Joseph William Ellender

Other Events:

• Occupation: Schooner Captian
• Record Change: 12 Apr 2009

Notes:

His father was an overseas pilot, sailing from the Cinque Port of Dover,
England. Both parents were of Welsh descent.

Little is known about Joseph Ellender Jr.'s childhood.
A collection of old family letters from his homeland reveals that he had at
least one brother and perhaps two sisters, also several nieces and nephews.
He followed the calling of the sea, and at the early age of nine, he was a
cabin boy on small cutters, sailing in and out of the Dover Harbour.
Later, he began to serve his apprenticeship, sailing on vessels that
eventually took him around the world three times. On his last voyage, a
tragic shipwreck occurred off the shores of Iceland.
He survived by clinging to an iceberg in the icy northrn waters long enough to
be picked up by a nearby schooner.
The schooner was bound from Galveston and after many months it brought Joseph
safely to America in 1866. He was 26 years old at the time.
While the scooner was anchored on the Galveston Bar he borded a freighter
carrying supplies from Galveston to Cedar Bayou, TX.
He liked the bayou country and decided to make the small community of
Cedar Bayou (now Baytown) his home.
He worked in many area brickyards operating along the bayou making mud bricks
widely used in Galveston for buildings and roads. He sailed as the captain on
a small freighter between the Port of Galveston and Cedar Bayou.
He later pastured cattle, goats and other stock, cut and sold timber and
firewood.
He met and married his wife while living in the area of Cedar Bayou.

He and his wife lived upstream from Cedar Bayou until Jan., 1884 when
they moved to a new home on the banks of Cedar Bayou, a little northest of
where Cary Bayou enters Cedar Bayou. This is where their children were
raised.

Joseph married Nancy Lavinia Prather 01 Sep 1868, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx.. Nancy (daughter of George Washington Lafayette Prather and Hannah F. Spann) was born 14 May 1849, Dalton, Murray Co., Ga. [Group Sheet]

1. Joseph William Ellender, Jr. was born 05 Sep 1869, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx.; died 25 Oct 1871, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
2. Fredrich Robert Ellender was born 23 Sep 1871, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx.; died Nov 1939, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
3. Albert Edward Ellender, Abe was born 21 Jul 1873, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
4. Rose Luella Ellender was born 24 Sep 1875, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx.; died 19 Jul 1877, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
5. Nancy Elizabeth Ellender was born 14 Jul 1877, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
6. Catherine Jane Ellender was born 28 Oct 1879, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
7. James Ellender was born 01 Jan 1882, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
8. Josephine Julia Ellender was born 22 Aug 1884, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
9. Thomas Oliver Ellender was born 22 Mar 1887, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx.; died 23 Nov 1962, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..
10. George Lafayett Ellender was born 23 Nov 1888, Cedar Bayou, Harris Co., Tx..

Other Events:

• Record Change: 12 Apr 2009

Joseph married Elizabeth Forwell of Kent Co., England. Elizabeth was born , of Kent Co., England. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Record Change: 12 Apr 2009