The Ellison family of Totley Grove

   Elfrida and Cymbert Ellison in the garden of Totley Grove

The Ellison family moved into Totley Grove House in the late 1890's. Thomas Edward Ellison, 44 a barrister; his wife Constance, 37 and their four children, Alban Cedric, 12 years; Thecla Winifred, 10; Cymbert Edward aged 9 and Elfrida Orley aged 5 lived in the house with their French/German governess, nursery maid, house/ parlour maid and cook. They had moved to Totley from Wortley where they had also lived in some style. 

Thomas Edward Ellison was born in St. Pancras in May 1856. His father, Thomas James Ellison was a judge and is remembered as "the miners' friend" for an agreement he brokered in the early 1870's between mine workers and mine owners in a dispute about wages. Judge Ellison argued that a man's wage should be sufficient for him to support his wife and children. This concept has ever since been known as a "living wage". His championing of the miners forged a bond between them and the Ellison family which lasted three generations.

Whilst his father was sorting out the mineworkers' dispute, Thomas was a boarder at the Mount St. Mary School in Spinkhill, a prestigious Catholic school. After leaving school he followed his father into the law and by 1881 was living with his parents at Barbot Hall in Greasborough and working as a barrister. 

   Alban and Cymbert Ellison in their naval uniforms

In 1888 Thomas married Constance Atkinson. Constance was born in Wakefield in 1864 and had an interesting family life. On the 1871 census when she was 7 years old, her physician father was running a private asylum. He had six patients all described on the census as "lunatic". The neighbouring house was a refuge for female ex-prisoners.

By 1881, the Atkinson family had moved to Kimberworth, Yorkshire and again Constance's father was running an asylum called Grange Hall where he had 16 "lunatic" patients including a child of 6years! It was from this house that Constance married Thomas.

Thomas Ellison followed his father into the judiciary and seems to have been as well regarded in this role as his father was. He was leader of the bar on the Northern circuit and standing council for the miners' Union of Yorkshire, Northumberland and Durham throughout his professional life. In his obituary Thomas Ellison is described as being a shrivelled swarthy man with a striking personality, penetrating voice and luminous piercing eyes who often terrified witnesses. 

  Alban Cedric Ellison

Thomas Edward Ellison died in Totley Grove House of pneumonia in the spring of 1920. Great efforts were made by his son, Alban to get oxygen to easy his father's breathing. Alban phoned the Yorkshire Miners Union, but there was no oxygen in any of their pits. They phoned Durham where two tanks were available. The oxygen was driven through the night to Totley, but arrived too late to save him. 

Constance's life changed dramatically after Thomas' death. Her eldest son, Alban married Florence Hawksford in the December after his father's death and emigrated with her to Saskatchewan, Canada shortly afterwards. They settled in Regina where Alban worked as a barrister and for many years served as legal registrar at the Regina courthouse. He was elected a Labour Party Counsellor from 1932 to 36 and Mayor in 1939. Alban served in the Navy during both wars and was known in Regina as the Sailor Mayor for his continued interest in the Navy. Alban died in Canada in 1974 aged 85.

Her second son, Cymbert served as a Signals Operator in the 1st WW and married in early 1916. He was living at 9 Cobnar Road in Sheffield when he died in 1923 aged 31. Constance was so shocked by his death that she took to her bed for the next 25 years. She was cared for by her daughter, Elfrida and her companion, Dorothy Rogers. Constance lived to be 90 and died in 1954 in Barnet, London where she'd been living since Cymbert's death. 

                          Elfrida Ellison

As is often the way with family history research, we know far more about the sons of the family than the daughters. Apart from caring for her mother, we know nothing else about Elfrida. 

Thecla Winifred, like Elfrida has left little public trace of her life. Her Godfather was Arthur Conan Doyle and she married a barrister, Charles Hobson and seems to have lived in London for most of her life. She died there in 1977 aged 87.