Our Territories

Channel Islands
England
Ireland
Isle of Man
Scotland
Wales

Our Categories

Home
Locations
Surnames
Articles
Library
Lookups

younger lad Bert who was the same age as herself, asked her to marry him. They became engaged and Ellen returned to England to collect her trousseau and return to marry him.

At that time Bert was teaching at a school in Dayton or Waitsburg. Sadly during her absence Bert became violently ill. The doctor who attended him suspected he had come into contact with an Anthex infection and had become become poisoned and he had died. This all happened while Ellen was in Haslingfield and she learnt of it from a letter she received from Bert’s brother Joseph Nightingale .telling her that her fiancé had died. Joseph and Ellen kept in touch with letters, a short time later Joseph wrote asking Ellen if she would consider marrying him now that his brother had died? Ellen consented and sailed alone for America. This time she sailed from Liverpool in 1881 on the steamer CALIFORNIA to Boston

During this voyage which took 16 days there was a particularly violent storm and Ellen was tossed under the captain’s table so he had a board fixed up to prevent such an occurrence happening again. Ellen had been lucky for other members of the crew had suffered broken arms. From Boston she travelled by rail across America through Chicago on to San Francisco, where she took a boat to Dalles, Oregon. Finally taking the old narrow gauge railway to the town of Walla Walla, Washington State.

Ellen married Joseph Henry Nightingale in February 1882 in Valley Grove some six miles north of Walla Walla. Joseph first bought a farm on Mud Creek but during the hard years of the 1890’s he lost this. Joseph then bought property in the Blue Mountains for $300. In 1897 they moved by Wagon & horses to this new location the couple had six children. And Ellen returned to England to see her family a number of times. Ellen certainly lived a full life and was a pioneer. This tough little lady died in September 1950 at the age of ninety-eight.

Ellen and Joseph lived at Valley Grove for fifteen years and it was there that their six children were born. The family lived in Blue Creek in the foothills of Walla Walla and remained there until Joseph Henry Nightingale died in December 1911. In 1918 she took her family into the town to live. Together they suffered many hard times. In the early nineties their home was burned to the ground, they were able to save very little but later found some gold watches that had been brought from England. They had melted and were buried in the ashes. The gold was salvaged and used to buy a lovely old-fashioned clock, which is still remains in the family

Carol Nightingale, Ellen’s great granddaughter, who lives in Seattle, has collected a great deal of the information I have written but her story goes far deeper. Carol’s family line connects with mine via her Great grandmother, Betsy Wallis. Betsy was the sister of my great grandfather, Sergeant Wallis.

Sergeant Wallis appears to have sold his Elgin farm in Nov 1886 for $2200 to John J Roche. In the records I have found it’s location situated in Antelope Country in the State of Nebraska as The East half of North East quarter of section Eleven, Township 23 north range seven west sixth principal meridian. I believe he had originally purchases the land from the Western Town Lot Company.

Sergeant continued to travel to and from Nebraska he would visit exhibitions and communicate with London traders and other manufacturers. He collected data and details of products he could use for trade with America. One of his last trips was to the Paris Exhibition in 1891.

Previous | Index | Next