Elijah Ellingwood
Carpenter of Manchester, Dearborn County, Indiana, probably the son of Richard Ellingwood and Hannah Brown. He married Mary Abigail Rice in 1841, went with his family to Illinois in 1857 and was a master carpenter at Momence; he later lived at Kankakee, where his sudden death left his son Finley, later Dr. Finley Ellingwood, with the support of the family.
Life
- 1819Born27 Nov 1819, Manchester, Dearborn County, Indiana
From his gravestone, per FamilySearch. Born Indiana, 31 in 1850 and 40 in 1860.
- 1820LivedManchester, Dearborn County, Indiana
The boy under 10 in Richard Ellingwood's household, a few months old.
documentedprobable - 1841Married Mary Abigail Rice25 Jul 1841, Dearborn County, Indiana
By R. Hargrave; the index names the bride "Abigail Rice".
documentedproven - 1850Lived24 Oct 1850, Manchester Township, Dearborn County, Indiana
Head of household, carpenter, real estate $700.
documentedproven - 1860LivedMomence, Kankakee County, Illinois
Head of household, master carpenter, real estate $800, personal estate $500; indexed as "Elizah".
documentedproven - 1870LivedKankakee, Illinois
Head of household, carpenter, personal estate $1,000, with Mary, Jennie, Mary and Ellsworth.
documentedproven - 1872Died25 Sep 1872, Kankakee, Illinois
From his gravestone (Find a Grave index). Finley's 1918 biography puts his father's sudden death "a few months" after July 1871.
compiledprobable - —BuriedMound Grove Cemetery, Kankakee, Illinoiscompiledprobable
Sources
Family
- Father
- Richard Ellingwood
No record names his father. He was born at Manchester in 1819, where Richard Ellingwood was living by 1820, and lived near him in 1850; the family Bible recording Richard descended to Elijah's grandson Elliott Lee; and Cudge was named for "my great grandfather Richard Ellingwood" (memoir).
inferredprobableSources
- 1840 U.S. census, Manchester, Dearborn County, Indiana: Richard Ellingwood
- 1850 U.S. census, Clay Township, Dearborn County, Indiana: Richard and Hannah Ellingwood
- Ruth Gray, Maine Families in 1790, vols. 1 and 3 (Picton Press, 1988)
- Ellingwood Family Tree (Ancestry), GEDCOM export of 4 October 2026
- Reasoning:
research/ellingwood/Ellingwood_Master_Research.md
- Mother
- Hannah Browninferredprobable
Sources
- Ellingwood Family Tree (Ancestry), GEDCOM export of 4 October 2026
- FamilySearch Family Tree
- Reasoning:
research/ellingwood/Ellingwood_Master_Research.md
- Spouse
Pedigree
Notes
Father of Dr. Finley Ellingwood. Married Mary Abigail Rice in Dearborn County in 1841 (record); she and Elijah were among the heirs of her father Rufus Rice, whose estate was administered from 1846 (source). In the 1850 census he is a carpenter at Manchester, 31, with $700 in real estate, Mary A., and daughters Adaline, 8, and the baby Jane (record; the page is in the Gallery). Three children had died young, Melville, Aurora and a first Jane.
The family went to Illinois in 1857. In 1860 he is a master carpenter at Momence, Kankakee County, with $800 in real estate and $500 in personal estate; with him Mary A., Adaline, 18, Jane, 10, Nancy, 8, and Finley, 4 (record, from a screenshot). He gave 50 cents a year to the Methodist church at Kankakee in 1863-65, and in 1870 was at Kankakee, 49, with Mary, Jennie, 20, Mary, 14, and Ellsworth, 7 (record).
He died suddenly at Kankakee: “The sudden death of his father … threw the entire support of the family” on Finley, his mother being an invalid (source). By January 1875 both parents were dead, and Finley became guardian of his brother Ellsworth, aged ten (record).
Open questions
- A record naming his parents. His estate (Kankakee probate, 1872-1875).
- His death: September 1872 (gravestone) or late 1871 (Finley’s biography).
Pictures
Connections
- In his ancestry
- 46 notable connections →
Every notable ancestor and famous relative that Elijah's own ancestors lead to, with the lines drawn down to him.