Mary Polly Magee was the seventh child of William Magee (1762-1837) and Mary Margaret James Magee (1771-1867). Born on the fifth day of May in 1807, she married Reverend Stephen Ellis (1795-1869), who was the first Methodist minister in Franklinton, in 1824. The son of John and Sarah Ellis, Reverend Ellis, before arriving in Franklinton, made a name for himself serving as a soldier in the Indian wars, as a teacher, and as a Methodist leader in Pike County, Mississippi, where he helped organize several churches. Reverend and Mrs. Ellis moved to Franklinton around 1842. Their home, which was torn down years ago, was situated north of town on the site which many of us remember as the old swimming pool, now the health unit.
Reverend Stephen Ellis also distinguished himself in Franklinton, helping to found Centenary Methodist Church; serving as Washington Parish Clerk of Court and Superintendent of Education; and becoming an officer in the Franklinton Masonic Lodge No. 101. Reverend Ellis and his wife Mary Polly Magee Ellis had the following children: Melissa, Mary J., Ellen Isabella, Olivia Jane, Ezekiel, Sarah Ann, John William, Benjamin M., Gabriellen, Emily Etna, and Stephen Richard Ellis. I relied on an article published by renowned historian Daunton Gibbs in the "Bogalusa Daily News" on November 22, 1976, for historical information on the Ellis family. And I utilized the "William Magee and Mary Margaret James and their Descendants 1770 - 1993" book to accumulate the following information on the offspring of Reverend Stephen and Mary Polly Magee Ellis. Mary Polly Magee Ellis died in 1860 and is buried in Ellis Cemetery, together with the Ellis family for whom the cemetery is named.
Melissa Ellis (1824 or 1825-1917), the couple's firstborn, married David Wiggins. They had three children: Ella Wiggins, Emma Wiggins, and Sally Wiggins.
Mary J. Ellis (1827-1894) married Benjamin Impson. The couple had the following children: Benjamin E. Impson, John Impson, and Caleb C. Impson. Their residence in 1850, according to the Census, was Pike County, Mississippi.
Ellen Isabella Ellis (1830-1922) was, at age fourteen, a charter member of Centenary Methodist Church. She married Robert Babington, who became a well-known Franklinton merchant, in 1852. The Babingtons entertained many Centenary guest speakers in their home. One such visitor gifted Ellen the first azalea cutting in the town of Franklinton. Opening a general business in 1855, the Babingtons also established the first bank in Franklinton, the first telegraph line in town, and the first newspaper in Washington Parish. They were also instrumental in bringing the railroad to town. The couple had the following children: Frances Boileau Babington, who died relatively young; William Walker Babington, who married Martha Pritchard, first, Florence Galnair Magee, second, and Mima Magee, third, following Florence's death (Florence and Mima were sisters); Mary Nurcellia, who married Lucius Lampton; Thomas Macaulay Babington who married Alma "Allie" Evelyn Magee; Victoria Ellis Babington, who married Iddo Wilkinson Lampton; Robert Hugh Babington, who married Stella Godwin, first, and Ada Magee, second; Lenora Jane Babington, who was born in 1869 and died relatively young in 1878; John James Babington, who was born in 1868 and died young in 1881; and Charles Stephen Ezekiel "Zeke" Babington, who married Elsie M. Michel.
Olivia Jane Ellis (1832-1873) married Methodist minister Lewis A. Sims. The 1850 Census showed their residence as Pike County, Mississippi. The couple had one child - Lewis A. Sims, Jr.
Ezekiel Ellis (1834-1852) died relatively young of typhoid fever.
Sarah Ann Ellis (1836-1878) married James Madison Burris. The couple had the following children: William E. Burris, who was born in 1854 and died young in 1867; James Madison Burris, who married Mary Gabe Magee; Mary Mariah Burris, who married O. P. "Pompe" Morris; Sarah Jane Burris, who married Hamp Magee; John A. Burris, who married Laura Burkhalter; Amanda Burris, who married Marcus Magee; Ella Lucy Burris, who married Willie E. Bickham; Wesley Burris (no information); Stephen Hampton Burris, who married Alma Winona Varnado; Lillie M. Burris, who was born in 1872 and died relatively young in 1889; and Phillip E. Burris, who was born in late April of either 1875 or 1876 and died in late May of the same year, as an infant.
John William Ellis (1838-1860) died relatively young of typhoid fever.
Benjamin M. Ellis (1841-1857) died young.
Gabriellen Ellis (1844-1933) married Hugh Lawson Bateman. They had the following children: Mary Winfred Bateman, who married Albert George Magee; Jason Ellis Bateman II, who married Leah Warren Ball; Ruth Olivia Bateman, who married Edmund Andrews Burris; Hugh McCauley Bateman, who married Sallie Martino Miller; Emma Vandalia "Del" Bateman, who married Jacob Carter Foil; Willie Madison Bateman, who married Jeni Magee; Dewitt Lawson Bateman, who married Ada Estelle Jones, first, and Nettie Bahm, second; Sallie Bateman, who married Thomas Madison Magee; John Wesley Bateman, who married Bertha Mildred Spring; and Dr. Maurice Bateman, who married Sadie Smith.
Emily Etna Ellis (1847-1904) married Jason Bateman. The couple had the following children: Robert Hugh "Bob" Bateman, who married Emma Magee; Ellis Ezekiel Bateman, who married Celia Olive Garrett; Dupree Jason Bateman, who married Mary Theresa Foil, first, and Tena McElveen, second; Mary Alice Bateman, who married Jacob Wood Magee; Stephen Dallas Bateman, who married Sallie P. Cook; John Chambers Bateman, who married Margaret Leona Powell; Margaret Ella Bateman, who married Dave Self; Daniel Franklin Bateman, who married Mary Mollie Fisher, first, and Margaret Caroline Rutland Williams, second; Martha Bateman, who was born in 1876 (no further information); James Lamar "Jim" Bateman, who married Alma Elmyra Toney; Lenora Jane Bateman, who married James Lassigne Rogers; Fannie Victoria Bateman, who married Ferdinand Marvin Magee; Clara Bateman, who married Willie Eugene Magee; Claude Wilks Bateman, who was born in 1885 and never married; and Milton Burns Bateman, who married Mary Elizabeth Simmons.
Stephen Richard Ellis, Jr. (1849-1931), a teacher, departed Washington Parish. He married Leona Karen Morgan. The couple had the following children: Mary Ruth Ellis, who married George Moss; Stephen Ezekiel Ellis, who married Dollie Bowman; Hosea Fleetwood Ellis, who was born in 1897 and died in 1937; James Cecil Ellis, who was born in 1900 and died in 1937; John Tulane Ellis, who married Lucille Ross, and Leona Ellen Ellis, who married Sidney Platt.
