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Thomas William Ellis 'Master Mariner' (Updated 2nd Nov 2010) Thomas William Ellis was born in Poonah, India on 8th May 1841. He was the son of George Ellis and Mary Ann Ellis (nee Bradley). George was, at that time, a Sergeant with the 4th Light Dragoons on a tour of duty in Poonah. The record of Thomas' baptism on the 30th May 1841 is recorded on microform in the Oriental & India Collection at the British Library in London. Thomas had two sisters; Julianna, and Elizabeth Margaret. Julianna died in infancy, and nothing is known of Elizabeth, except that there are reasons to believe that she lived at least until the last 1840's. Nothing yet has been uncovered regarding Thomas' childhood - his mother died when has was only 5 or 6 years old and his father re-married in 1848 (to Jane Bright, a Gloucester girl) while on tour of duty in Ireland; Mary Ann had died while Thomas was still young (no details have yet been found) and George himself died in 1856 in Trowbridge Barracks, when Thomas was about 14 years old. It is unclear exactly when Thomas joined the merchant navy, but he appears in Census Returns for the first time in 1861, where he is recorded as a "Mariner" lodging in a Liverpool hotel, while his step-mother Jane was still living in Trowbridge. On 25th August 1862, in Quebec Canada, we have found that Thomas married for the first time, to Celina (nee Donaldson or Danielson). By the time of the 1871 census, the couple have three daughters; Elizabeth , Jane Martha, and Emily. Step-mother Jane also moved to Quebec shortly after 1861, and is recorded as living with the family. It is unclear whether Thomas' connection with Canada is entirely due to Jane's move to the country, or whether Jane moved to Quebec to be near Thomas... On the 16th March 1872, Thomas was awarded his Master's Certificate of Competency (No. 63) at Quebec, Canada. Around the same period, Thomas' first son; Walter George Alfred Ellis was born. Recent research has found that Walter and his sisters migrated the USA and raised families that have spread across several of the northern US states. Walter died in 1925. In 1874, Thomas' step-mother died at Quebec. Some controversy follows, because records show that Thomas married again at Liverpool Register Office on 6th November 1875 to Martha Caroline Cotton, the daughter of a farmer (possibly from Staffs). In 1869, Martha had been reported by the Liverpool Mercury as being proprietress of the "American Hotel" in Bootle. Sadly, Martha died in 1880 of breast cancer in a Liverpool hospice of the day. No known children have been found, and there is no mention of other children in later years. This marriage is controversial since the 1881 Quebec census suggests that his first wife is still alive at this time - although this might be a coincidental entry; all ages and locations of the family are compatible but the childrens' names are subtly changed. Celina is listed as a "widow". As we have discovered, the children from his first marriage did not join Thomas in England (this would have raised questions at his wedding in 1875 and 1881...), and it is entirely possible that his first family truely belived that Thomas had somehow been "lost at sea". On the 18th September 1881, Thomas married again, to Hannah Dodd ; the daughter of a dock clerk, in Christchurch Kensington, West Derby , Liverpool. They settled in Bootle. Thomas does not feature in the April 1881 census, so far as can be determined, although Hannah Dodd and her family do. Thomas and Hannah had nine children between 1882 and 1900 but two were lost of Scarlet Fever. During this time all the ships that Thomas served on, mainly as 'mate', were all registered in Liverpool. Lloyd's Captains Registers trace his service from 1872 to 1893 (so far), but as far as records show, he only served as "Captain" on two ships
Family recollections are that Thomas "died at sea" in 1901 - echoes perhaps of what his first family might have believed? Lloyds' Captains List
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