George Ellems/Ellims

[drbono]

I am having a great deal of trouble finding any detailed information about a relative of mine named George Ellems or George Ellims.

Australian records suggest he was married in Melbourne, Australia in 1848, and born in Elgin, Scotland - I suspect around 1830 or so.

I cannot find any further details on him on the searchable databases that have been suggested on this excellent forum.

Can anyone assist me with finding out more about George Ellems/Ellims?

Thanks very much!

[loobylooayr]

Hi drbono,

Had a quick look on Scotland's People but had no success with the names Ellems/Ellims.
Just a suggestion but do you think perhaps his name was misinterpreted in Australia.
Looking at the 1841 Census the name Elmslie crops up a few times in Aberdeenshire including some Georges.
On www.familysearch.org  there is a George Elmslie listed as being born 9 Dec 1817 (a bit early for your date of circa 1830, I know) at Elgin, Moray to a George Elmslie and Ann Garrow.

Do you have any idea when George came to Australia? And did he have children to his wife, and do you have their names?
How did you acquire his birth year of around 1830?
Sorry for all the questions. It's just to try and get a clearer picture. If he had children he may have used family names (forenames or surnames) when naming them.

Cheers,
Looby

[drbono]

Hi Looby,

Thanks very much for your interest in my relative.  He has been very elusive!

We know about him from a few sources;

1.  Birth Certificate of his son “John Ellems”
Born on 27th April 1854 in Heidelberg (near Melbourne), Victoria, Australia.
States his father was “George Ellems” a “settler” born in “Elgin, Scotland” - no age or date of birth given.
States his father was married in Melbourne and had 4 children living at the time.
States his mother was “Margaret Ellems” with the maiden name “Macpherson”, aged “25 years” and born in “Ayrshire, N.B.”.
Interestingly, his 1895 death certificate states he was “John Elms”!

2.  Marriage Certificate of his daughter “Annie Ellims”
Married on 7th July 1873 in Presbyterian Church of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia to Robert Rae.
States Annie was born in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
States she was 21 years old when married.
States her father was “George Ellims” & mother “Margarent McPhillimy”

3.  Marriage Certificate of his son “George Edwin Ellims”
Married on 12th February 1880 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia to Bertha McEvoy.
States George Edwin Ellims was born in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
States he was 26 years old when married.
States her father was “George Ellims” a “carpenter” & mother “Margaret McPhillimy”

4.  Death Certificate of his daughter “Jane Ellims”
Died on 8th April 1885 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
States she was 27 years old when deceased.
States her father was “George Ellims” a “carpenter” & mother “Margaret McPhillimy”

5.  Newspaper extract from The Argus (Melbourne, Australia) in 1868;
“A man named Reid, alias Macpherson, was recently apprehended at Stockyard-hill, on a charge of swindling.  He is now in Kilmore gaol. A more serious charge - that of bigamy - has since been preferred against him. His real name is said to be George Ellems, was married in Melbourne in 1848, and deserted his first wife and her five children in Ballarat in 1857.”

Not sure where the “Reid” alias came from, but the “Macpherson” alias was his wife’s maiden name!

In summary, I think he had 7 children in total, but we only know the names of 4.  His son George Edwin Ellims had 12 children (George Edwin / Margaret Florence / Mary / Jane / Florence Ann / George Percy / Harold Victor / Maud / George Edwin II / Bertha Pauline / Vivian Bert).  We have been unable to trace his 1848 marriage certificate, his 1868 court records, or his death certificate.  Nor have we been able to find how he got to Australia – earliest records suggest he was in Heidelberg, Melbourne, Australia in 1848 (for his wedding).  The birth year of 1830 was a rough estimate based on nothing other than the dates of his marriage and children.

It looks like the surname changed from Ellems to Ellims during this time, and was even documented as Elms so there appears to be some variation.  There is an old parish called Ellem/Ellim in Berwickshire (merged with Longformacus) but we have had no success looking there either.

Any assistance you can provide me would be most greatly appreciated! 

Cheers, drbono

[MonicaL]

Hi drbono

Welcome to RootsChat 

From what you have, not unreasonable to perhaps have George born around 1807 (thinking of the 1807 entry that Looby found in Elgin). He would have only been around 31 if the marriage was in 1848.

Couldn't see anything from what you mentioned that actually showed his age/birth year so Looby's entry would be worth you checking out, particularly with the names of that George's parents: George and Ann. If your George followed Scottish naming pattern, there might be some connection there. I like this guide www.halmyre.abel.co.uk/Family/naming.htm on naming patterns.

Have you been able to confirm wife/mother Margaret McPherson's (?McPhillimy) parents from her death cert?

Monica

[loobylooayr]

Hi again drbono,

George Ellems/Ellims was certainly an interesting character!

Haven't had a lot of time today but I had another quick look at the 1841 Census transcribed on www.freecen.org.uk   - it's a free site (clue in the name ). While I was browsing using various permutations of the names we have I found an entry that might interest you. Could be absolutely no connection what so ever ........but I thought it worth listing.

