
Having belonged to a Military Battery, he had been in the Honor Guard for President McKinley and was at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in September 6, 1901 when the president was assassinated. President McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to accept the security available to his office. After McKinley's assassination the United States Congress passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with the responsibility for protecting the president.
Shortly after he married, Ellis worked for about 2 years for the Rock Island Railroad, presumably as a guard since he carried a pistol to work with him. In about 1910, Ellis took a job with the Lima Locomotive Works where he worked for 30 years as a layout draftsman. He was a skilled mechanic and laid out on flat sheets of iron all pieces that made up the boiler for the locomotive. He indicated how each sheet must be cut and where each bolt and rivet hole must be punched so that when assembled and put together a perfect locomotive boiler was the finished product.
Ellis loved to listen to music and Aggie and Ellis gave their daughters the opportunity to take piano lessons. Both Virginia and Grace played beautifully and although I never heard her play, I believe Maude also could play the piano.
A few years after they married, Ellis purchased a house at 733 S. Broadway in Lima. It was a spacious two story home with a basement, unfinished attic, huge bath upstairs with three bedrooms, and a living room, dining room and kitchen, half bath and parlor on the main floor. There was a large front porch that spanned the front of the house. He had a one car garage behind the house where he kept his automobile that he used primarily on weekends, as he felt it was more practical to walk to work and save the wear on the car. In his back yard he built a large grape arbor and soon it was covered with bountiful grapes. He also planted and grew about seven cheery trees that were weighed down with cherries each summer.
He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Originally the Modern Woodmen had a rather unique set of membership restrictions and criteria. Religiously, the group was quite open. On the other hand membership was restricted to 12 states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. Residents of large cities were also disqualified from membership.
Ellis was 6 foot tall, slender with brown eyes and brown hair and very intelligent. He was perceived by his daughter Virginia as a strict, exacting man, and by his daughter Grace as loving and gentle.
Having belonged to a Military Battery, he had been in the Honor Guard for President McKinley and was at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in September 6, 1901 when the president was assassinated. President McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to accept the security available to his office. After McKinley's assassination the United States Congress passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with the responsibility for protecting the president.
Shortly after he married, Ellis worked for about 2 years for the Rock Island Railroad, presumably as a guard since he carried a pistol to work with him. In about 1910, Ellis took a job with the Lima Locomotive Works where he worked for 30 years as a layout draftsman. He was a skilled mechanic and laid out on flat sheets of iron all pieces that made up the boiler for the locomotive. He indicated how each sheet must be cut and where each bolt and rivet hole must be punched so that when assembled and put together a perfect locomotive boiler was the finished product.
Ellis loved to listen to music and Aggie and Ellis gave their daughters the opportunity to take piano lessons. Both Virginia and Grace played beautifully and although I never heard her play, I believe Maude also could play the piano.
A few years after they married, Ellis purchased a house at 733 S. Broadway in Lima. It was a spacious two story home with a basement, unfinished attic, huge bath upstairs with three bedrooms, and a living room, dining room and kitchen, half bath and parlor on the main floor. There was a large front porch that spanned the front of the house. He had a one car garage behind the house where he kept his automobile that he used primarily on weekends, as he felt it was more practical to walk to work and save the wear on the car. In his back yard he built a large grape arbor and soon it was covered with bountiful grapes. He also planted and grew about seven cheery trees that were weighed down with cherries each summer.
He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Originally the Modern Woodmen had a rather unique set of membership restrictions and criteria. Religiously, the group was quite open. On the other hand membership was restricted to 12 states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. Residents of large cities were also disqualified from membership.
Ellis was 6 foot tall, slender with brown eyes and brown hair and very intelligent. He was perceived by his daughter Virginia as a strict, exacting man, and by his daughter Grace as loving and gentle.
