1. Robert E. ELLISTON (1732-1809)

Robert E. Elliston was born about 1732 in Virginia. Some people believe he was the son of Robert and Eleanor (Miller) Elliston of Stafford County, VA.

I think the Robert E. Elliston/Ellyson might have been a Quaker and might have been descended from Dr. Robert Ellyson of Virginia. In 1787 the Henrico Monthly Meeting of Quakers in Virginia cited a Robert Ellyson with misconduct. He was preparing to "remove to the back parts" of Virginia without their consent. They didn't have meetings set up there. The "back parts" of Virginia were what is now Kentucky. Our Robert E. Elliston showed up in newly created Fayette County, KY in 1788. The Quaker line of Ellison/Ellysons goes back to Dr. Robert Ellyson. More work is needed on this potential link.

About 1755 Robert E. Elliston married Elizabeth "Betty" Tharp, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Triplett) Tharp of Culpeper County, VA.

A Robert Elliston served during the American Revolution in the 14th Virginia Line. No descendants have joined the NSDAR or NSSAR on his service. It has not been determined that this is our Robert Elliston.

Benjamin Elliston, son of Robert and Betsy, left Virginia for the Kentucky area in 1786. Robert moved his entire family to Fayette County, KY shortly afterwards. The family is listed in the 1788 tax list there. Shortly after, the county lines were redrawn, and the family was in Woodford County. Robert Elliston died there in 1809, at about 77 years of age. His estate was valued at $6,000. Robert's will was recorded in the Woodford County, KY Will Book C and names his wife and children as his heirs. It is not known when Betsy (Tharp) Elliston died.

Robert and Betty Elliston had eleven children:

1. Robert E. Elliston Jr. - see the next section.
2. Thomas R. Elliston - m. Sarah Ann ?? and had at least 3 children: Japtha, Hiter, Thomas Jr.
3. Sally Elliston - m. Robert YANCEY
4. Nelly Elliston - m. Mr. YOUNG, possibly Richard
5. Benjamin Elliston - b. 25 NOV 1770 d. 26 DEC 1846 Elliston Station, Grant Co., KY. m. Sally HITER 25 NOV 1790. They had twelve children: James, John, Elizabeth, Robert, Thomas, Nancy, Polly, Phebe, Hiram, Benjamin, William Pendleton, and Joseph Thorp. Benjamin fought in the War of 1812.
6. Betsy Elliston - d. before 1809. m. Elisha LOCKHART/LOCKARD
7. Jacob Percy Elliston - m. Elizabeth HITER, fought in the War of 1812. Had at least one child, Robert. Jacob died after 1831 in Anderson Co., KY.
8. John Elliston - b. 6 MAR 1777 d 17 SEP 1835 Gallatin Co., KY. m. Nancy SNEED 8 NOV 1799 Mercer Co., KY. They had 9 children: Maria/Mariah, Elizabeth, Polly, Susan/Susannah, James T. Benjamin S., Catherine, John G., and Robert M.
9. Joseph Thorp Elliston - b 15 DEC 1779 d 10 NOV 1856 Nashville, Davidson Co., TN. 1m. Louisa MULLEN 20 AUG 1800 and had 6 children: Harriet Louisa, Jane, James, Adaline T., Joseph Thorp, and William Robert. Joseph 2m. Elizabeth ODOM 10 DEC 1817. Joseph Elliston was mayor of Nashville during the War of 1812. He donated some land where Vanderbilt University is now, and is commemorate in downtown Nashville at Elliston Place.
10. Katy Elliston - m. George BUTLER 30 AUG 1798.
11. Daniel Triplett Elliston - bc 1781 d 8 JUN 1852 Woodford Co., KY. 1m. Nancy WATTS and had two children: William and Lowden W. Triplett. Daniel 2m. Precilla HAMMOND 13 JUL 1808.

2. Robert E. ELLISTON, Jr. (1762-1836)

Robert E. Elliston Jr. was born about 1762, probably in Culpeper County, VA. He married Sarah HARGRAVE, daughter of Hartwell and Miriam (Bailey) HARGRAVE in the early 1780s. The HARGRAVE family were Quakers, and since there are no records indicating Sarah Hargrave Elliston's expulsion from the Society, it is likely that Robert Elliston was also a Quaker (which lends some support to the Dr. Robert Ellyson link explained above.)

