EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is one of a series of selections from the 
Sesquicentennial family history book, "Upshur County, Texas," on sale at the 
Chamber of Commerce and Historic Upshur Museum at $50.
This excerpt about the descendants of Samuel and Elizabeth Ellison was 
submitted by Jessie Efurd.
Samuel Ellison was born in South Carolina in 1800. His wife, Elizabeth, was 
born in North Carolina the same year. In 1850 they were living in Chatham 
County, Ga. Their known children, all born in Georgia, were: 1. Thomas Taylor 
Ellison, born 1826; 2. Robert Ellison, 1827; 3. Hampton Wade Ellison, born 
1833; 4. Capt. Francis Ellison, 1835; 5. Elizabeth, 1838; 6. Margaret, 1840; 
7. Martha, 1844 and a girl named, Pop, who had a family and stayed in Georgia.
My ancestor, Thomas Taylor Ellison, was married and living on his own in the 
1850 Chatham County census. He was 23 years old, working as a laborer and 
married to Nancy Hughes, age 20, who was born in South Carolina.
The Ellison men have been known throughout history for their valor and 
strength, and Tom was no exception. He had black hair, blue eyes, and was of 
medium height with long muscular arms.
In his spare time Tom boxed and wrestled and had a reputation for not having 
been whipped. 
One time a man walked up to him on the street and said, "I'm looking for 
'Fightin Tom Ellison.' I've heard he can't be whipped and I've come a 
thousand miles to prove I'm the man that can." People came from all around to 
see the fight.
Tom was the only one who walked away, and it is said that his dad paid a lot 
of money to keep him out of trouble.
Almost the whole family packed up and moved to Texas around 1857. They 
already had family living in East Texas, and several of their neighbors moved 
around the same time. Tom's son, John, later married a woman named Josie who 
had been a neighbor to the Ellisons in Georgia.
Over a hundred years after the fight one of Tom's grandsons, Wade Ellison, 
moved to Georgia to the area where his ancestors had lived. He was in a 
country store when an elderly man walked up to him and said that he looked 
like an Ellison. Wade confirmed it saying that he had recently moved there 
from Texas. 
The old man said, "Yeah, there used to be a family of Ellisons who lived 
around here, but one of them killed a man, and they moved to Texas."
Tom's wife, Nancy Hughes Ellison, was pregnant at the time the family moved. 
She had complications in Arkansas, so part of the family stayed there and 
raised a crop while the rest traveled on to East Texas. Their first child, 
Martha Ann, was born March 14, 1857 in Arkansas. She later married 1. Dave 
Pitts and 2. John Arnold. Tom and Nancy had two more children: Albert Bennett 
Ellison and William Harrison Ellison.
Tom met his wife at the home of his brother, Bob. Bob had been a bachelor for 
most of his life, and in later years married a widow, Catherine Davidson. One 
of Bob's neighbors had a 17-year-old niece, Susan Tomlinson, come to live 
with them.
Her mother had remarried, and she did not like her step-father, so Susan 
moved into the home of her aunt who lived near Bob and Catherine. Susan and 
Tom Ellison met, fell in love and married.
Two of Tom and Susan's children died from premature birth. Irabetty died from 
fever when she was around three. Her death was during one of the worst 
raining spells that could be remembered in East Texas. They held up her 
funeral for five days.
Three graves were dug in Concord Cemetery, and they all filled up with water. 
Tom said he would rather pry up the boards of the floor of his house than 
bury her in all that water at the cemetery.
It was rumored that is what he did, but they found some firm ground to the 
side of their house in a plum thicket. They buried her there and planted a 
cedar tree at the head of her grave.
Mitty and Lula died from Member's Croup. The family took turns holding the 
little girls until they died. They were buried beside their sister. Their da
ddy built small coups over the graves and planted cedar trees which were 
still there in the 1970s.
Other children of Tom and Susan Ellison were: Bird Bailey Ellison, born 1873; 
Wade Hampton Ellison, 1878; George Holly Ellison, 1885; John Knox Ellison, 
1881; Robert Leonard Ellison, 1876; Capt. Francis Ellison, 1883; Mary 
Caroline Ellison (married Johnnie M. Duke), 1883 and Tommie Ellison, born 
Oct. 29, 1884 and died Oct. 10, 1896.
One cold February morning Tom walked out of the house before breakfast. The 
year was 1895, and he was 69 years old. He often spent hours walking over the 
place so no one thought anything was unusual when he did not return.
His sons were working on various projects all over the farm, and each one 
thought their daddy was with one of the others. John remembered walking home 
for lunch with a couple of his brothers. He wanted to make a detour to pick 
some grapes, but no one else wanted to.
At supper the boys realized that their daddy had not been seen all day. The 
neighbors got together and helped the boys form a search party.
The group included John and his brothers, Louis Goodwin, Cricky Craven and 
Mr. Shaw. Tom was found near a freshly plowed field, near some trees and 
grapevines. He had a stroke.
Two years later, 41-year-old Susan married 25-year-old Jack Riley. He had 
come to Texas from Montana and was a professional boxer. They sold the farm 
and moved to Gilmer where Jack was later elected constable. Jack and Susan 
had one child, Annie Riley. Susan died in 1928, and Jack died in 1947.
Bob was an adolescent when he was thrown by a mule. His foot became hung in 
the stirrup, and the mule dragged Bob a long way before he could be run down 
and rescued. They had to unwind Bob's leg, and he was unable to walk for over 
a year. It left one leg shorter than the other, and he walked with a limp.
Although he possessed the Ellison strength, Bob could not depend on his 
physical ability to make a living. Bob began trading when he was 12 years 
old. He traded in cattle, horses, land, timber and crops.
During his lifetime he owned a couple of cafes, a barber shop, a livery 
stable, a half interest in a store at Bettie and a saloon called the "I Know" 
at Bettie. Bob also raised and peddled beef.
At age 23, Bob married Emma Smith. She and her baby died of pneumonia. 
Several years later, Bob's brother, Wade's wife died a few weeks after the 
birth of their child, Joseph. Bob was dating a pretty, petite 15-year-old 
named Mattie Raines. He suggested, "Why don't we get married and help Wade 
raise that baby boy?" She quickly agreed.
A large picture of Emma always hung in their home. Mattie taught her children 
to respect "Miss Emma's" memory. Emma's relatives visited often and were 
referred to as aunts and uncles of Mattie and Bob's children. They said 
Mattie just took Emma's place.
Superstitions were a part of Mattie's life. Some of her favorites were: "If 
you wash on Wednesday, some of your folks will be sick before Sunday." 
(Mattie washed on Thursday); "Don't start anything on Friday that you can't 
finish." "Don't sweep under someone's feet or they will never marry." "If a 
rooster crows on the front doorsteps, there will soon be a death in the 
family." "A crowing hen and whistling woman will always come to a bad end." 
Her daughter, Eva, like to follow her daddy around and try to whistle like he 
whistled, which really annoyed her mother.
Robert Ellison and Mattie Raines' children were: 1. Velma Mae, born April 15, 
1904, died at age 18 months; 2. Charlie Green Ellison, born April 15, 1906, 
died at age 16 months and is buried in Concord Cemetery with Velma Mae; 3. 
Bessie Lee, born 1908; 4. Willie Eva, 1910; 5. Robert Leonard Jr., 1912; 6. 
Mary Elizabeth, 1914; 7. Rachel Nahoma, 1918; 8-9. Twins, Annie Jewel and 
Fannie Mack, 1921; 10. Etta Ruth, 1923; 11. Wade Hampton, 1927; 12. Johnnie 
Marvin, 1929.