The Migration of Two Families: Tabb and Ellerton

When Kenneth Met Louise

As a beginning point, I have arbitrarily selected two members of two families that would eventually merge when Louise Tabb and Kenneth Ellerton married.

The two, Edward Tabb and William Joseph Ellerton, were contemporaries in an area now known as West Virginia.

They came from and produced large families. Unintended pregnancies were the norm, as family planning had not yet evolved. And, because of the high infant mortality rate and the high incidence of women dying during shildbirth, many couples intentionally had large families in hopes that enough offspring would survive to help with the work on family farms and to care for family members, including elders who were part of an extended family.

For the period of time in question, some members of these families moved westward and settled in Kansas and Texas.

Introduction to the Tabbs and Ellertons: Virginia Origins

Edward Tabb (1780-1834) was born in Berkeley County, Virginia Colony.*(Please see endnote about Virginia and West Virginia.)

For the purposes of this post, our lineage in the Tabb branch traces from Edward through William Kemp Tabb (1819-1881), William Drew Tabb (1845-1920) and Louise Baker Tabb (1883-1937).

In 1805, Edward married Elithy Turner (1787- ), also a Berkeley County native. They were married in Berkeley County, which is in the eastern region of the state.

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The other half of this narrative, William J(oseph) Ellerton (1773-1859) was born in Virginia Colony.

In my work, our lineage traces from William through Samuel Ellerton (1808-1884), John Hite [Hight] Ellerton (1840-1907) and Kenneth Ellerton (1879-1951).

In 1796, William married Sara H Phillips (1780-1869), who was born in Virginia Colony, as well. They were married in Harrison County, West Virginia, in the north-central region of the state.

During this particular era, families still tended not move very far. That changed in the late 18^th Century as the Ohio Territory and the interior opened, largely as the result of the passage of the Northwest Ordinance by the Confederation Congress in 1787. Although their birth records are not specific, it is very, therefore, likely that both William and Sarah were born in/ near Harrison County, West Virginia.

The unions of Edward/ Elithy and William/ Sarah occurred nine years apart in what is now West Virginia, in locations just under two hundred miles apart.

Tabbs: Kentucky and Illinois

John and Elithy remained in Virginia until the late 1820’s or early 1830’s. Their first five or six children (there is a question about the number) were born in Virginia between 1807 and 1823. Their oldest child, Ruth (1807-1853), married Ambrose James Wheeler in 1828 in Caldwell County, Kentucky. And, Ruth and James’ last child, John Leland Tabb, was born in Hardin County, Kentucky in 1832, indicating the family lived in the Bluegrass State at the time of his birth.

The records for the Edward Tabb family are spotty. Suffice it to say, most family members married and remained in Kentucky for most of their lives. Two of his Daughters married men named Wheeler, who are distantly related, and had large families, most of whom also settled in the area.

John and Elithy 's fourth oldest child, William Kemp Tabb (1819-1881), married Lucinda Cornwell [Cornwall] (1819-1870), a Kentucky native, in Todd County, Kentucky.

Questions about the Tabb Lineage

Full disclosure requires a short discussion about the connection between William Kemp and his father, Edward Tabb. An authoritative website called The Tabb Family in the United States (TTF) does not recognize William Kemp as Edward Tabb’s Son. In its work, TTF indicates that Edward and Elithy had a Son named William, only its research suggests William’s middle initial was “A,” and not “K” or “Kemp.” However, TTF has been unable to locate any additional information about this individual. While I am nearly certain TTF’s William A is actually William Kemp and have been able to identify scores of records about William Kemp Tabb, I have not been able to find any documents linking him to his presumed Father, Edward Tabb. If and when I do, TTF will change its records to reflect our Tabb branch of The Tabb family in the United States. Here is an excerpt of an e-mail from George Tabb, the director of TTF: Several Tabbs from Berkeley County, Virginia moved to Kentucky during this time period.  My opinion (based on the census info I have seen along with the information you provided) is that William A. and William K. are one and the same person.  Since I have little info on William A. and the census records support William K, I suspect that William K. is his correct name.  If that is the case, you have discovered a whole new line of the Tabb family.  Let me know what records indicate that William K. is the son of Edward.  Many thanks! In its absence, I am confident that I have traced the Tabb family back to Robert Tabb, circa 1515.

They had nine children, the first eight of whom were born in Kentucky between 1841 and 1856. The youngest child, Elihu Henry Tabb (1858- ), was born in Washington County, Illinois, which is in the St. Louis area. The eighth of the nine children, Elihu’s older brother who lived about eighteen months, died in Crittenden, Kentucky in 1857, suggesting the family moved to Illinois moved to Illinois in 1857 or 1858.

William and Lucinda’s third oldest child was William Drew (1845-1895). William and Lucinda’s children tended to settle in southern Illinois, although two Sons, Dempsey and Beverley, migrated up in Kansas.

In 1870, William Drew Tabb, one of the Tabb children who remained in Illinois, married Cora A Pace (1852-1886), who was born and lived in Jefferson County, Illinois. The Pace family was a long-time, established family. Jefferson County is located in the Saint Louis area, just south and east of Washington County. They were most likely married in this area. They had two Daughters, Gertrude Pace and Louise Baker.

Louise Baker Tabb remained in the area and most likely met her future spouse, Kenneth Eugene Ellerton, while living there. For unexplained reasons, they married in Houston, Texas.

