Letter from T.O. Ellis Sr. to Jane Davis, 24 November 1866

Date: 24 Nov 1866
Location: Centerville, Fresno, California, United States
Surnames/tags: Ellis Davis

After the death of Sarah Jane (Ellis) Davis (1838-1930), a collection of family letters, including the following letter, was found in a trunk. The original is held by members of the Davis family. The index to the complete collection is found at The Letters of Rev. T.O. Ellis, M.D.. The letters are all written by Reverend Thomas Oliver Ellis, MD (1808-1879), and almost all of them were to his daughter, Sarah Jane, and/or her husband, William Hale Davis (1828-1871). Ellis wrote from various locations in central California to family members also in that area.

Contents 1 Biographical and Historical Context 2 The Letter 3 Additional Information 4 Sources

Biographical and Historical Context

In a departure from prior letters, T. O. Ellis addressed the following letter to his daughter, Sarah Jane (Ellis) Davis, not his son-in-law, William Hale Davis, or both William and Jane. It was written from Centerville, where the Ellis family settled sometime between 15 July 1864 and 6 September 1866, as described in previous letters. As Ellis noted in his letter of 6 October 1866, Centerville did not have a post office, but the nearby community of Millerton did. Millerton was named after Fort Miller and was the Fresno county seat from 1852-1874. After trouble with the Indigenous people waned, the Fort and Millerton were abandoned in favor of Fresno, further down the valley.^[1]

T.O. opened this letter with a clear complaint that his children were not as faithful in their correspondence as he was. He was concerned about his eldest son, William Josiah Ellis (1834-1918), who was ill and staying in Visalia with the Millers - his daughter Lucinda Agnes (Ellis) Miller (1843-1916) and her husband, Artelius Oscar Miller (abt.1833-1887). Ellis preferred that Josiah move to Fresno County while he recovered.

In a follow-up of the prior letter, T.O.’s daughters had secured teaching positions nearby.

T.O. Ellis' concern about a court case involving A.O. Miller, his son-in-law, features prominently in the letter. It was apparently a criminal case. Additional information about the prosecution of Miller has not been identified as of this writing. Court records have not been located for this time period in Tulare County. The indictment of Sam Harp, possibly a co-defendant, for stealing money from G.W. Williams merited one sentence in the local paper, the Visalia Delta. He was found not guilty.^[2] If A.O. Miller were also involved in the case, it seems odd that there is no mention in the paper. T.O. attributed Miller’s difficulty to “bad company,” drinking, and gambling. Alcohol was a significant problem in frontier California.^[3] Temperance was more to T.O. Ellis’ liking.

Note: spelling and line breaks preserved from the original. Transcriber's additions or interpretations in [square brackets].

