William Ellis (1694-1778)
Abigail Millett Ellis (1696-1763)
William Ellis was born on June 17, 1694. He was the son of John Ellis and Elizabeth Fisher Ellis.
On October 27, 1720, he married Abigail Millett in Dedham. Abigail was the daughter of Thomas Millett and Love Bunker Millett of New Hampshire.
William and Abigail Ellis had ten children born between 1721 and 1738: Abigail, Elizabeth, Mary, Hannah, Mehitable, William, Sarah, William, John, and Deliverance.
Abigail died on August 14, 1763. She was 67 years old. In the Dedham Records of that date, her name is not recorded, only “the wife of William Ellis, aged about 60 years.”
Abigail’s gravestone depicts a rising sun motif, the symbol of resurrection. The eyes of the sun just breaking the horizon, are surrounded by ornate rays exploding into varied shapes and swirls carved into concentric semi-circles on the stone’s tympanum. There are no other comparable carvings in the graveyard.
William Ellis survived his wife by fifteen years. He died on June 9, 1778. His stone has an elaborate stylized foliate design of acanthus leaves on its tympanum.
Both gravestones were carved by Wrentham artisan, John New.
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