When Ellis was 2 years old his mother died. Although his father had five children to raise, he chose to raise them alone for the next fourteen years. Ellis was 16 when his father remarried. Ellis remained on the home farm until he was of age. This farm bounded the village of Saint John's on the west, fronting north on the Wapakoneta Road and abutting Ashburn Road on the west. He was educated as a schoolteacher and taught school for several years. His father's philosophy tended to alienate many in the community so Ellis, like each of his siblings found it prudent to move from the area and chose Lima, Ohio as his home. It was in Lima that he met Agnes Black and chose her for his bride. They were married June 6, 1903 in Lima in the Saint Rose Catholic Church, although Ellis himself had been raised in a religious void.
Having belonged to a Military Battery, he had been in the Honor Guard for President McKinley and was at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in September 6, 1901 when the president was assassinated. President McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to accept the security available to his office. After McKinley's assassination the United States Congress passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with the responsibility for protecting the president.
Shortly after he married, Ellis worked for about 2 years for the Rock Island Railroad, presumably as a guard since he carried a pistol to work with him. In about 1910, Ellis took a job with the Lima Locomotive Works where he worked for 30 years as a layout draftsman. He was a skilled mechanic and laid out on flat sheets of iron all pieces that made up the boiler for the locomotive. He indicated how each sheet must be cut and where each bolt and rivet hole must be punched so that when assembled and put together a perfect locomotive boiler was the finished product.
Ellis loved to listen to music and Aggie and Ellis gave their daughters the opportunity to take piano lessons. Both Virginia and Grace played beautifully and although I never heard her play, I believe Maude also could play the piano.
A few years after they married, Ellis purchased a house at 733 S. Broadway in Lima. It was a spacious two story home with a basement, unfinished attic, huge bath upstairs with three bedrooms, and a living room, dining room and kitchen, half bath and parlor on the main floor. There was a large front porch that spanned the front of the house. He had a one car garage behind the house where he kept his automobile that he used primarily on weekends, as he felt it was more practical to walk to work and save the wear on the car. In his back yard he built a large grape arbor and soon it was covered with bountiful grapes. He also planted and grew about seven cheery trees that were weighed down with cherries each summer.
He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Originally the Modern Woodmen had a rather unique set of membership restrictions and criteria. Religiously, the group was quite open. On the other hand membership was restricted to 12 states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. Residents of large cities were also disqualified from membership.
Ellis was 6 foot tall, slender with brown eyes and brown hair and very intelligent. He was perceived by his daughter Virginia as a strict, exacting man, and by his daughter Grace as loving and gentle.
Having belonged to a Military Battery, he had been in the Honor Guard for President McKinley and was at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in September 6, 1901 when the president was assassinated. President McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to accept the security available to his office. After McKinley's assassination the United States Congress passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with the responsibility for protecting the president.
Shortly after he married, Ellis worked for about 2 years for the Rock Island Railroad, presumably as a guard since he carried a pistol to work with him. In about 1910, Ellis took a job with the Lima Locomotive Works where he worked for 30 years as a layout draftsman. He was a skilled mechanic and laid out on flat sheets of iron all pieces that made up the boiler for the locomotive. He indicated how each sheet must be cut and where each bolt and rivet hole must be punched so that when assembled and put together a perfect locomotive boiler was the finished product.
Ellis loved to listen to music and Aggie and Ellis gave their daughters the opportunity to take piano lessons. Both Virginia and Grace played beautifully and although I never heard her play, I believe Maude also could play the piano.
A few years after they married, Ellis purchased a house at 733 S. Broadway in Lima. It was a spacious two story home with a basement, unfinished attic, huge bath upstairs with three bedrooms, and a living room, dining room and kitchen, half bath and parlor on the main floor. There was a large front porch that spanned the front of the house. He had a one car garage behind the house where he kept his automobile that he used primarily on weekends, as he felt it was more practical to walk to work and save the wear on the car. In his back yard he built a large grape arbor and soon it was covered with bountiful grapes. He also planted and grew about seven cheery trees that were weighed down with cherries each summer.
He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Originally the Modern Woodmen had a rather unique set of membership restrictions and criteria. Religiously, the group was quite open. On the other hand membership was restricted to 12 states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. Residents of large cities were also disqualified from membership.
Ellis was 6 foot tall, slender with brown eyes and brown hair and very intelligent. He was perceived by his daughter Virginia as a strict, exacting man, and by his daughter Grace as loving and gentle.
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