A to Z Challenge - T is for Ted otherwise known as Edward

Snippets from the life of Martha Sarah Ellis.

Martha was the third eldest child of Alfred Ellis & Martha Bartlett.  Three years older than Martha was her brother Edward born on 18 Nov 1867 in Camberwell, London, England.[1]  Based on a photograph held by a family descendant of his sister Kate [younger sister of both Edward and Martha] it is believed that he was known to his family and friends by the name “Ted”. This is also supported by testimony given at his inquest when it was reported that his friend Charles Envall was heard to say to the dying Edward Ellis "All right. Ted, I will see that everything is paid up when you are gone; I will stick to an old pal."[2]

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Photographer Yeoman & Co.,, Studio portrait of Lincoln Todman 9 mths, Pat 36 ½ yrs, Hazel 4yrs, Edward 39yrs, Myrtle Sharp's Private Photo  Collection currently held by  Sandra Williamson [T089]

Martha spent her first 9½ years with Ted living at home. But by the end of 1879 everything changed dramatically within the space of 12 months.  First, her grandfather, James Ellis, died on the 18^th December 1879 in the Camberwell Workhouse on Havil Street in the infirmary, of a cerebral haemorrhage.[3]  Soon after Ted was arrested and committed to the Gordon Road Workhouse on the 10^th March 1880, within a week he was discharged and “taken out by Pte 27 P.R” (PR might stand for “person responsible”) to the Mt Edgecombe Training facility.[4]  [The week spent in Gordon Road would have given the authorities enough time make arrangements for his acceptance to Mt Edgecombe.  The stay in Gordon Road rather than a police cell suggests that he hadn’t done anything too drastic.]

According to the 1881 British Census, both of Martha’s older brothers had left home.[5]  Ted was still living on Industrial Training Ship and listed as a scholar.[6]  It is not certain whether Martha ever saw Ted again in England as Mount Edgcumbe was anchored in the River Tamar off Saltash.[7]

Edward would have received training in some profession while on the Training Ship such as seamanship, tailoring, or shoe making.[8] It is thought that he may have come to Australia as early as 1888, as at the time of his death the newspapers said that he had been living in Australia for the past 25 years.[9] Perhaps he followed his eldest brother Alfred who immigrated to Australia on the Orient which sailed 23 June 1887.[10]

By 1891, he was living in country Victoria working as a labourer when he married Ettie Schroder on the 13^th January of that year.[11] We know that he visited Martha in 1908 because of the photo that they sent their sister Kate.  However, I am not sure how frequent these visits were but they were probably made possible as he worked as “a casual hand in the Ways and Works branch of the Railway department ... since 1888”.[12]

Five years after visiting Martha, Ted died in a tragic railway accident where he fell out of a railway van after falling asleep.[13]

To Read more about Martha's life for articles previously posted for the A to Z Challenges click the Letters below:-

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 

Sources

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[1] England, birth certificate for Edward Ellis, born 18 November 1867; citing 1d/644/327, December quarter 1867, Camberwell registration district, St Georges Camberwell in the County of  Surrey sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[2] 1914 'MAN'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH.', Echuca and Moama Advertiser and Farmers' Gazette (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), 19 February, p. 4. , viewed 24 Apr 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154399312
[3] General Register Office, England, Death Certificate James Ellis, Reference Deaths Dec 1879, District Camberwell,  Vol 1d,  page 551; Workhouses.org.uk,. 2015. 'The Workhouse In Camberwell (St Giles), London: Surrey'. Accessed August 16 2015. http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Camberwell/  [which had an infirmary that was built in 1873, not the Gordon Street]

[4]Entry of Admission for Edward Lee Gordon Road Workhouse 10 March 1880 (Ancestry, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930, Gordon Road Workhouse 1879-1892, London Metropolitan Archives, London, England. LEBG/189/1 [Image 30 of 238, accessed 17/08/2015]). 

[5] General Register Office,  England, Death Certificate Sarah Ellis, Reference -Deaths Mar 1881. District Camberwell,Vol.1d, p.503 

[6] Census returns of England and Wales, 1881,  Civil Parish, Township or Place: St Germans -  extract for Edward Ellis living on the "Mount Edgcumbe" Industrial Training Ship (1881 Census, Registration district: St Germans, Sub-registration district: Saltash, ED, institution, or vessel: Industrial Training Ship Mount Edgeumbe, Public Records Office, England (PRO) RG11/2282/177.

[7] Library, World. 2015. ' HMS Winchester (1822) | World Ebook Library | Read Ebooks Online '. Schoolebooklibrary.Info. Accessed August 16 2015. http://www.schoolebooklibrary.info/articles/hms_winchester_(1822)

[8] Brucehunt.co.uk,. 2015. 'Training Ship TS Mount Edgcumbe At Saltash'. Accessed August 16 2015. http://www.brucehunt.co.uk/Training%20Ship%20Mount%20Edgcumbe.html 

[9] The Guardian, Supplement to Guardian Friday, December 5, 1913.  Fatality at Kyabram Man Falls from a Railway Van

[10] Ancestry, Passenger Listing for Alfred Ellis on the SS Orient sailed 23 June 1887.  Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923. Citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947], Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria.. Accessed 23 April 2017 [image 367 of 655]

[11] Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Marriage Entry for Edward Ellis & Ettie Schroder

[12] The Guardian, Supplement to Guardian Friday, December 5, 1913.  Fatality at Kyabram Man Falls from a Railway Van

[13] 1914 'MAN'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH.', Echuca and Moama Advertiser and Farmers' Gazette (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), 19 February, p. 4. , viewed 23 Apr 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154399312