Ella, known when young as Mandy, was born on the east side of Webster Lake, Indiana in a small community known as Oak Grove. Her parents were from there and the Miller and Ritter descendants still live in the area, which has hardly changed. (Ella's grandmother, Nancy Ritter, was never married to Ella's grandfather.)
Sadly, Ella's mother, Martha Bose Miller, died a week after Ella was born. Martha Miller's gravestone is still at Oak Grove Cemetery but is mostly unreadable now. I regret I never took a picture of it when it was clear. I have cleared off the tombstone many times, which is quite large but lying on the ground and sinking.
Ella's father, John E. Miller, remarried just 7 months later to a member of the honorable Weimer family. Rebecca Weimer's brother, Cyrus, was a well-known preacher. The Miller family and Weimer family lived side by side. There were numerous other relations at Oak Grove. I have studied this intensely as John E. Miller was my grandmother's uncle and my grandmother grew up at Oak Grove.
So, Ella grew up in a normal, and I assume, happy environment. That is, until 1893 when she was not quite 18 years old. Around New Year's, her father committed incest with her and she became pregnant. In May of 1893, Amanda's step-mother, Rebecca, turned in her husband to the authorities. John E. Miller was arrested for both incest and abortion. This horrendous act effected everyone at Oak Grove. Many were subpoenaed to testify at his trial. John E. Miller was found guilty in September 1893 and went to prison for 3 years. Rebecca divorced him.
Sometime after the trial, in which Ella testified for 4 hours, she was sent away to the East. I don't know why she was sent to the Bellaire OH/Wheeling WV area. I cannot find relatives or friends who lived there but certainly there a connection to the area.
Here, I guess, Ella met Nelson Shahan. They married a little further south in New Martinsville, WV on March 24, 1897. New Martinsville, West Virginia is only 34 miles south of Bellaire, Ohio. Nelson Shahan had family in the area.
In the 1900 census, Ella and Nelson were in Bellaire, OH. On the census, it clearly states that Ella was the mother of ZERO children.
The 1910 census may confuse some people. Nelson Shahan is 35 with a restaurant. Ella is listed as age 32 and again that she was the mother of ZERO children.
However, there is now an Arthur H. Patterson, age 15, listed as a step-son; he was not a step-son. Actually, they later described Arthur a foster child. Arthur's parents were Frank Patterson and Ella (ironic, I know) Jeffers. According to a 2003 Ancestry board, Arthur Patterson's parents divorced after 1900. Arthur and his brother Clarence were sent to the homes of either relatives or friends. They also had a sister, Elva. Ella and Nelson were simply friends who took Arthur into their home. They remained very close for their rest of their lives. In fact, Nelson Shahan and Arthur Patterson co-owned/worked a railroad diner/cafe in the 1940's. Nelson died at Arthur's home in 1955 and Arthur named his son Nelson.
Arthur Patterson died in 1968. Memorial #167405920.
Ella and Nelson moved over to Cleveland, OH by 1923, if not before. Arthur Patterson also moved to Cleveland. They lived on the west side in Lakewood. Arthur then lived in Miami (1930 and 1940 census) for many years before moving back to Cleveland after 1940.
Once in Cleveland, Ella and Nelson remained there for the rest of their lives.
Ella made probably her first and only visit back to her family and friends in Indiana in 1914. She had always kept in touch with her brother, Frank and the extended family always knew she was in Ohio. She was welcomed back to her old homeland. She visited her uncle and aunt, my great-grandparents, Joseph D. and Julia Miller.
So, Ella appears to have had a very good life after the ugliness of 1893. She was quite talented with her painting on china as the picture shows. Her brother Frank's family has a couple of her pieces. Ella herself was a good person and deserved the good life she ended up having.
Sadly, Ella's mother, Martha Bose Miller, died a week after Ella was born. Martha Miller's gravestone is still at Oak Grove Cemetery but is mostly unreadable now. I regret I never took a picture of it when it was clear. I have cleared off the tombstone many times, which is quite large but lying on the ground and sinking.
Ella's father, John E. Miller, remarried just 7 months later to a member of the honorable Weimer family. Rebecca Weimer's brother, Cyrus, was a well-known preacher. The Miller family and Weimer family lived side by side. There were numerous other relations at Oak Grove. I have studied this intensely as John E. Miller was my grandmother's uncle and my grandmother grew up at Oak Grove.
So, Ella grew up in a normal, and I assume, happy environment. That is, until 1893 when she was not quite 18 years old. Around New Year's, her father committed incest with her and she became pregnant. In May of 1893, Amanda's step-mother, Rebecca, turned in her husband to the authorities. John E. Miller was arrested for both incest and abortion. This horrendous act effected everyone at Oak Grove. Many were subpoenaed to testify at his trial. John E. Miller was found guilty in September 1893 and went to prison for 3 years. Rebecca divorced him.
