THE WIVES OF IRA ELLIS (1802-1878)

 

Ira Ellis was born on 25 Mar 1802 in Surry County, NC, a son of Etheldred Ellis and Elizabeth McKnight.  He migrated to Lincoln County, TN, before 1830, and moved on to Newton County, MO, in 1937.  He had 11 children by several wives.  Because of the paucity of records on the frontier, the identity of his wives is not fully recorded, and some questions persist as to the number and names of his wives.  Based on the evidence cited below, the most likely scenario seems to be to be the following one.

 

Name                                                                 birth date           marriage             death                              children

 

(1) Mary Bledsoe                          1810                 c1828                      c1846                            Thomas (1830)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Asbury (1832)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        John   (1835)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Sarah  (1836)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        William(1839)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Lafe   (1841)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Ira (1843)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        James  (1844)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        George (1846)

 

(2) Elizabeth Dunagan      c1819                c1846                      c1851                            none

 

(3) Nancy Manerva FORD    c1822                c1852                      1861                                Martha (1853)

      the widow MOORE                                                                                                                                            Bascom (1859)

 

(4) Adaline Young                          1822                    1864                       1889                                none

 

 

Census Records

 

The 1850 census lists Ira's wife as Eliza, age 31.  Thomas is age 20.

 

The 1860 census lists his wife as Nancy, age 38.  Elvira MOORE is 18. Joseph MOORE is listed as 4, but he is listed as 35 in the 1880 census, so that he was probably 14 in the 1860 census.

 

The 1870 census lists Adaline, age 48, as his wife.

 

 

Wanda Cemetery [LJ, v4]

 

Markers exist for Ira ELLIS (25 Mar 1802 - 15 May 1878) and Ada ELLIS (10 Apr 1822 - 13 Jan 1889).  There are no markers for other wives of Ira. 

 

 

 

Shannon Cemetery[LJ, v2]

 

The Shannon Cemetery which is 2 miles south of Stark City on the old Hugh Shannon farm (Sec 4 T24 R30) was canvassed by Larry James in Sep. 1972.  He does not list any ELLIS names in the Shannon Cemetery, nor anyone who fits in as one of Ira's wives

 

 

 

 

The Dunegan Cemetery [LJ, v4]

 

Larry James reports that the Dunegan cemetery, 3 miles west of Stella, was canvassed by Mrs. Ernest Buzzard, and contains only the markers for four DUNEGAN: Daniel (1802-1857), Frances (1799-1885), George B. (1842-1922), and Lafayette (1835-1868).

 

 

Marriage Records

 

Although Lincoln County, TN, was formed in 1810, marriages were not officially recorded until 1838, and no marriage records for Ira Ellis have been found.

 

Larry James [LJ, v 28] reports an entry for the marriage of F. ELLIS to Adline YOUNG in Newton County, MO, on 21 Aug 1864.  He says that the handwriting on the marriage records was difficult to decipher.  Goodspeed's history, page 165, list Grey Eller married to Adelina Young on this date.  Lucille ELLIS Kiester reports that she looked at the original record in Newton County and that this is a marriage of Ira ELLIS.  The entry may have been Irey Ellis.

 

No other marriage records for Ira Ellis have been found.

 

 

Etheldred Thomas ELLIS

 

The ECN article by Dixie McCrary states that she has a copy of pg. 356 of a "History of North Washington," prepared about 1903, while Thomas was still living, in which he states that he was born in Shelbyville, TN,  on 26 April 1830, the son of Ira ELLIS and Mary BLEDSOE ELLIS, natives of NC, who removed to MO in 1837.

 

 

William N. ELLIS

 

The book "Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas, 1889, has information on William N. ELLIS and Mary L. BRYAN ELLIS of Lamar County, TX:  "W. N. ELLIS was born in Newton County, MO, 4 Mar 1839, the son of Ira and Mary (BLEDSOE) ELLIS.  She died in 1845 in MO and was the daughter of Anthony BLEDSOE of Bedford County, TN."

 

 

Siepel Family

 

Mary Jane White, great-granddaughter of Ira's daughter Martha ELLIS SIEPEL has a copy of the death certificate for Martha which list her mother's maiden name as Minerva Ford, and the informant as Martha's daughter Eliza Prentice [Eliza Minerva SIEPEL PRENTICE].  A family bible record has the spelling as Manerva.

 

Mary Jane has also found a death certificate for Ira ELLIS (Jr.) with information reported by his son David ELLIS at http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/birthdeath/.  This certificate states that the parents of Ira ELLIS (Jr.) were Ira ELLIS and Polly BLEDSOE.

