The Newest Ellison College Graduate is.....

CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU MIGHT READ IN THE NEWSPAPER ABOUT BLACK COLLEGE ATHLETES AND LOW GRADUATION RATES, JARED ELLISON PROVED THEM ALL WRONG BY COMPLETING HIS BACHLEORS DEGREE AT PRAIRIEVIEW A&M UNIVERSITY!  Not only did he graduate, he was also a member of the Basketball Team and he graduated ON TIME! Way to go Jared!

There's a new KAPPA in the family!

Steven Loud is currently attending Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Alabama. Steven is the Great Grandson of Texanna Ellison. He went to High School at Madison High School before moving on to College. Steven recently was initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity , Incorporated. He joins Fred Ellison, Grant Ellison Jr, and Kelvin Ellison as the newest Kappa member in the Family. When he is home, Steven is  a great bartender at Pappadeaux's on 610. Keep up the good work Steven!!

CNN/Money and Money Magazine ranked Sugar Land as the #3 Place to live in the United States and the #1 place in Texas.

The city was also recognized as one of the Best Places to raise children in the USA.

Over 1300 American cities were evaluated and David's city placed 3rd.

31% Job Growth Rate and being one of the top 100 affordable places to live helped with this tremendously.

Sugar Land was also recognized as the Top Place For Young People in America!

As the assistant city manager, David is over the Administration area which includes Human Resource,

Information Technology, Finance, Treasury Management, Budget  Research and Administrative Services.

David is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School as well as the University of North Texas, where he has a Master's Degree in Public Administration. David has also served as Assistant City Manager in Scottsdale,Arizona, Carrollton, Texas and in the State of Minnesota.

David has six exceptional children: Dayna, Chakira, Landon,Lyndsay, Drew and Kenoel.

 

Earl Franklin, son of Texanna Ellison

This is a picture of Earl when he was in the 4th Infantry Division. Ironically, when I was in Iraq I wore the same combat patch almost 60 years after him.

Me and my Fraternity Brothers in Kirkuk Iraq, November 2004

Mark Gaines, a Cornerback for Abilene Christian University was voted 1st Team All LoneStar Conference. This is a tremendous accomplishment for Mark who has been a real team player since he left Waco High to attend ACU. Mark was a standout Running Back for the Lions in High School and played that position at ACU his first 2 years there. He was then switched to Linebacker and now to cornerback for his Senior Season. The Cats look strong and are nationally ranked this year and should be headed for the NCAA Div. II Playoffs!

At Waco, Mark was a 1,000 yard rusher and an All-district 1st team performer in one of the states toughest districts, and played with several current NFL Stars like Derek Johnson and Tommie Harris. Good luck the rest of your Senior season Mark and Congratulations!!

ELLISON's PURSUING Law Degrees or PhD's this Fall

Eunetra Ellison                        Prairie View A&M University

Monika Harris                         University of Wisconsin

ELLISON's PURSUING Master's Degrees this Fall

Samuel Ellison III                  Texas Southern University

Donald Matchett                     Prairie View A&M University

Lyndsay Ellison                      University of North Texas

Nina Atai                                Texas Women's University 

ELLISON's PURSUING Bachelor's Degrees this Fall

Whitney Davis                       Ohio State University

Steven Loud                          Tuskeegee University

Ashley Geters                       Texas Tech University

Terrell Jackson                     University of Houston

Drew Ellison                          University of North Texas

Landon Ellison                      University of North Texas

Nyla Atai                               University of North Texas

Joshua Ellison                      McNeese State University

Mark Gaines                        Abilene Christian University

Kimberley Geters               University of Texas at Austin

Jared Ellison                      Prairie View A&M University 

Michael White                    University of Houston-Downtown

Krystal Upshaw                    Texas Christian University

Good luck this fall everyone! Ellison Family Members currently hold certificates in all levels (PhD,Masters,Bachelors) from

Texas Southern University

Prairie View A&M University

University of Houston

University of Texas

University of North Texas

Texas Christian University

Hampton University

Northwestern University

Wayland Baptist University

Texas State University

University of Texas at San Antonio

Johns Hopkins University

Howard University

Hampton University

Xavier University

Southern University

University of Chicago

University of Texas Health Science Center

University of Michigan

University of London

Phillip III was born on July 15, 2006 at 9:56 pm in Houston Texas to Tracie Michelle Dever and Phillip Dever II.

He is the grandson of John & Bessie Marie Brown (Ellison). Phillip weighed in at 7lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long.

The Dever Family in 2006.

Landon Ellison, Class of 2006, John Foster Dulles, H.S.