Sometime after the trial, in which Ella testified for 4 hours, she was sent away to the East. I don't know why she was sent to the Bellaire OH/Wheeling WV area. I cannot find relatives or friends who lived there but certainly there a connection to the area.
Here, I guess, Ella met Nelson Shahan. They married a little further south in New Martinsville, WV on March 24, 1897. New Martinsville, West Virginia is only 34 miles south of Bellaire, Ohio. Nelson Shahan had family in the area.
In the 1900 census, Ella and Nelson were in Bellaire, OH. On the census, it clearly states that Ella was the mother of ZERO children.
The 1910 census may confuse some people. Nelson Shahan is 35 with a restaurant. Ella is listed as age 32 and again that she was the mother of ZERO children.
However, there is now an Arthur H. Patterson, age 15, listed as a step-son; he was not a step-son. Actually, they later described Arthur a foster child. Arthur's parents were Frank Patterson and Ella (ironic, I know) Jeffers. According to a 2003 Ancestry board, Arthur Patterson's parents divorced after 1900. Arthur and his brother Clarence were sent to the homes of either relatives or friends. They also had a sister, Elva. Ella and Nelson were simply friends who took Arthur into their home. They remained very close for their rest of their lives. In fact, Nelson Shahan and Arthur Patterson co-owned/worked a railroad diner/cafe in the 1940's. Nelson died at Arthur's home in 1955 and Arthur named his son Nelson.
Arthur Patterson died in 1968. Memorial #167405920.
Ella and Nelson moved over to Cleveland, OH by 1923, if not before. Arthur Patterson also moved to Cleveland. They lived on the west side in Lakewood. Arthur then lived in Miami (1930 and 1940 census) for many years before moving back to Cleveland after 1940.
Once in Cleveland, Ella and Nelson remained there for the rest of their lives.
Ella made probably her first and only visit back to her family and friends in Indiana in 1914. She had always kept in touch with her brother, Frank and the extended family always knew she was in Ohio. She was welcomed back to her old homeland. She visited her uncle and aunt, my great-grandparents, Joseph D. and Julia Miller.
So, Ella appears to have had a very good life after the ugliness of 1893. She was quite talented with her painting on china as the picture shows. Her brother Frank's family has a couple of her pieces. Ella herself was a good person and deserved the good life she ended up having.
Ella, known when young as Mandy, was born on the east side of Webster Lake, Indiana in a small community known as Oak Grove. Her parents were from there and the Miller and Ritter descendants still live in the area, which has hardly changed. (Ella's grandmother, Nancy Ritter, was never married to Ella's grandfather.)
Sadly, Ella's mother, Martha Bose Miller, died a week after Ella was born. Martha Miller's gravestone is still at Oak Grove Cemetery but is mostly unreadable now. I regret I never took a picture of it when it was clear. I have cleared off the tombstone many times, which is quite large but lying on the ground and sinking.
Ella's father, John E. Miller, remarried just 7 months later to a member of the honorable Weimer family. Rebecca Weimer's brother, Cyrus, was a well-known preacher. The Miller family and Weimer family lived side by side. There were numerous other relations at Oak Grove. I have studied this intensely as John E. Miller was my grandmother's uncle and my grandmother grew up at Oak Grove.
So, Ella grew up in a normal, and I assume, happy environment. That is, until 1893 when she was not quite 18 years old. Around New Year's, her father committed incest with her and she became pregnant. In May of 1893, Amanda's step-mother, Rebecca, turned in her husband to the authorities. John E. Miller was arrested for both incest and abortion. This horrendous act effected everyone at Oak Grove. Many were subpoenaed to testify at his trial. John E. Miller was found guilty in September 1893 and went to prison for 3 years. Rebecca divorced him.
Sometime after the trial, in which Ella testified for 4 hours, she was sent away to the East. I don't know why she was sent to the Bellaire OH/Wheeling WV area. I cannot find relatives or friends who lived there but certainly there a connection to the area.
Here, I guess, Ella met Nelson Shahan. They married a little further south in New Martinsville, WV on March 24, 1897. New Martinsville, West Virginia is only 34 miles south of Bellaire, Ohio. Nelson Shahan had family in the area.
In the 1900 census, Ella and Nelson were in Bellaire, OH. On the census, it clearly states that Ella was the mother of ZERO children.
The 1910 census may confuse some people. Nelson Shahan is 35 with a restaurant. Ella is listed as age 32 and again that she was the mother of ZERO children.
