My Genealogy Hound

HOLLIS FAY ELLIS, the genial and popular depot and express agent at Brocton, was born April 8th, 1844, in the town of Portland and is a son of Edmund (deceased) and Roxana (Fay) Ellis. The Ellis family are of Scotch descent, while the Fays are from old Puritan stock. The maternal grandfather, Hollis Fay, was a native of Massachusetts, being the descendant of Puritan fathers. He came to Portland prior to 1811 and located first in Brocton village but afterwards, in 1815, removed to West Portland. At this time he was unmarried and lived alone on his farm for three years. In 1818 he went back to Massachusetts and married Phoebe Mixer, when they returned with an ox-team and lived on their farm in Portland until 1851 and then went to Concord, Erie county, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Fay died in July, 1868; his wife followed him in October of the same year. They had three children, only one of whom — Roxana E. — survived infancy. Mr. Fay was a soldier in the war of 1812 and was present at the burning of Buffalo; and subsequent to leaving his farm in 1851 he owned and operated a saw-mill at Concord. Both himself and wife were members of the Baptist church. Edmund Ellis was born in Orleans county, New York in 1820 and emigrated to Portland, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1857, when but thirty-seven years of age; and a as a member of the West Portland Baptist church. He married Roxana E. Fay, the only child of Hollis Fay, in 1842. They had five children. Mrs. Ellis is still living, aged sixty-nine years, and is at present in Detroit, Michigan. She is a member of the Baptist church, in which she takes an active interest.

Hollis Fay Ellis was reared on his father’s farm and received his education in the public schools, supplemented by two years in the Corry High school, his mother, at the time living with her parents in Concord, Pennsylvania. After leaving school Mr. Ellis spent a year in the oil country and then ran his mother’s saw-mill for five years. Succeeding this, he went back to the farm and staid four years. In 1872 he took a position as switchman on the L. S. & M. S. R. R. His worth, however, was appreciated and a few months later he received the appointment of second clerk at Brocton. Eight months after the position of first clerk was offered and accepted. He filled this place acceptably until 1878 when a vacancy occurred in the ticket office and he was advanced to the agency of the L. S. & M. S., W. N. Y. & P. and the Chautauqua Lake railroads. When the American Express company entered Brocton, the agency of that company was given him. All of these agencies Mr. Ellis still holds.

In 1866 he was united in marriage to Jennie A. Springstead, daughter of John Springstead of Portland. They had two children, Louis E. and Josie B.

H. F. Ellis is a republican and a member of Brocton Lodge No. 8, A. O. U. W. and Brocton Lodge No. 984 Knights of Pythias. He is a companionable, pleasant gentleman and enjoys a host of friends.