David
Russell
Ellis

DAVID RUSSELL ELLIS was the son of Bertha and David Ellis. His father was a Camden Police officer in the 1890s and 1900s. David Russell Ellis was born in Camden on May 9, 1893. When the Census was taken in 1900 the Ellis family, which included an older brother, Howard Ellis, was living at 724 Division Street. By 1906 they had moved to 709 Walnut Street and were still there when the Census was taken in 1910. David R. Ellis was then working as a steamfitter. By 1914 he had married. The City Directory for that year lists him and his wife Frieda at 760 Cherry Street. When he registered for the draft in June of 1917, David Ellis had gone to work at the Keystone Leather Works factory. He was then living at 820 Fern Street in North Camden.

David R. Russell and his wife had separated by January of 1920. He was boarding , the home of a young widow, Evelyn Magann, at 1024 Penn Street. The 1920 Census shows him working at a shipyard. By 1927 David Ellis had joined the Camden Fire Department. By this time he and Evelyn Magann had married. They were then living, along with stepson Walden Magann, at 913 Cedar Street, remaining at that address through April of 1930. The Ellis family moved to 1614 Fillmore Street shortly afterwards. By 1934 he had been promoted to Captain, serving with Engine Company 2.

Tragedy struck on June 15, 1934 when Captain Ellis died of acute indigestion at Leslie's Cove, which was a small island with summer cottages in Mantua Creek near Mt. Royal, New Jersey. He was only 42 years old at the time. David Russell Leslie rests at Harleigh Cemetery.  

Coincidentally, not long after Captain Ellis died, a flood brought on by a sever storm washed away the island and the cottages. Leslie's Cove, which had been a popular summer resort for about 50 years, was gone forever.

HOW FLAMES GUTTED BIG INDUSTRIAL BUILDING