Robert and Sarah Elliston moved from Virginia to Kentucky with Robert's parents in 1788. They stayed only a short while before moving to Burke County, Georgia.

Robert Elliston claimed Headright grants in Georgia in 1793. He was captain of a tax district in 1796 and in 1798 he paid taxes on 400 acres of land. In DEC 1804 Robert was accepted into the Sardis Baptist Church (formerly known as the Beach Branch Baptist Church) in Burke County, GA. He was an elder there and represented the church at its Associational meetings on occasion.

Robert and Sarah Elliston were slave holders in Burke County. They owned 17 slaves in 1820, and 24 in 1830. They may have run a plantation of some sort.

Robert Elliston died on 20 NOV 1836 at about 74 years of age. Because he owned so much property, it is almost certain that he left a will. However, Burke County courthouse fires destroyed all the records prior to 1856.

Sarah Hargrave Ellison survived her husband by more than 20 years. She lived alone in 1850 at 83 years of age. She couldn't read or write, but owned 9 slaves, and 600 acres of land.

Sarah Ellison died before 19 APR 1856 when probate records begin to appear in the Burke County records. She would have been 89 years old at that time. Final probate records were printed in The Waynesboro News on 15 FEB 1859.

Robert and Sarah Elliston had ten children, some of whom spelled their surname as ELLISON:

1. Elizabeth Elliston - b. 5 FEB 1786 d 28 DEC 1848 m. Benjamin MOBLEY 12 MAY 1808 and had 8 children: Sarah, Mary M., Benjamin E., James R., Alexander J. S., George Washington, Madison, and Louise Joice.
2. Jacob Ellison - bc 1788 d NOV 1855 m. Lucy BUXTON 7 OCT 1813 and had at least 5 children: a son, L. J., Benjamin E., Samuel Joseph, and Nancy.
3. George M. Elliston - bc 1789 d. after 12 DEC 1874 m. Valinda GODBEE before 1820. They had 8 children: two sons, James L., Mary., Robert, Jacob, Benjamin F., and William T.
4. Joseph T. Elliston - b 1791 d 1834 1m. ?Hettie? GODBEE, 2m. Joanna ??. When Joseph died, his brother George became guardian to the orphaned children: James R., George Washington, Sarah Ann/Amanda, William H., and Joseph T.
5. Sara M. Elliston - bc 1793 d before 1856, m. Richard HERRINGTON Jr.
6. Clarissa "Clary" Elliston - bc 1796 d. 6 MAR 1882 in Franklin Co., AL. m. Major HURST 4 FEB 1813. They had three children: Polly, John, and William Robert.
7. Benjamin J. Ellison - b 1800 d. 11 MAY 1851, m. Mary Ann Elizabeth PARIS 22 DEC 1829. They had at least 10 children: James H., Robert, Benjamin J., Francis L., Ulysses W., Lucy Ann Elizabeth, Henry C., Thomas J., Julia Rebekah, and Emma Haseltine.
8. Robert F. Ellison - b 7 AUG 1801 d 3 MAY 1876. 1m. Martha MOORE and had 2 children: Joseph G. and Mary R. Robert 2m. Sarah MILLS and had one child: Sarah M. Robert 3m. Cynthia Lester HERRINGTON and had 8 children: Henrietta E., Robert J., Nancy A., Joanna E., George W., Martha V., Clara Virginia, and Benjamin F. Robert Ellison is buried at Sardis Cemetery, Burke County, GA.
9. Rebecca Ellison - bc 1804 d 17 SEP 1844 m. Archibald Bonnell.
10. Thomas T. Ellison - see the next section.

3. Thomas T. ELLISON, (1810-1888)

Thomas T. Ellison was born in March 1810 in Burke County, GA, the youngest child of Robert and Sarah (Hargrave) Elliston. Around 1830 Thomas married Lucretia ALLEN, the daughter of James and Frances (Simmons) ALLEN.

