Ellen Green

Ellen Betts was interviewed in the 1930s as part of the WPA (Work Progess Administration) Federal Writers’ Project. Her story is one of the ‘Slave Narratives’. Per her narrative, she lived at 118 N. Live Oak Street at the time of her interview. Some of the narratives included photos, but Ellen’s sadly did not.

I read Ellen’s narrative in 2003 when I began my research on former Texas slaves while documenting my husband’s Texas roots. Her story was included among the Texas Slave Narratives. I took special note of it and added it to my collection of interesting, but not immediately pertinent, stories because it mentioned St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.

I began to research my Louisiana family in 2015, but it wasn’t until 2022 while pouring over Palfrey’s journal and adding leaves to my Gibson and Morgan family tree that I saw the names Charity and William Green and their daughter Ellen that something clicked in my memory. I pulled out Ellen’s story and reread it. She said that she was born on Bayou Teche, Tolas Parson’s place. Ellen said that she was sold to Tolas’s brother William Tolas after Tolas Parson’s death. She mentioned Patterson and Centerville, Louisiana and Marse William and his wife Sidney. Ellen also spoke about Miss Sidney’s death and about William’s marriage to Miss Cornelia. All of these events and first names seemed very familiar to me, because I’d read John Palfrey’s letter to his son William. I knew that William Palfrey’s first wife was Sidney Conrad and that he later married Cornelia Gates. I don’t know why she referred to each by the last name of Tolas instead of Palfrey. But it became clear to me that Ellen Betts was indeed relating stories about John Palfrey and his son William T Palfrey and life on their plantations. Ellen talked about her mother being a good seamstress and how her ‘pa’ was a fiddler “and we’d cut de pigeon wing and cut de buck and every other kind of dance. Sometime pa git tired and say he ain’t gwineter play no more and us gals git busy and pop him corn and make candy, so to ‘tice him to play more.” Read More of Ellen’s ‘Slave Narrative’.

Ellen Green was born May 15, 1847 to Charity Gibson and William Green. Her mother Charity Gibson, was the daughter of Robert ‘Bob’ Gibson and Sinah. Charity was born about 1824 in St Mary Parish. Robert and Sinah are my 3rd great grandparents. Ellen’s father William Green was born 1810 in South Carolina. Palfrey wrote that ‘Bill Green‘ ran away on Dec. 1, 1849 and returned three days later. I think it is significant that Ellen’s father was referenced by 2 names as early as 1849 as it indicates that enslaved persons were often known to have family names. Palfrey wrote in April 1863 of Charity and her daughter Sidney being taken in a cart by ‘Bob’ to Cypremort from one of his other plantations. The Bob mentioned was my 4th great grandfather, Robert Gibson.

Ellen’s birth was recorded in William Taylor Palfrey’s plantation journal. She was the third child of 11. Her siblings were: Sidney, born 1842; Sarah, 1844-1934; Washington, born 1849; Alice, born 1851; Mary, born 1855; Cornelius, born 1859; Elliot, born 1861; Nettie, born 1864; and Henry, born 1868. Henry was born after Palfrey’s death and was not recorded in the journal. Per Palfrey’s journal Charity gave birth to a child in 1855 that died.

Ellen was recorded on the 1870 St Mary Parish, Ward 4 census in the home with her parents Charity and William Green and her 10 siblings. A seventy-five-year-old woman named Rachel Gibson lived in the household immediately before Ellen’s. Ellen was also listed on the 1870 census in Ward 3 with her first husband Vincent Wallace and their son William. The next household on the page included Sidney Green, 25 and Major, 3. Two households away was Spencer Betts, who was later to be Ellen’s second husband.

Ellen and Vincent were still living in St. Mary Parish for he 1880 census. Their household had grown to include children: Felice (Phyllis), Listen and Elliot.

Her parents were also still living in St. Mary Parish. Their household included sons: Washington 29, who was listed as a widow; Cornelius 22, who was listed as married; Henry 12; and 2 daughters: Nettie 16 and Mary Crump 25. Mary was recorded to have pleurisy. Mary’s daughter Rosa also was recorded in the household. Interestingly, there is a record of William Green’s death in 1870, St Mary Parish, Ward 4, at the age of sixty from chronic rheumatism. He was recorded as haven been born in South Carolina and been a widower. I don’t know the explanation of how William could be widower and deceased in 1870 and yet he and wife Charity still be listed on the 1880 census!

By 1900, Ellen was no longer living in Louisiana. She and second husband Spencer Betts were listed on the 1900 Harris County census living in Ward 8. They lived in Harris County, but not in Houston. Spencer worked as a farm laborer. Many of their neighbors were German immigrants. Living with them were her children: Gorum and Harry Wallace (they were listed with the last name of Bets).

Ellen and Spencer were counted on the 1910 Harris County census, still in Ward 8. Gorum Wallace and wife Martha (nee Martin) lived with Ellen. Also, in the home was Ellen’s grandson Charley Carlisle, 15. Charlie was the son of Ellen’s daughter Phillis and Charles Carlisle Sr.

Ellen’s grandson Charley was counted twice on the 1910 census, once in Houston with his grandmother and again in Fort Bend County, Texas in the household with his mother Phillis 32, father, Charles 34 and siblings: Lillie, 13; Ernest, 8; Celena, 6; Henry, 5; Ed, 1. The family lived on Pryor Plantation in Hodges Bend.

Ellen was widowed and living in Fort Bend County, TX for the 1920 census. She lived with her daughter Phillis and her husband Charles Callos (Carlisle) and their children: Charlie, Elena, Henry, Ed and Salena. Charles Sr. worked on a cotton farm which he owned. Neither he or Phillis could read or write but all of their children were literate.

Ellen was last listed on the 1930 Harris County census living on Addicks-Howell Road, which is near the Fort Bend and Harris County, border. She lived with her widowed daughter-in-law Martha and grandchildren: Henry, Gorum Jr., Mary and Willie.

Ellen’s son Willie Wallace and wife Clara Como were recorded on the 1900 St. Mary Parish census. Willie worked as a farm laborer and could read, but not write–his wife could do both. Willie and family were again listed on the 1910 St. Mary Parish census. In their household were Willie, 21 and James Wallace, 19.

Ellen’s son Harry Wallace and wife Nora (Elnora Redicks) were living in Houston for the 1920 census. They lived 1100 Dennis Street in Third Ward. Harry worked as laborer for a contractor and Nora as a laundress. Living with them was Ellen’s son forty-year-old son Elliot whose marital status was recorded as married. He also worked as a laborer for a contractor.

The last recorded sentence in Ellen’s narrative was, “Law, times ain’t like dey was in slave days. All my ten chillen is dead and my old man gone, and now I reckon my time ’bout ‘rive. All I got to do now am pray de Lawd to keep me straight, den when de great day come, I can march de road to glory.” Ellen died in 1939 and was buried in Paradise North Cemetery.

Best,