Eva Ellis Papers

Eva Ellis

Eva Ellis was born to Mr. William J. Ellis and Mrs. Ellis, November, 1873 in New Jersey. They lived on Tanglewood Farm outside of the town of Paterson. Eva was the eldest of seven children: Eva (1873), Retta (1876), William (1879), Albert and George (twins) (1882), Barbara (1892), and Roy (1895). Eva attended the Peddie Institute, a boarding school for boys and girls, in Hightstown, from 1888-1890. Her cousin Mary also attended. Some of the classes she took were music, geography, and math. Eva was especially devoted to her French and drawing classes, which her relatives encouraged her to excel in. Sometime around 1896 she traveled to Colorado and California to visit her relatives, Aunt Christine Duncan, Aunt Bell Duncan, and her cousin Florence Demarest, who were traveling. There is a photograph that was taken in 1926 that identifies Eva. Eva Ellis remained unmarried and died sometime after 1926.

There are eighty-eight letters relating to Eva from 1884-1892, 1895-1897, 1900, and some that are undated. The bulk of the letters were received while Eva was at school, between 1888 and 1890. The letters are only what Eva received from her family, relatives, and friends, there are no letters written by Eva. There is one identified photograph taken in 1926 in which Eva Ellis is identified.

Parents

Eva's father, William J Ellis, was born in New York in August of 1850. There are no dates for Eva's mother's birth, but in 1900 her mother was deceased. The family lived on Tanglewood farm where they sold their fruits and vegetables. Mail was not delivered to the farm, so they would have to go to town, Paterson, to pick it up. William was also involved in building. In his letters, William described to Eva the various projects he was working on and for whom. There was a letter written on stationary from the blacksmith shop, which appears to have been owned by the Ellis Brothers, one of which was Albert.

In all there are eighteen letters from Eva's parents to her while she was at Peddie Institute. They span from 1888-1890, with the bulk being from 1889. The letters mainly discuss everyday occurrences, such as where they went for walks, who visited, how the plants were doing, etc. In almost all of the letters her father asked her to write more often, at least once a week. Mention was also made of money enclosures, which ranged from $1 to $200. There was a letter that had the 1889 program from Eva's Uncle Robert's commencement from American Veterinary College enclosed. The letters were all written by her father, but signed from both parents.

Aunt Christine Duncan

There are a total of twenty-three letters written by Aunt Christine to Eva. Of the twenty-three, twelve are signed Aunt Teanie, but these are from Aunt Christine. Aunt Christine would sign some of her letters Christine and some Teanie, there does not appear to be a reason for this. Aunt Christine appears to have been an artist. She studied with Monsieur Aubert in Paris during 1886, was involved in the Students Art League in New York during 1889, and studied in Colorado and California during 1896 and 1897. In her letters to Eva, she strongly urged Eva to excel in her drawing and French classes. Christine made mention that when Eva was done with school, she would be ready to join her studio, and they would make beautiful pictures together. Christine urged Eva to travel when she was older and in fact paid for Eva to travel to Colorado and California to visit her, Aunt Bell, and Florence. Aunt Christine herself was quite a traveler. She traveled to Europe with her brother George, and her sister Retta, in the mid 1880's. Suffering from asthmatic attacks, she, her sister Bell, and her niece Florence traveled West during the late 1890's to see if the change would improve her health.

The bulk of the letters she wrote to Eva were between 1887 and 1888 while she was in France and Germany. Throughout all of her letters, Aunt Christine mentions how Eva must excel in her studies, and gave her tips on drawing, itineraries. In an 1889 letter, she mentions Aunt Retta's wedding, but there is no date nor to whom. Christine's birthday is around March . 18111_

Aunt Retta

There are ten letters from Aunt Retta to Eva from 1884-1890. In 1884 Retta was in Northampton, Massachusetts at Smith College. Aunt Retta traveled to Europe with George and Christine during the mid 1880's, after college. As per one of Christine's letters, Aunt Retta was married. There is no mention of what her married name was, whom she married, or when.

The majority of the letters were from 1888-1890, after she had come home from Europe. In her letters, Retta tells Eva to be a good Christian, to keep up her drawing, to be careful with her spelling, and to study hard. There also were the updates on the various members of the family. Her letters were usually very encouraging in tone. Retta sent many letters to teachers at Peddie Institute in care of Eva. It can be assumed that Retta may have attended Peddie Institute herself.

Cousin Florence Demarest

Florence Demarest was Eva's cousin. There is no mention of who her mother and father were though. She was born in 1875. She attended Peddie Institute in 1891, but it is unclear as to how long she was there. In 1896 she traveled out West with her Aunts Christine and Bell. There are four letters from Florence to Eva. The letters to Eva are from 1891, when Florence was at Peddie and from 1896 when Florence was out West. There are also eight letters to Florence from her friends. These letters were from 1896 and 1897 when Florence was traveling with her Aunts Christine and Bell.