The Letter

Centerville, Fresno County, Cal. Nov. 24/66.
My dear Jane,
I have waited for an answ-
er to my last Letter to you & William, until I
am tired, & though it is your place to waive
such formalities, I have concluded to set
the example by writing. The family are at
present well. Those that have married are
gone, & doubtless you enjoy their love & corres-
pondence. Mattie has pleased me well
in her Marriage with Samuel J. Garrison Esq.
May they see Many happy days! Mr. G[arrison] is
in the Clerks Office in Visalia, Deputy to
Thomas Shackleford Esq. with $100. pr. Month
as his wages. They Board for the present with
Mr. Bowen, but will go to housekeeping the
first opportunity. W. J. Ellis & family
are in Visalia with Oscar [Miller]. He [W.J.] is very poorly
with a lung disease. I am very uneasy
about him, as he is incapable of even
feeding his horses. I have procured a
house for them in one Mile of Me, & think
he will likely move here temporarily.
Mr. Millers family are well, except little
Lizzie, who is puny. You have doubtless
heard of Mr. Miller's painful difficulty
caused by the testimony of one, who acknowl-
edged himself, that he was a Murderer
& a thief. The Grand Jury lacked
[page 2]
only one of not finding a Bill against
him & Sam. Harp, Sheppard, the District
Atty. used all his power & influence, inside
& outside, to convict Harp, who was Pros-
ecuted with A. O., but he failed, thank
God! for, in less than ten minutes the
Jury returned not Guilty unanimous
ly! A Crowd then went & released A.
O. with a triumph, as they Atty. had en-
tered “A Nolle Prosegin”, [Nolle Prosequi]^[4] the sense of which
is, I will proceed no further. Ten per cent
as he is called, took strong ground against
Miller & Harp, as well as, the Sweet Mr.
Babe Williams,^[5] whom, I stood up to when
he & Bennet hung Carter of Elmonte.
Very many said hard things against
them & the other two, who helped them for
big pay, &, now I get my pay over the left
shoulder. D. R. Douglas^[6] showed himself
a man, & came forward unasked, & went
on his, Miller's Bond for One thousand dollars,
Keener $500.,^[7] Jesse Albert Byrd (1819-1899), My Texas Friend
$500, Frank Collins (1832-1875) $500. & some others -
thanks be to them & Mr. Brown A.O.'s
Atty., I will never forget them, so help me
God. S. J. Garrison tiptoed & stood
by A.O. nobly, &, so did W.J. to the amt.
of $50. in a fee, besides other help.
All we blame Oscar for was
[page 3]
keeping so much bad company
& picking up such low flung Scamp
& boarding & feeding him - getting him
into business & then, Burdele swearing a will-
ful lie against him, Miller. The Man
who professed to turn States Evidence
against A.O. murdered a man in the
Atlantic states, & report says, took $700.
from him, & then ran to Cal, where
he changed his name from Martin Bur-
dell to Charley Clifford, & for his pains
is now in the Penitentiary. Poor fellow
may God be merciful to him & bless him!
Never did a Father & family struggle hard-
er around the family Altar for a Son
than we did for Oscar. We hope the Sad
affliction will cure him of his drinking
& gambling & be so sanctified, by the God
of Heaven, for his good, as to make him
a Christian. Let your Prayers, my dear
Jane, unite with your dear Father's, that our
- all our Friends may be changed & made
alive in Christ Jesus! I will not multiply
a Father's grief about the trouble he sees ab-
out his children, but ask you to join me
in Prayer to God that they may reform, for
without it all is lost. We have been looking
for you & Husband & little ones to come
& see us. What can be the Matter?
[page 4]
Has W.H. set in for a new year with
Mr. Watts? Keep us posted about
every thing from time to time that may
come under the notice of either of you.
Your sister Mary is keeping school
at Kingston in a half mile of Bliss' ferry.^[8]
Lizzie Keeps school on Dry Creek. Nannie
& Georgia are well & at Home, the little Boys
are pert & smart. Tell W. H. [Davis] to write often
our love to him, as well as, you & the
precious little ones. A Father's love
& a Father's Prayers for you & yours.
[To] Sarah Jane Davis T.O. Ellis Sr.
Husband &
children

P.S. Direct to Millerton, Fresno County
Cal. until we get a P.O. at Centerville.
Should you direct a letter to Center-
ville, as it is not a Post Office, your Letter
will land in Washington in the Dead
[Letter] Office. Millerton is my Address, don't
forget it. T.O.E.
[to] S.J.D.H.

Additional Information

The next surviving letter was written on 9 January 1867.

Sources

1. ↑ Virginia Emily Thickens, “Pioneer Colonies of Fresno County” (MA Thesis, University of California, 1942), page 18.
2. ↑ “County Court,” Visalia Delta (Tulare County, California), 14 November 1866, page 2.
3. ↑ Paden (a miner), quoted in George W. Groh, Gold Fever, Being a True Account, Both Horrifying and Hilarious of the Art of Healing, So-called During the California Gold Rush, (New York: Morrow, 1966), page 332: “This is a far better country to lay up money than it is at home, if a man will tend to his business and kep out of licker shops and gambling houses...thare are murders committed about every day on account of licker and gambling...”
4. ↑ Kevin Guinagh, transl. and comp., Dictionary of Foreign Phrases and Abbreviations, 3 ed. (New York: H. W. Wilson, 1985).
5. ↑ Joseph E. Doctor, “Rebels of Old Visalia,” Los Tulares (Visalia, Tulare County, California) 1961, volume 48, page 2. Babe Williams was a Mexican War vet and operated a saloon in Visalia. As a staunch Union supporter, he was unlikely to be a favorite of T.O. Ellis.
6. ↑ Annie R. Mitchell, “The Way It Was: The Colorful History of Tulare County,” self-published, 1976, page 147. This is likely David Risley Douglas, a prominent Visalia merchant.
7. ↑ Annie R. Mitchell, “The Way It Was: The Colorful History of Tulare County,” self-published, 1976, pages 36-37. This is likely John Keener, a prominent Tulare County cattleman.
8. ↑ ”Kingston, California,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston,_California : accessed 15 October 2023).