 

Recollections of Elma B. Prentice, granddaughter of Ira's daughter Martha ELLIS SIEPEL are that Ira ELLIS married Minerva FORD.  They had a daughter Martha born 15 July 1853.  Minerva died when Martha was eight years old. Ira ELLIS next married Adeline YOUNG.

 

 

Mrs. Frank Shinn, Jr.

 

The ECN article by Dixie McCrary indicates that she has a letter from Mrs. Frank Shinn Jr., a granddaughter of Ira ELLIS Jr., by his son David LaFayette ELLIS, which states that Mrs. Shinn remembers hearing her father David say that his grandmother was a Dunagan.  However, as recorded on the death certificate for Ira Ellis (Jr.), David Ellis himself reported that the parents of his father, Ira Ellis (Jr.), were Ira Ellis and Polly Bledsoe.

 

 

Fern Borden Peterson [LJ, ser. 2, v5]

 

She says that Ira had four wives. Sarah Elizabeth ELLIS POGUE was the only daughter of the first wife who was born in NC.  "Some of the early records of Newton County give her maiden name as Dunninger (or one of the wives was a Dunninger)."

 

"I think it was grandfather's second wife that was quite well to do.  She was the owner of several slaves who then lived with the Ira Ellis family.  She was in her thirties and died after childbirth along with the baby."

 

"I think that Bascom and Martha's mother was the third wife.  She was a widow Moore and had a son and daughter." 

 

"The fourth wife was Addie. She is buried by Ira at Wanda.  She never had children. 

 

Some of our relatives are buried at Shannon cemetery southeast of Stark City, and other graves are lost." [See above]

 

 

 

 

The Dunagan Family [LJ, v6]

 

Larry James reports the following assertions from the records of Mabel Buzzard:  Elizabeth DUNAGAN was born about 1799 and married in TN about 1820 to Ira ELLIS who later moved to Newton County.  [This seems to be an incorrect date for both birth and marriage.]

 

 

Dixie McCrary

 

The 1978 book by Dixie McCrary cites a family tradition in one branch of the family that Ira first married a daughter of Anthony BLEDSOE.  No source is cited.

 

A different unnamed descendant lists the wives as Elizabeth Dunagan (1798- ), Nancy Moore (1822- ), Nancy Manerva ( -1861), and Adaline H. (1822-1889).  This family information credits the first 9 children to Elizabeth Dunagan as the first wife.  [This appears to be wrong]

 

Miss McCrary's list of the 1860 census omits Eliza Moore (18) and omits the last name of Joseph Moore.  She also lists the age of Martha as 3, but it is clearly 7 in the census and that agrees with the 1870 census which lists her as 16. 

 

In the 1870 census, there is a Ewing Ellis living with the family, listed as a farm laborer.  She erroneously equates Ewing Ellis with Joseph Moore.  The handwriting in the 1860 census is very clear except for Bascum which is Basc??, but certainly not Basconie as she reports.  The 1910 census gives his name as Bascom P., so Bascom Perry ELLIS is probably correct.

 

Miss McCrary assumes that Elizabeth DUNAGAN is the Eliza in the 1850 census.  She also speculates that Elizabeth DUNAGAN may be a BLEDSOE widow so that the both branches of the family could be right.

 

Miss McCrary concludes that the marriage to Nancy Moore took place in 1856 and that she died in the same year without children by Ira.  The marriage to Nancy Manerva followed in short order an produced Martha and Bascom.  This is apparently based on the birthdate of Martha as being 3 years old in the 1860 census and therefore born in 1857, and on the age of Joseph in 1860 being 4 so that he would have been born in 1856.  Both of those dates are wrong, Joseph was 14 and Martha was 7.  Therefore if the 1860 Nancy is the mother of Martha, she would have married Ira before 1852.  This error is repeated in the 1980 supplement to her book.  However, Miss McCrary notes the possibility that Nancy Moore and Nancy Manerva are the same person. 

 

The Summer 1984 edition of the Ellis Cousins Newsletter contains an article by Dixie McCrary, titled The Many Wives of Ira Ellis, which brings her research up to date.  This information is also contained in the addendum circulated with the copy of the book which is loaned to members by the Newsletter.

 

In this article, Miss McCrary cites the information from Mrs. Helen Austin, a descendant of Thomas, which says that he was the son of Ira and Mary BLEDSOE, natives of NC.

