Civil War Veterans of Monterey County, California. Researched and Compiled by : Timothy P. Reese, PCC of Salinas , CA. & Robert L. Nelson ,PCC. of Santa Cruz.CA. Both members of the “Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War”. Department of California & Pacific. Camp Abraham Lincoln # 10. The Reese-Nelson CWV-MC Data Base This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://calarchives4u.com/ These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. ELLIS, WILLILAM R (1842-1911) Salinas IOOF Cemetery (Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California Page 422) Mr. Ellis- Nowhere more than in the lives of the California pioneers do we find the lights and shades of fortune and misfortune reflected in more varied hues. The subject of this sketch affords an excellent illustration of the truth of this statement. Briefly given, an outline of his life is as follows. W.R. Ellis was born n Rochester, Monroe county, New York, October 3, 1842, and is descended from a line of patriotic ancestors, some of them having fought on Revolutionary battlefields. His father, W.R. Ellis, a midshipman in the English navy, was killed in the Mexican war. And his mother was direct descendant of Commodore Rogers of the American navy. She died in 1882, aged ninety-one years. In 1857, when a boy of thirteen years, Mr. Ellis ran away from his home in New York and went to sea. He visited every port of any note in the United States and was at Liverpool three times. Returning to New York about the time the Civil war came on, the patriotic spirit he had inherited from his ancestors was aroused, and he enlisted when the first call for volunteers as made, the date of enlistment being May 7, 1861. As a member of Company C, New York Volunteers, he entered the conflict and heroically did he serve all through the sanguinary struggle. He was in many of the most important battles of the war, among which were the battles of Bull Run, Gettysburg, Antietam, South Mountain and Fredericksburg. On the 22d of July, and the time General McPherson was killed, he was taken prisoner at Atlanta. Fourteen times he was wounded. He now receives a pension of $27 per month. Mr. Ellis received his education in the public schools of New York and Michigan. He came to California in 1868, making the journey by way of Arizona and with an ox team. after his arrival here he was variously employed. He helped to build the Union Pacific railroad, fought the Apaches in Arizona etc. He came to this State with $27,000. Since then he has lost three fortunes and has been a tramp and everything else except a thief and rascal. He has never held any office save that of City Marshal. He was for a time engaged in farming and stock raising, but is now conducting a livery business in Salinas. Mr. Ellis was married July 3, 1888 to Mrs. Joanna Edwards, who died December 1, 1890. Like her husband, she was descended from Revolutionary stock. Her brother fought through the late war and lost a leg in that conflict. (Salinas Daily Index January 18, 1911) Veteran Going To Soldier’s Home W.R. Ellis, a veteran of the civil war, more familiarly known as George Ellis, has applied for admission to the soldiers’ home t Sawtelle, and it is believed he will shortly be received into that institution. He received the necessary blanks yesterday afternoon and they were filled out for him by Assessor W.J. Smith. Mr. Ellis served in the Twenty sixth New York volunteers and later was with Sherman in the southwest. He bears many wounds received in battle. His health having become impaired, he has decided to go to the home for rest and treatment. (Salinas Daily Index February 20, 1911) William R. Ellis Passes Beyond Well Known Old Veteran Succumbs to Attack of Heart Disease William Robert Ellis, familiarly known by everyone as “Old George” Ellis, died early Sunday morning at the Jim Bardin hospital of heart disease. he was a veteran of the civil war and was aged 70 years, having been born in new York state in 1841. He came to this county soon after the close of the war and had made his home here continuously for more than forty years. He bore many scars on his person, the result of wounds received in battle, and he received a pension from the government. Some twenty years ago he was engaged in the livery business in this city, but retired owing to ill health and has since passed a portion of his time at King City, where his nephew, Thomas Ellis, resides. He also has relatives at Los Gatos and he leaves a sister in Michigan. A few weeks ago Mr. Ellis applied for and received a permit to enter the soldiers home at Santa Monica, He was preparing to leave for that place when he was taken ill with the attack that resulted in his death. the deceased was well known and well liked by nearly every one and was popular with the young people s well as the old. Many expressions of regret were heard when the news of his passing was made public. The funeral will take place at 2:00 o’clock tomorrow and his remains will be interred in the I.O.O.F. cemetery (Salinas Daily Index February 20, 1911) Veteran’s Remains Are Laid to Rest The funeral of the late William Robert Ellis, a veteran of the civil war who passed away at the Jim Bardin hospital last Sunday morning took place this afternoon and was attended by many friends of the deceased. The services were conducted by the Rev. George McCormick of the United Presbyterian church. The following acted as pall bearers: John G. Joy, James P. Smith, Frank Kopman, D.K. McDougall, W.H. Clark and Thomas Labree.