Thomas and Lucretia Allen moved from Burke County to Houston County, GA around 1849. Some of Lucretia's brothers had settled there in the 1830s, and Thomas's older brother Jacob had moved there also. Thomas Ellison was a farmer and owned property worth $5,500 in 1850.

The Ellison family would grow to a total of ten children:

1. Sarah Rebecca Ellison - b1831/1833 d. 1888, m. John Stephen ALLEN 29 MAY 1849 Houston Co, GA. They had 7 children: William Robert, George T., John Henry, Aurelius Cullen, Lila, Nancy Augusta, and Virginia "Jenny". Sarah may have been a twin to her sister Frances D.
2. Frances D. Ellison - see the next section.
3. Caroline V. Ellison - b SEP 1835 m. Sanford ALEXANDER. They did not have children. Caroline 2m. Theodore Newton KILLEN, widower of her sister Frances D.
4. daughter - bc 1837 d before 1850
5. daughter - bc 1839 d before 1850
6. Robert Isaiah Ellison - b. 6 AUG 1840 in Houston County, d. 3 JUN 1900 Terrell County, GA. Robert m. Mary Ann WHITAKER 19 OCT 1865 in Terrell County. They had 4 or 5 children: ?Hudson?, Eugene, George Edmund, Claudius/Claude Cosmore, and Mary Elizabeth.
7. James A. Ellison - b. 12 AUG 1842 d. 4 FEB 1915 in Fulton County, GA. James m. Rosa N. ?? and had at least 4 children: Fannie, Rosie, John W., and Cretie.
8. Mariah Ellison - bc 1844 m. Mr. ANDERSON.
9. Jane E. Ellison - b 19 OCT 1847 d 19 MAR 1869 unmarried, in Floyd County, GA.
10. George T. Ellison - bc 1849 m. Ella WOOD 16 FEB 1871 in Floyd County. They had at least three children: Charley F., Oscar, and Hudson.

In the mid-1850s, Thomas relocated his family to Lee County, GA. Lucretia (Allen) Ellison died there after July 1860. Thomas Ellison quickly remarried, to Elizabeth Bucknam (b 18 NOV 1837 in ME), on 25 DEC 1860. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bucknam was living in Georgia on her own, working as a schoolteacher in Early County, GA. Lizzie Bucknam was the daughter of Ichabod and Elizabeth (Wilson) Bucknam. Her heritage is presented in A Bucknam - Buckman Genealogy by Ann Theopold Chaplin.

Thomas and Lizzie Ellison had two children:

1. Joseph Wilson Ellison - b 20 SEP 1861 d. after 1932. Joseph m. Ida Belle McKENZIE 4 FEB 1883 in Floyd County, GA. They had at least one son: Ralph C. Ellison.
2. Charles Sanford Ellison - b. 17 OCT 1863 m. Mary Jane LANGSTON 3 DEC 1889 in Floyd County. They moved to Texas and the Indian Territories before returning to Georgia. At the time of his mother's death in 1926, Charles was had died and had children living in Birmingham, AL.

During the Civil War, Thomas Ellison served in a "home" unit, the 15th Battalion of the Georgia Cavalry State Guards. The unit was formed to defend southwest Georgia. After the war's conclusion the Ellison family remained in Lee County until about 1867 when they moved to Rome, Floyd County, GA. No reason for this move has been discovered.

Thomas Ellison, a farmer, died in Floyd County on 24 APR 1888. He was 78 years old. He is buried at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Rome. Thomas left a will in which he gave his property to his two youngest sons, however, his estate papers name all of his living heirs as receiving notifications.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bucknam Ellison moved to Atlanta with her son Joseph. She died there 1 APR 1926 at 88 years of age, and is buried at Crestlawn Cemetery in northwest Atlanta.

4. Frances D. Ellison (1834-1887)

Frances D. Ellison was born 11 JAN 1834 in Burke County, GA. She was the second of Thomas T. and Lucretia (Allen) Ellison's ten children. At age 19, Frances married her Houston County, GA neighbor Theodore Newton Killen on 22 FEB 1853. They were married by Minister B. F. Tharp. See the Killen Family Page for more details about their lives.