Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Ellis, William Erastus 1909
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Belding News, 25 Nov 1909

From Grief and Pain At Last Released

After Long Brooding Over Deaths in the Family Circle Added to Bodily Illness, 
Death Brings Quick Relief From Suffering.

William Erastus Ellis, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Dimmick Ellis, was born on 
November 15, 1867, on the Ellis farm situate on the North Side of Flat river, 
in this city, which was taken up as a homestead by his grandfather, the late 
Richard Ellis, and died in the Traverse City asylum on Monday, Nov. 15, 1909, 
of acute brain fever.

Mr. Ellis has been a resident of Belding all his life and was well known in 
this section.  He was honest, true, just and generous; a man of good habits, 
morally clean and upright, respected and esteemed by all who knew him.

On May 25, 1888, he was married to Miss Ruth Howe.  To this union five children 
were born, one of whom, Edward, died at the age of eight months.  The others, 
two boys and two girls, are:  Gladys, aged 20; Byron, 18, Mildred, 13; and 
Carrol, 5.  His father died several years ago and his wife passed away on Sept. 
9, 1909.  Besides his four children, Mr. Ellis has left a mother, Mrs. 
Elizabeth A. Ellis, of this city, and one sister, Miss May Ellis, of Pueblo, 
Col, and a wide circle of relatives and friends to mourn his untimely death.

For a number of years past, Mr. Ellis has been afflicted with poor health and, 
fearing that his physical condition might never be better has caused him at 
times to become more or less despondent, and since the death of his wife the 
feeling that life was hardly worth the living had rapidly grown upon him.  He 
was deeply grieved over the death of his cousin, George W. Ellis which occurred 
on the fifth of this month and it seemed to deepen this feeling of despondency 
so strongly that he developed symptoms of becoming mentally unbalanced.  
Fearing he might act rashly he was closely watched by his family.  On Friday, 
Nov. 12, he went from home, followed by his daughter, Gladys, who saw him jump 
into the river.  She hurried to his rescue and called for help. Clarence Tupper 
saw the leap, heard the girl’s cry of distress and ran to her assistance.  
Together they succeeded in thwarting the man’s evident attempt at self 
destruction and got him home.  The following day he was much worse and fearing 
further outbreaks of suicidal mania, he was persuaded to go to the sanitarium 
at Reed’s Lake, East Grand Rapids for medical treatment.  The sanitarium 
facilities for caring for the patient were inadequate and Mr. Ellis was removed 
to a detention hospital until the legal formalities necessary to secure his 
removal to an asylum had been complied with.  He was taken to the Traverse City 
asylum last Friday and soon thereafter was taken very sick from which illness 
he died.

It is a sad case and his heartbroken children, mother and sister have the 
sincere sympathy of the entire community.

Funeral services will be held at his late home Friday afternoon at 1:30 
o’clock, conducted by Mrs. Luella K. Webster.  Interment in the family lot in 
Otisco cemetery.


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