It's Graduation Week for the Ellison Family. The festivities kicked off last week when Adrianna Nichole White graduated from Kindergarten at the Imani School. The graduation was held at Windsor Village Church and featured an outstanding performance by the 3 Kindergarten Classes. Yolanda Adams was in  the building as well.

This week Landon David Oran Ellison will graduate from Dulles High School on Friday May 26th.  Down the road in La Marque ,Ashley Geters will be graduating from La Marque High School on the 26th as well.

Saturday from from 4pm-8pm at Independence Heights Park in Studewood will be Josh & Landon's combined graduation party.

On Monday May 30th, Joshua Ellison will make his way across the stage at Spring Westfield High School. Way to go everyone who is graduating!

Adrianna White, Class of 2006, Imani School Kindergarten

CHIEF CATHY ELLISON

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Assistant Police Chief Cathy Ellison said that when she became an Austin police officer in 1978, she never thought she would stay with the department for more than a few years.
Nearly 30 years later, Ellison, 49, is 17 days from serving as the department's first African American female acting chief.
Stan Knee, who became Austin police chief in 1997, announced Tuesday that he will be taking a job as an adviser and mentor to Afghanistan's interior minister.
Ellison had a big grin on her face as she met with reporters Wednesday, a day after she was chosen to fill Knee's office until a new chief is hired.
Ellison, who has a degree in criminal justice from Texas State University, said she doesn't know whether she will apply permanently for Knee's job. It all depends on how the temporary job goes, she said.

"I will either fall in love with it or want to give it up," she said.

Ellison said her initial goal in college was to be a math teacher. Instead, she became the first African American female officer at the Austin Police Department.

She just wanted to try out the job, she said, but she stayed because she never got bored.

Over the years, she has helped establish one of the first police neighborhood centers and worked in the child abuse unit. She said one of her favorite assignments was being a sergeant and working with officers on the street response team.

"You get to mold officers who are new," she said.

Now, she gets to mold the department, to some extent, as city leaders begin what they say will be a nationwide search for a new chief. Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza said Tuesday that the process could take as long as a year.

When she takes over as acting chief June 5, Ellison said, she will increase the number of officers on the immigrant protection team because the number of robberies against immigrants has increased.

She also will continue a process Knee began of changing the way complaints against officers are investigated, moving minor investigations out of Internal Affairs and back to the command level, she said.

Knee has said that the change will speed up resolution of certain citizen complaints against officers, such as rudeness, profanity and failure to take reports.

"The public expects us to do our job to make sure the city is safe," she said.

Former Sgt. John Jones, who worked with Ellison, said she is "quiet and unassuming" but is well-regarded within the department. "I think she has the respect of a great majority of officers down there."

Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a frequent critic of Knee's, said Ellison deserves a chance to prove herself in the top position at the department.

"We're going to be fair and give her a chance to do her job and see what happens," Linder said.

Welcome to the Family KJ!!!

Kenneth Southall Jr.  with his Grandfather Grant Ellison Jr.

KJ is the newest Ellison and is the son of Noni & Kenneth Southall. He was born in Atlanta last August.

Congratulations to Josh Ellison for receiving a full athletic scholarship to play football at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Josh will be majoring in Engineering. National Signing Day is February 1st and that is when Josh will make it all official.

Noni is a corporate lawyer who has worked for some of the most successful companies in America. She recently married Kenneth Southall in Atlanta Georgia. Noni is currently employed by Turner Broadcasting and has had  several high profile jobs in New York City and Houston.

Noni L. Ellison was born in 1971 and raised in Louisiana. She attended Howard University where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. in 1991. Noni attended law school at the University of Chicago where she graduated magna cum laude and went on to become a successful attorney. She is on the Board of Advisors for the Corporate Counsel Women of Color, an association of African-American female lawyers.  She is also listed in Who's Who Among American Lawyers, and has been featured in Ebony and Black Enterprise Magazine. In addition to making us all proud, Noni is the mother of the NEWEST member of the Ellison Family

KENNETH SOUTHALL JR. was born on August 18, 2005 in Atlanta Georgia! Congratulations on your new addition to the family!

Noni with her father Grant Ellison Jr. and her sisters Nyla and Nina.

Bittersweet endings to 4 Fantastic Seasons for Ellisons this Fall. 