However, there is now an Arthur H. Patterson, age 15, listed as a step-son; he was not a step-son. Actually, they later described Arthur a foster child. Arthur's parents were Frank Patterson and Ella (ironic, I know) Jeffers. According to a 2003 Ancestry board, Arthur Patterson's parents divorced after 1900. Arthur and his brother Clarence were sent to the homes of either relatives or friends. They also had a sister, Elva. Ella and Nelson were simply friends who took Arthur into their home. They remained very close for their rest of their lives. In fact, Nelson Shahan and Arthur Patterson co-owned/worked a railroad diner/cafe in the 1940's. Nelson died at Arthur's home in 1955 and Arthur named his son Nelson.
Arthur Patterson died in 1968. Memorial #167405920.
Ella and Nelson moved over to Cleveland, OH by 1923, if not before. Arthur Patterson also moved to Cleveland. They lived on the west side in Lakewood. Arthur then lived in Miami (1930 and 1940 census) for many years before moving back to Cleveland after 1940.
Once in Cleveland, Ella and Nelson remained there for the rest of their lives.
Ella made probably her first and only visit back to her family and friends in Indiana in 1914. She had always kept in touch with her brother, Frank and the extended family always knew she was in Ohio. She was welcomed back to her old homeland. She visited her uncle and aunt, my great-grandparents, Joseph D. and Julia Miller.
So, Ella appears to have had a very good life after the ugliness of 1893. She was quite talented with her painting on china as the picture shows. Her brother Frank's family has a couple of her pieces. Ella herself was a good person and deserved the good life she ended up having.
Sadly, Ella's mother, Martha Bose Miller, died a week after Ella was born. Martha Miller's gravestone is still at Oak Grove Cemetery but is mostly unreadable now. I regret I never took a picture of it when it was clear. I have cleared off the tombstone many times, which is quite large but lying on the ground and sinking.
Ella's father, John E. Miller, remarried just 7 months later to a member of the honorable Weimer family. Rebecca Weimer's brother, Cyrus, was a well-known preacher. The Miller family and Weimer family lived side by side. There were numerous other relations at Oak Grove. I have studied this intensely as John E. Miller was my grandmother's uncle and my grandmother grew up at Oak Grove.
So, Ella grew up in a normal, and I assume, happy environment. That is, until 1893 when she was not quite 18 years old. Around New Year's, her father committed incest with her and she became pregnant. In May of 1893, Amanda's step-mother, Rebecca, turned in her husband to the authorities. John E. Miller was arrested for both incest and abortion. This horrendous act effected everyone at Oak Grove. Many were subpoenaed to testify at his trial. John E. Miller was found guilty in September 1893 and went to prison for 3 years. Rebecca divorced him.
Sometime after the trial, in which Ella testified for 4 hours, she was sent away to the East. I don't know why she was sent to the Bellaire OH/Wheeling WV area. I cannot find relatives or friends who lived there but certainly there a connection to the area.
Here, I guess, Ella met Nelson Shahan. They married a little further south in New Martinsville, WV on March 24, 1897. New Martinsville, West Virginia is only 34 miles south of Bellaire, Ohio. Nelson Shahan had family in the area.
In the 1900 census, Ella and Nelson were in Bellaire, OH. On the census, it clearly states that Ella was the mother of ZERO children.
The 1910 census may confuse some people. Nelson Shahan is 35 with a restaurant. Ella is listed as age 32 and again that she was the mother of ZERO children.
However, there is now an Arthur H. Patterson, age 15, listed as a step-son; he was not a step-son. Actually, they later described Arthur a foster child. Arthur's parents were Frank Patterson and Ella (ironic, I know) Jeffers. According to a 2003 Ancestry board, Arthur Patterson's parents divorced after 1900. Arthur and his brother Clarence were sent to the homes of either relatives or friends. They also had a sister, Elva. Ella and Nelson were simply friends who took Arthur into their home. They remained very close for their rest of their lives. In fact, Nelson Shahan and Arthur Patterson co-owned/worked a railroad diner/cafe in the 1940's. Nelson died at Arthur's home in 1955 and Arthur named his son Nelson.
Arthur Patterson died in 1968. Memorial #167405920.
Ella and Nelson moved over to Cleveland, OH by 1923, if not before. Arthur Patterson also moved to Cleveland. They lived on the west side in Lakewood. Arthur then lived in Miami (1930 and 1940 census) for many years before moving back to Cleveland after 1940.
Once in Cleveland, Ella and Nelson remained there for the rest of their lives.
Ella made probably her first and only visit back to her family and friends in Indiana in 1914. She had always kept in touch with her brother, Frank and the extended family always knew she was in Ohio. She was welcomed back to her old homeland. She visited her uncle and aunt, my great-grandparents, Joseph D. and Julia Miller.
So, Ella appears to have had a very good life after the ugliness of 1893. She was quite talented with her painting on china as the picture shows. Her brother Frank's family has a couple of her pieces. Ella herself was a good person and deserved the good life she ended up having.
