William H Jellison
Rank: Pvt Co: B Age: 22 Residence: South Berwick Birthplace: So Berwick Occupation: farmer Married/Single: S Height: 5' 7.5 Eyes: Blk Hair: Br Complexion: Lt
grave photo courtesy of R Stevens, 2013
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON JELLISON was born on 14 May 1840 [YCCI, pg 2091] in South Berwick [Descriptive Roll], the son of Aaron and Sophia (Chase) Jellison. He died in Petrolia, PA on 29 June 1896 from Brights Disease [Bidd Wkly Jrnl, 10 July 1896], his body sent back to South Berwick, to be interred on 2 July [obit] in his family's plot on Emery's Bridge Rd [YCCI, pg 2091].
He was married around 1879 [obit] to CATHERINE (KATIE) E McCLAIN. She was born in PA circa 1854 [1880 census], and died 8 Oct 1897, probably in Petrolia, PA [Butler Co Probate]. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Union City, Erie, OH [Probate file].
William and Katie had no known children. In her will, she bequeathed her property and household goods to her siblings, their wives, and her nephews.
While both he and his brother Joshua were listed as farmers in the descriptive rolls of the 27th Maine Infantry, they both moved from town and were engaged in other professions. By 1876, William had relocated to Petrolia, Pennsylvania, a newly established borough in Butler County, where oil had recently been discovered. There he became the proprietor of a hotel, with a saloon and restaurant [the Daily Derrick Newspaper, Oil City, PA, 5/26/1876 issue, reported on a fire at the "Jellison Hotel", owned by James Garsford and occupied by W H Jellison]. An 1892 newspaper note [Pittsburg Dispatch, 8/23/1892, pg 8] called his hotel the "Oriental House". His obituary said he was also engaged in the oil business there, though the specifics of his involvement with this is not yet known. In 1884, he served a term as a member of the town council [History of Butler Co: Petrolia Borough]. The 1892 Annual Report of the Us Patent Office (pg 187) shows William filing a patent for a "roofing-joint".
He was a member of the James Guthrie Campbell Post #107, GAR, organized in 1878 in Petrolia.
Additional Source Data:
1850
1860 South Berwick census (pg 31): hh 206/226
1870 <not found>
1876-1877 W I Reed Co's Butler County Directory - William NOT listed in book
1880 Petrolia, Butler, PA (pg 12): hh 91/91; lived on Railroad St, Wm H a hotel propr
1890 Veteran Schedule: lived in Petrolia, PA
- Correspondence w/ R Stevens, So Berwick (2013)
- Civil War Pension Index: William filed 8 Jan 1883 (app #468,904 no cert #); widow Catherine E filed 18 Aug 1896 (app #639,348 cert #451,991)
- YCCI (York County Cemetery Inscriptions), a MOCA pub c1995 Picton Press
- Butler County, PA Wills (available on FamilySearch.org, though not searchable)
- History of Butler County, PA, 1895: Chapter 46 Petrolia Borough (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pabutler/1895/95x46.htm#Councils)
He was married around 1879 [obit] to CATHERINE (KATIE) E McCLAIN. She was born in PA circa 1854 [1880 census], and died 8 Oct 1897, probably in Petrolia, PA [Butler Co Probate]. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Union City, Erie, OH [Probate file].
William and Katie had no known children. In her will, she bequeathed her property and household goods to her siblings, their wives, and her nephews.
While both he and his brother Joshua were listed as farmers in the descriptive rolls of the 27th Maine Infantry, they both moved from town and were engaged in other professions. By 1876, William had relocated to Petrolia, Pennsylvania, a newly established borough in Butler County, where oil had recently been discovered. There he became the proprietor of a hotel, with a saloon and restaurant [the Daily Derrick Newspaper, Oil City, PA, 5/26/1876 issue, reported on a fire at the "Jellison Hotel", owned by James Garsford and occupied by W H Jellison]. An 1892 newspaper note [Pittsburg Dispatch, 8/23/1892, pg 8] called his hotel the "Oriental House". His obituary said he was also engaged in the oil business there, though the specifics of his involvement with this is not yet known. In 1884, he served a term as a member of the town council [History of Butler Co: Petrolia Borough]. The 1892 Annual Report of the Us Patent Office (pg 187) shows William filing a patent for a "roofing-joint".
He was a member of the James Guthrie Campbell Post #107, GAR, organized in 1878 in Petrolia.
Additional Source Data:
1850
1860 South Berwick census (pg 31): hh 206/226
1870 <not found>
1876-1877 W I Reed Co's Butler County Directory - William NOT listed in book
1880 Petrolia, Butler, PA (pg 12): hh 91/91; lived on Railroad St, Wm H a hotel propr
1890 Veteran Schedule: lived in Petrolia, PA
- Correspondence w/ R Stevens, So Berwick (2013)
- Civil War Pension Index: William filed 8 Jan 1883 (app #468,904 no cert #); widow Catherine E filed 18 Aug 1896 (app #639,348 cert #451,991)
- YCCI (York County Cemetery Inscriptions), a MOCA pub c1995 Picton Press
- Butler County, PA Wills (available on FamilySearch.org, though not searchable)
- History of Butler County, PA, 1895: Chapter 46 Petrolia Borough (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pabutler/1895/95x46.htm#Councils)