REV. EDWARD G. ELLEY

(From the History of Callaway County Missouri, 1884, page 587-589)
Transcribed by Kris Breid, 18 December 2004

REV. EDWARD G. ELLEY, pastor of the High Hill Baptist church, also farmer and stock raiser. The Elley family is one of the oldest in the history of the country, and indeed in the history of the Anglo-Saxon race. All of its branches in this country and in England, Scotland, and Ireland—for representatives of the family are found n all of them, as well as in Australia and the other British colonies—may trace their ancestry directly back, it is believed, to Ella (as the name is spelled in early English history), the Saxon chief who made a descent upon Britain in A. D. 491, and became king of Sussex. From him was descended Ella, king of Deira, in Northumberland, in 1559. And on down through English history the family may be traced, the name changing in conformity with the changes in English orthography to “Ellys,” n the time of Chaucer, and, finally, to Elley at a later period. Every well informed person is familiar with the history of the changes in the spelling of names that been effected in common with the changes made in the orthography of the language. Accordingly, in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries we find mention made of Rev. Anthony Ellys, an eminent divine, and Sir R. Ellys, a profound biblical scholar. So in the nineteenth century there is Sir John Elley, lieutenant-general and a distinguished soldier; and there are many others whom space does not permit to be mentioned here.

A branch of the family settled in America—in Virginia—prior to Governor Spotswood’s time, and from this branch Rev. Edward G. Elley is descended. First in the list of his ancestors he has kept was Henry Elley, who it is believed established the first iron foundry ever built in the United States—at Spottsylvania, Virginia, while Spotswood was Governor. Then came his son, Edward Elley, a distinguished soldier in the Revolutionary War; then the latter’s son, Henry, the father of our subject, and who immigrated to Callaway county in 1835. A remarkable characteristic of the family is the singular longevity of its members. Henry Elley, of Spotswood’s time, lived to the advanced age of 110 years; Edward lived to be ninety-nine years old, and Henry, the younger, was eighty-two when he died.

Henry Elley, the younger (the father of the Rev. Edward W.), was born in Culpepper county, Virginia, July 22, 1790, and was married in 1817 to Miss Mary A. James, who was born in Stafford county, Virginia, in 1793. They came to Callaway county, Missouri, as stated above, in 1835. Here they followed farming and lived until their deaths. They first bought 160 acres of land, and by industry so prospered that they became the. owners of nearly two sections of land. However, the wife died in September, 1845.

He was afterwards married to Mrs. Cynthia Simms, widow of Elias Simms, of Boone county. She also dying he was subsequently married to Miss Sallie Fitzhugh, of this county. He died on the 21st of March, 1872. His last wife followed him to the grave three years afterwards. He was a constituent member of the Middle River Baptist church, and was one of the most highly esteemed citizens the county ever had.

By his first wife he raised a family of seven children, as follows: Mary A., wife of James M. Davis, died in 1850; Kitty A., wife of Thomas H. Caldwell; Benjamin F., Erwin G., Sallie A., wife of L. H. Gibbs, of Boone county; Harriet T., who died the wife of J. W. Elley, of St. Louis, in 1877, and James H. Edward G., the fourth in this family, was born in Culpepper county, Virginia, on the 6th of June, 1827, and was therefore nine years of age when his parents came to this county. His youth was spent on the farm, assisting at work about the place and attending the neighboring schools, the latter, however, usually only during parts of each winter. By close attention to his studies, and by improving his leisure hours in reading, he succeeded in acquiring a very good ordinary English education.

Brought up on a farm, he there acquired a taste for an agricultural life which influenced his choice of a permanent occupation when he reached man’s estate, and he accordingly devoted himself to farming. But he has always been deeply thoughtful and a steady student, and wisely looking on the future life, to which this life is but

The twinkle of a star
In God’s eternal day,

as of vastly more importance than all things earthly, he has constantly labored to keep his mind and heart in the way of salvation, and to solve the mystery, so far as human intelligence can solve it, which shrouds the grave, striving so to live, meanwhile, that he shall have nothing to fear and everything of joy and happiness to expect, in the world beyond. Of a sympathetic nature, and looking to the welfare of his fellow-creatures as much as to his own, Mr. Elley, by a sense of duty and a love of God and his fellow-men, has been called to the pulpit to do what lays in his power in behalf of the eternal welfare of those around him. He early became a member of the Baptist church, and on the 25th of July, 1883, he was ordained a minister of the church, having preached as a licentiate, however, some two years before.As already stated, Rev. Mr. Elley is now pastor of the High Hill church in this county, and it is no more than his due to say that he is one of the most earnest, zealous and, withal, able and effective preachers in his denomination in this section of the State. He brings to the pulpit the fruits of years of earnest, hard study, and the zeal of a novitiate with the judgment of a man of years, and the profound piety that is of the heart.

As a framer, he has been very successful. An industrious man, an intelligent, good manager, and a frugal liver, he has accumulated a comfortable fortune. In 1849 he bought 230 acres of land as a homestead. His farm now contains over 700 acres. He raises annually from 150 to 200 acres of grain and large numbers of stock, including horses, mules, cattle, sheep, hogs, etc., and his stock generally of superior grades. Therefore preaching is not followed as a means of support, but entirely for the service of God and his fellow-creatures. On the third of November, 1852, Mr. Elley was married to Miss Mary J., a daughter of Leonard and Martha Mahoney, of Clay county, Missouri. Mrs. Elley was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, June 10, 1825. They have three children: L. Marcellus, Mary A., now Mrs. Walter M. Jones, and Maggie L.; Louisa, Martha F. and James B. all died in tender years. Rev. Mr. Elley has held the office of school director for twenty years. He was also justice of the peace for some fourteen years, and has been township clerk for about seven years. No man in the county stands higher in the respect and esteem of the people than Rev. Edward G. Elley.

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

Township Transcriptions | Biography Transcriptions | Crimes and Criminals | Old Settlers | Official Records | Wars