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Ellison
William John Ellison’s father, Thomas Henry Ellison,
was born in 1828 in the County of Armagh in Northern Ireland, coming to
this country in a small sailing vessel which took seven weeks to make
the crossing.
In Towbridge, Ontario he met and fell in love with a pretty red-haired
girl, Margaret Reid, of United Empire Loyalist family, whom he
married. Nine children were born of this union, six girls and
three boys of which William John was the youngest. He was born on
October 25th, 1876 at Listowel, Ontario.
They came west in 1878, first to Morris where they lived on land called
River Lots. Later they moved and lived near
Cartwright and finally to Glendenning District in 1887, to Mr.
Boucher’s farm, whose wife had passed away when the boy Lewis was
born. Grandma Ellison raised the two children, a little girl and
Lewis, their father returning to the United States. Grandma
Ellison answered any calls to help the sick, day or night.
Mr. Boucher came back four years later and gave Grandma Ellison the
farm with a spring on it, for having looked after the two
children. When we were little Dad took us out to the spring for a
picnic at least once a year, with the team and rubber-tired
buggy. We always brought a sealer of the spring water home with
us. This was special.
Grandpa Ellison passed away December 26th, 1892, the farm later being
sold to Mr. Henderson, Mrs. Albert Stilwell’s uncle. He sold it
to Frank Gibson, Mrs. Stillwell’s brother; he sold it to Rollie
Oliver’s Dad, Dick Olver. Grandma moved into Killarney where she
passed away on Feb. 17th, 1918.
William (Billy) worked as a small boy driving a snatch team, (having to
stand on a handy pail to harness his horses), when the railway was
built. His own first team was a mule and an ox.
Later he worked for the father of Robert Stead, (the author), then for
Mr. John Wallace at Cartwright. There he met Ellen Lena
Simpson. They were married at Watt Nicol’s home in the
Glendenning District, by the Rev. M. P. Floyd on December 24th,
1902. Miss Caroline Cummings was the bridesmaid and Billy Smith
the best man. Three children were born of this union, Lucy, Ethel
and Bernice.
When William worked on the railroad the men played poker at
night. He won a grain sack full of tobacco and one night he lost
all of it. That finished his poker playing. His eldest
brother Tom worked on the railroad when the last spike, a golden one,
was nailed in the track at Vancouver. The porters pulled the
blinds down on the train window when they were travelling through the
mountains as the women would scream and people would get down near the
floor.
In 1903 he worked for Tom Readman as a blacksmith, later buying the
equipment. In 1905, he went to the United States for six months,
but came back and settled permanently in Killarney where he worked for
Albert Stillwell in the blacksmith trade and in May, 1916, took over
the business of W. K. McNamee and three years later built a shop of his
own where he carried on until he death May 6th, 1940.
Mrs. Ellison still resides in Killarney.
In religion he was a Presbyterian. He was a staunch member of
Bethel Orange Lodge Black Chapter for manty years.
As a young man he was an ardent sports fan. Travelling many miles
by foot and horseback to kick football and play lacrosse. He
walked from Cartwright to Brandon and home again. One time he
rode a bicycle part way, that was too strenuous, he sold it and walked.
Billy Smith and Uncle Jim would cut wood and Billy brought a load in to
Killarney the next day. He would sell it for $1.25. He paid
25 cents for his dinner and 25 cents to put the team in the livery barn.
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