 

Miss McCrary also repeats the statement by Mrs. Frank Shinn Jr., a descendant of Ira Jr., that Ira Jr.'s mother was a DUNAGAN.  Mrs. Shinn provided to her the family record compiled by Mabel Link Buzzard.  Miss McCrary believes that the date of marriage of Elizabeth DUNAGAN to Ira is based on the assumption that she is the first wife and was the mother of Thomas.  Miss McCrary believes the date of marriage to be in the 1830's or somewhat later.

 

Miss McCrary goes on to assert that "the record  shows two later marriages for Ira ELLIS: one to Nancy MOORE, a widow with two children by her first marriage.  There were no children by this marriage and she died within a year or two.  Ira was then married to Nancy Manerva in the 1850's.  She died 18 Nov 1861 and is buried in Shannon Cemetery [See above].  Ira and Nancy were parents of Martha Olive, b. c1853, also dau. and a son who d. in infancy and are buried in Shannon Cemetery, and a son Bascom Perry ELLIS b. 21 Oct 1858."  Miss McCrary left out Adaline, with which the marriages would total five.

 

Miss McCrary concludes that Mary BLEDSOE was the first wife and the mother of Thomas, and that Elizabeth Dunagan was the mother of Ira Jr., James, and George.  [Ira Jr.'s death certificate conflicts with this assertion.]

 

 

Ellis Cousins Newsletter of 1990

 

The Winter 1990 edition of the ECN adds information to the article by Dixie McCrary.  This article acknowledges that Miss McCrary was quite old and had access only to some incorrect census listings in preparing the listing of wives, and reviews some of the evidence in light of the correct census figures.

 

The article states that the first wife was Mary BLEDSOE and the marriage probably took place in Greene County TN as Etheldred Thomas ELLIS states that he was born there.  [Actually, Thomas said Shelbyville which is in what is now Bedford County, just north of Lincoln County.]  The 1830 census shows Ira, his wife, and Thomas in Lincoln County, TN.  Anthony Bledsoe is a neighbor.

 

The article speculates that Mary BLEDSOE died in route to MO or shortly afterwards, and the children born in MO prior to 1850 were by the second wife.  This overlooks the biographical information supplied by William in 1889 stating that his mother was Mary BLEDSOE and that she lived until 1845.

 

The second wife is thought to be Elizabeth Dunagan, and the five children born in MO prior to 1850 are attributed to her.  This overlooks the assertion of William that his mother was Mary BLEDSOE.

 

The article lists the third wife as Nancy Manerva, the widow Moore.  She is regarded as the mother of Joseph MOORE, Elvira MOORE, Bascomb Perry ELLIS, and Martha ELLIS.  Adaline is said to be the fourth and last wife.  [This does not take into account the death certificate for Martha which says that her mother was Minerva FORD.]

 

 

Analysis

 

Thomas and William are both quoted in published histories as claiming Mary BLEDSOE as their mother.  William gives the date of Mary's death as 1845.

 

The BLEDSOE family did not move to MO.  There is no other evidence to place Mary BLEDSOE in MO other than as Ira's wife. It seems clear that Mary BLEDSOE was the first wife and came to MO as Ira's wife. 

 

The Dunagan family did move to MO and settled near Ira.  Elizabeth Dunagan could have come to MO with the Dunagan family, or possible with a first husband, and married Ira in MO.  She was probably the second wife, and likely the Eliza of the 1850 census of age 31.

 

If the report that the mother of Ira Jr. was Mary Bledsoe is correct, then it is likely that James and George were children of Mary Bledsoe as well.  The birth dates are very close together.

 

The reported markers in the Dunegan cemetery and the Shannon cemetery don't support the references to them by any of the writers.  There may be some lost graves or they may be referring to some other cemetery.

 

The statements of Fern Borden Peterson are just recollections, but they seem to be accurate.  They are consistent with the census records except for the reference to the Shannon Cemetery.  She says that Ira had four wives.  She recalls a well-to-do wife who was in her thirties and died in childbirth along with the child.  That would likely be Elizabeth Dunagan.

 

 

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LJ = Pioneers of the Six Bulls: The Newton County, Missouri, Saga.  Compiled by Larry James.  Available in the Neosho, MO, Library.

 

DM = The Ellis Line from Surry-Sussex in Virginia, with supplement 1980,  By Dixie L. McCrary, 1978.  Available in the Library of Congress.  May be borrowed by members from the Ellis Cousins Newsletter.

 

ECN = Ellis Cousins Newsletter. Available from Bill & Carol Ellis, 1201 Maple St., Friona, TX 79035.

 

 

3 October 2000

Ellis Dill