Louise had a number of relatives living in southern Illinois in 1916. Given the seemingly harsh circumstances of her upbringing, relatives would have been important sources of support.

By the time Louise met Kenneth, her Sister, Gertrude, who had realy raised her, had married. But, she remained in southern Illinois. She died in East Saint Louis in 1931, when she was 55 years old. 

 Her Aunt named Mary Elizabeth Horton (nee Tabb) (1847-1924), whose Husband died in 1880, and her Daughter, Myrtle (1867-1942), lived in Washington County. Another Aunt, Sara Ann Hoit (nee Tabb) (1851-1934) and her husband, Charles (1849-1935) lived in Jefferson County. Sara’s Son and Louise’s Cousin, Charles Waldo Hoit (1894-1969), lived in Franklin County, just south of Jefferson County.

So, how did the Ellerton family end up in southern Illinois?

Ellertons: Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Texas

William and Sarah had ten children, the first two of whom were born in Harrison County, West Virginia. The rest were born in Ohio. Based on the birth date of the third child, a Daughter named Jane (1802-1894), the family moved to Jackson County, Ohio in the late 18^th Century or beginning of the 19^th Century.

A word about the spelling of the name. Because I have not been able to definitively identify the parents of William, we start with his records. In addition to the spelling with which we are acquainted, the name is spelled variously, ‘Elerton,’ ‘Elarton,’ ‘Ellarton,’ ‘Eliton’ and ‘Elliton.’ Some of the records purported to be for William’s Father, also include a variation of the name as Allerton.

This is significant because Allerton is a name of prominent Pilgrims who arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620. So far, I have found no connection.

The name was spelled differently even within William’s own family. Some of his children’s records are ‘Elarton,’ while others are ‘Elerton’ and ‘Ellerton.’ There is no pattern and the only explanations I can give are low-level literacy, avoiding creditors, or shabby recordkeeping.

[Records for our great-great Grandfather, Samuel, mostly show the name as either ‘Elarton’ or ‘Ellerton.’]

It should be noted that William Ellerton, after moving to Ohio, likely served as a private in Captain Jared Strong's Company of Ohio in the War of 1812. According to the book The County of Ross: A History of Ross County, Ohio, a William Ellerton was amongst its first settlers. The roster for Strong’s Company was drawn from men who lived in Ross County. On some rosters the name appears as William Elliton, while on others it is Joseph Elliton. 

William and Sarah lived in Ohio until the early 1850’s. Then, the records for these two are incomplete. Although it is not clear when they moved, the two died in the 1880’s and are buried in Henry County, Iowa. Henry County, in southeastern Iowa

Based on the Census records of some of their children, they moved west to Illinois prior to the 1850 US Census. Keeping in mind that William and Sarah’s children were born between 1797 and 1824, the records indicate the older children stayed in Ohio and the younger children moved to Illinois. Interestingly, some of the children, who remained behind in Ohio and did not make the initial move to Illinois, later moved to Henry County, Iowa, presumably to live nearer their parents.

Their fifth oldest child, Samuel Ellerton (1808-1884), moved west with them, settling in downstate Illinois (DeWitt County) in the early 1830’s.

In 1833, he married Eliza Hight (1811-1886), a Virginia native. The few records about her. These two appear in the 1850 US Census in Marion, Illinois. Marion is the county seat of Williamson County in southern Illinois, located south of Franklin County and near Jefferson County, where the Tabb family had settled.

Samuel and Eliza had four children. The two older children, Lenorah Jane (1835-1916) and Chester (1837-1862), were born in Ohio, meaning that Samuel and Eliza moved to Illinois in the late 1830’s. Their Son, John Hite [Hight] Ellerton, was born in 1840 in DeWitt County, Illinois, which is in downstate Illinois near Springfield. His younger Sister, America Emma (1845- ) was also born in Illinois.

[This downstate location is straight east of Henry County, Iowa, where Samuel’s parents, William and Sarah, would eventually settle, perhaps moving there after their children were married and settled. There are no US Census records in 1850 for these two.]

Shortly after marrying, Lenorah moved to Texas. 

Their second child, Chester was a Civil War casualty, dying on 30 August 1862.

In 1867, John Hite [Hight] Ellerton, who remained in Illinois, married Nancy Wells Dunn (1814-1911), who was born in Menard County, Illinois. Menard County is just west of DeWitt County, Illinois.

Nancy lived in Kansas when she and John married, but they settled and lived in Illinois until the mid-1870’s. Their first three children were born in DeWitt County, Illinois. As the family seemed to disintegrate, it found its way to Texas and their fourth child was born.

Kenneth Eugene Ellerton was born in Grayson County, Texas in 1879. Assuming Kenneth met Louise shortly before they married in 1916, if they met in southern Illinois, he would have been there for some reason other than to visit relatives. As nearly as I can determine, by the 1910’s, there were no longer any Ellertons or relatives in Illinois.

Similarly, from a family standpoint, I can find no reason why Louise would have been in Texas where she may have met Kenneth.

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* In 1863, a part of Virginia split away and was admitted to the United States as the State of West Virginia. Bear in mind, it was after Virginia had seceded from the United States and during the Civil War, that West Virginia was formed by seceding from a seceded state. To keep things simple, when referencing events that took place and individuals who lived and died prior to the formation of the United States let alone the creation of West Virginia, I use West Virginia, nonetheless.