Every year, the Masterman eleventh grade AP US History classes take part in the Woodland Cemetery project. In this project, groups are tasked with uncovering everything about a person buried in the Woodland Cemetery. For some groups, their person was a prominent figure when he or she was alive. For other groups,they had to search harder for good information.
To begin the assignment, our class visited the Woodlands Cemetery. Once at the cemetery, groups searched for three to four monuments/graves that stood out to them. The people to whom these belonged became the preliminary candidates for the group’s project. There were some restrictions on who the project could be on as the goal was to learn about someone not well known. The restrictions were that the gravestones could not exceed seven feet in height, the person had to be born after 1820 and lived during the 19th century, and the person could not be on the “Do Not Do” list, a list which consisted of people that had been previously researched by prior AP US History classes, was someone the Woodland Cemetery already had information on, or was someone well known.
Once we selected Eugene Ellison, our group had to research his life, including when he was born, where he lived, and what he did. This information helped us later on when we were looking for different newspapers pertaining to his field of work in different places. To do this research, we started on ancestry.com. On Ancestry.com, by simply putting a person’s birth year, death year, and where they might have lived, we could find primary sources about them. We were able to find where Ellison was born (Delaware), where he lived (Philadelphia), and other useful information about him. After this groundwork was completed, the next step was trying to uncover more specific things about his life, including his occupation, his relationship status, and an overall knowledge of what happened during his life. To do this, we went to Newspapers.com, where we were able to find actual documentation of events that occurred throughout his life. In fact, we learned that Ellison was the President of the Insurance Company of North America, and that he was the subject of many news articles. Once we learned that Ellison was the president of an influential company, finding additional information was easier. Working our way through the primary sources gave us a good understanding of Ellison’s life.
Eugene Ellison’s life began on March 5, 1845, in Glasgow, New Castle County, Delaware, United States of America. Ellison had a very fortunate childhood as his father, Curtis, was a very well-off man. This gave Ellison the ability to attend public schools and the Newark Academy. Following his education, perhaps because of his father’s role in insurance, he gained some experience in the mercantile and banking business. After learning the ins and outs of banking, Ellison became an assistant manager of the Philadelphia Clearinghouse. Later on, he became general agent for the Old Enterprise Insurance Company of Philadelphia working in the field of insurance for the rest of his life.
Ellison began working with one of the country’s premier insurance agencies, the Insurance Company of North America, and remained there the rest of his life. He began his tenure as the manager of the company’s Pennsylvania agencies in Harrisburg, after meeting his first wife, Sarah Ellison. Unfortunately, she passed away only two years after their marriage. Despite this tragedy, Ellison continued to succeed in his business affairs, slowly working his way up in the company until he became president.
Ellison was a hard worker. In fact, he passed away while sitting at his desk working, on February 8, 1916, leaving behind his second wife, Maud Ellison, and his three daughters, Edith Ellison, Miriam Ellison, and Margery Ellison. Eugene Lewis Ellison was a tireless, determined man who was dedicated to his profession and his family. Here is his story.
To begin the assignment, our class visited the Woodlands Cemetery. Once at the cemetery, groups searched for three to four monuments/graves that stood out to them. The people to whom these belonged became the preliminary candidates for the group’s project. There were some restrictions on who the project could be on as the goal was to learn about someone not well known. The restrictions were that the gravestones could not exceed seven feet in height, the person had to be born after 1820 and lived during the 19th century, and the person could not be on the “Do Not Do” list, a list which consisted of people that had been previously researched by prior AP US History classes, was someone the Woodland Cemetery already had information on, or was someone well known.
Once we selected Eugene Ellison, our group had to research his life, including when he was born, where he lived, and what he did. This information helped us later on when we were looking for different newspapers pertaining to his field of work in different places. To do this research, we started on ancestry.com. On Ancestry.com, by simply putting a person’s birth year, death year, and where they might have lived, we could find primary sources about them. We were able to find where Ellison was born (Delaware), where he lived (Philadelphia), and other useful information about him. After this groundwork was completed, the next step was trying to uncover more specific things about his life, including his occupation, his relationship status, and an overall knowledge of what happened during his life. To do this, we went to Newspapers.com, where we were able to find actual documentation of events that occurred throughout his life. In fact, we learned that Ellison was the President of the Insurance Company of North America, and that he was the subject of many news articles. Once we learned that Ellison was the president of an influential company, finding additional information was easier. Working our way through the primary sources gave us a good understanding of Ellison’s life.
Eugene Ellison’s life began on March 5, 1845, in Glasgow, New Castle County, Delaware, United States of America. Ellison had a very fortunate childhood as his father, Curtis, was a very well-off man. This gave Ellison the ability to attend public schools and the Newark Academy. Following his education, perhaps because of his father’s role in insurance, he gained some experience in the mercantile and banking business. After learning the ins and outs of banking, Ellison became an assistant manager of the Philadelphia Clearinghouse. Later on, he became general agent for the Old Enterprise Insurance Company of Philadelphia working in the field of insurance for the rest of his life.
Ellison began working with one of the country’s premier insurance agencies, the Insurance Company of North America, and remained there the rest of his life. He began his tenure as the manager of the company’s Pennsylvania agencies in Harrisburg, after meeting his first wife, Sarah Ellison. Unfortunately, she passed away only two years after their marriage. Despite this tragedy, Ellison continued to succeed in his business affairs, slowly working his way up in the company until he became president.
Ellison was a hard worker. In fact, he passed away while sitting at his desk working, on February 8, 1916, leaving behind his second wife, Maud Ellison, and his three daughters, Edith Ellison, Miriam Ellison, and Margery Ellison. Eugene Lewis Ellison was a tireless, determined man who was dedicated to his profession and his family. Here is his story.