Old Machar - Aberdeenshire -

Reid      Will    age 36   Merchant          Born England
Elmsie/ Reid    Ann   age 36                 Born Aberdeenshire
Reid       Ann Isobella  age 6                 Born Aberdeenshire

There is also a servant? listed at the address.
I found it interesting as I reckon Ann and Will are not married and she's using both names. It was the Reid connection to George Ellems that made me look twice at it!
So far I've not been able to find these people on the 1851 Census.

There is a George Elmsie listed in the 1841 Census aged 18 - a salmon fisherman born Aberdeenshire and in a household of other salmon fishermen at Bridge of Dee Kincardineshire. Could he be Ann's son?? We'll probably never know. And of course your George could already be in Australia.

Will try a few searches tomorrow for you. It's a pity you haven't got his death or his date of arrival in Australia.
Strange how his wife's maiden name morphs from McPherson to McPhillimy (latter name seems more Irish in my opinion).

Looby

[drbono]

Thanks Monica & Looby for your interest in my difficult relative!

It is interesting that M

Monica, we don't have Margaret Ellems' death certificate for sure, however there is an interesting death certificate for a “Margaret McPhillimy” who died in 1880 in Ballarat;
1.  George & Margaret Ellems moved to Ballarat from Melbourne in the 1850s so the location of death matches. 
2.  The person in the 1880 death certificate was born in Ayrshire, Scotland (therefore birthplace matches John Ellems' mother's birthplace in his 1854 birth certificate (see my earlier post)).
3.  The person in the 1880 death certificate was "single" at the time of her death (George had deserted her in 1857 in Ballarat according to the newspaper article)
4.  "Margaret McPhillimy" is the mother of George Edwin Ellims who was married in Ballarat in 1880.

BUT, the age of death in the birth certificate does not fit – it states she was only 33 at death, making her date of birth 1847...  I wonder whether the age of death is incorrect???  I can't believe that Ballarat had 2 Margaret McPhillimy's in the 19th century who were both born in Ayrshire!


Looby, with your work on the Reid side of things, I have done some exploring of shipping lists to Australia using Reid rather than Ellems/Ellims.  I have found an entry for the ship the "Lord George Bentinck" which sailed from London in 1848 to reach Melbourne (then known as Port Phillip) in 1849.  There is a George Reid (age 28) and his wife Margaret (age 24) - George is listed as a "labourer", both from "Denniss, Orkney Islands", both able to read & write, and both Presbyterian.  Could this be George and Margaret Ellems???  Again, the ages don't quite fit, and it would mean they were already married by 1848/1849, rather than being married in 1848 in Melbourne.  Again, a lot of coincidences...

Finally, I have another newspaper source about George Ellems from the time of his arrest in 1868;

"Respecting the capture of a man named Reid, alias McPherson, charged with swindling.  The police authorities in Ballarat have been communicated with by the man's first wife, whose name is Margaret Ellems, and the mother of five children by the scoundrel.  His real name, it appears, is Geo. Ellems.  He was married to Margaret Ellems in 1848, in Melbourne, by the Rev. Mr Phillips.  In 1857 he deserted her in Ballarat and until his recent arrest she never received the slightest clue of his whereabouts.  He is at present in Kilmore goal."

George’s marriage certificate is a key piece of evidence, as is his gaol record - both I have not been able to locate, but I am working on it!  More and more, I am wondering whether Ellems/Ellims is an adopted name, perhaps to cover his tracks!

Looking forward to seeing if any of this new information might be relevant!

Cheers, drbono

[loobylooayr]

Hiya,

Just about to go to bed! After 2 am here...yawn.
But just a thought....due you think Margaret's maiden name was perhaps McPherson and McPhillimy was a name she adopted after George deserted her (dare I say it...maybe she met someone else??)

Have tried a search for McPhillimy/McPhilimy on 1841 Census and can't find anyone with either spelling in Scotland.

Looby

[drbono]

Hi Looby,

Interesting thought.  The sources that state McPherson/Macpherson are;
1854 birth certificate of son John (Macpherson is listed as "mother's maiden name")

The sources that state McPhillimy are;
1873 marriage certificate of daughter Annie (McPhillimy is listed as "mother's maiden name")
1880 marriage certificate of son George (McPhillimy is listed as "mother's maiden name")
1885 death certificate of daughter Jane (McPhillimy is listed as "mother's maiden name")

The newspaper articles from 1868 reference George Ellems using the alias McPherson/MacPherson.

All very confusing...

Cheers, drbono

[loobylooayr]

Hiya,

Have found a Margaret McPhilemy on 1851 Census living (and born) in Irvine Ayrshire. She is listed on www.freecen.org.uk    as being 3 months old -  yet on www.familysearch.org   she is listed as 3 years old . The census record would have to be viewed on Scotlands People to verify her correct age. Of course she can't be your Margaret.....but she could be the one on the 1880 death certificate especially if she was born in 1847/48.

Looby