Josh Ellison and the Spring Westfield Mustanges came up short in their State Championship quest.  They lost to the Judson Rockets 17-14 in San Antonio this past weekend finishing a very successful season. They were District Champions in 22-5A, and also Bi-District, Area, and Regional Champions. Congratulations on a good season Josh!  Landon Ellison and the Dulles Vikings wrapped up their season in early November. The Vikings had easily the most dangerous passing attack in the city. Although their 5-5 does not seem like much, it's a 400% improvement from the previous year and despite being an underdog in every game, Dulles upset alot of quality teams, and took alot of playoff teams to the wire. Shi'Rey Dotson is still doing her thing in San Antonio. The East Central Hornets VolleyBall Team won the District Championship and Sh'Rey is preparing for Basketball Season. (there is a Spring Sports Preview coming soon featuring our Hoopers and Tracksters).  Ashley Geters and the La Marque Band completed their football season after the Brenham Game. Ashley plays Alto Saxophone and we expect big things from her this Spring. Last spring she played in a Saxophone Quartet that received the highest UIL rating possible.

You guys (and girls)  did a great job and represented your family well on the field and in the gym, but more importantly, you were HONOR STUDENTS  as well!

     Sh'rey Antoinette Dotson is one of many young Ellison scholar/athletes competing this School year. She is the daughter of Octavia Dotson of San Antonio, from the Samuel Ellison branch of the Ellison Family.  Sh'Rey begins high school this year at East Central High School in San Antonio. The Freshman recently completed Volleyball tryouts and made the 1st team for the Lady Hornets.

Last school year at Kittyhawk Junior High Sh'rey was a busy girl. She was the ONLY  African-American student from that school to be selected to the National Junior Honor Society with her 3.8 GPA. In addition to playing Volleyball, Sh'Rey was a Guard on the Basketball team and also ran a leg on the 4x100 meter relay. She also is a Long Jumper and Triple Jumper! Although she is a Freshman, be on the lookout for her this year and the next few years. With her outstanding scholastic work and her athletic determination, she is destined for success.

Sh'rey comes from a long line of exceptional Ellison athletes in San Antonio.  Her Great Grandfather Samuel Ellison Jr. was one of the 1st Ellison's to play Collegiate Athletics. He was a basketball player at San Antonio's only HBCU, St. Phillips College.  Herbert Ellison was one of the fastest people to ever come from Texas, winning State Titles in the 200M in 1966 and 67' leading San Antonio Highlands to the Texas State Track Championship. Her Great Uncle, Sam Ellison III also competed in the State Championships in Cross-Country and Track as well as being an All-City Running Back in San Antonio. Her uncle Henry, and cousins Beatrice and Shawanna competed in the AAU Nationals in Track and Field in 1988, where Beatrice was the National Champion in the 800. Her 2nd cousin Michael....that would be me...was an All-City Wide Receiver in San Antonio on the team that eventually won the 1995 Class 5A State Championship. Thanks for keeping the strong Ellison tradition alive Sh'Rey, and you can expect to see some cousins cheering for you this fall

GENERATION #               NAME                             YEAR OF BIRTH              ELLISON PARENT

______________________________________________________________________________________

1                        Jordon Ellison                                         1813                                               Unknown

2                        Henry Ellison                                          1857                                              Jordon Ellison

2                       Albert Ellison                                         1862                                           Jordon Ellison

2                       Julia Ellison                                              1858                                           Jordon Ellison

2                       Ben Ellison                                               1858                                          Jordon Ellison

2                       Nisa Ellison                                               1864                                     Jordon Ellison   

2                       Annie Ellison                                            1865                                      Jordon Ellison

2                      Alace Ellison                                               1866                                        Jordon Ellison

2                      Cornelius Ellison                                         1869                          Jordon Ellison

2                      Rose Ellison                                                 1872                         Jordon Ellison

2                      Rubin Ellison                                                1875                         Jordon Ellison

3                      Lee Ellison                                                 1883                         Albert Ellison 

3                      Sam Ellison                                                1886                         Albert Ellison

3                      Carrie Ellison                                                 1890                         Albert Ellison

3                      Cora Ellison                                                   1893                        Albert Ellison

3                      Yuman Ellison                                                1899                        Albert Ellison

3                      Nelouise Ellison                                             1908                        Albert Ellison

3                     Fanana Ellison                                               1904                        Albert Ellison

3                     Ena Grace Ellison                                          1902                        Albert Ellison

3                     Albert Ellison Jr.                                            1909                       Albert Ellison

3                     Grant Ellison                                                  1911                       Albert Ellison

* Note  Albert Ellison Sr. was married to two women, Phillis Ross and Mary Martindale. The following children were not Ellison's but are still related  to you depending on if you came from Mary or Phillis. Phillis had one child named Selena Ross (1879) before she married Albert Sr. in 1881. Mary MArtindale had children named Romus (1888)and Saluria (1892)from her previous marriage to a man named Jackson Houston in 1886.  Willie (1894)and Lulla (1898) were two other step children in the Ellison household on the Martindale side.

4                   Samuel Lee Ellison Jr.                                     4 July 1917                         Samuel Ellison Sr.

4                   Theonly Grant Ellison                                    23 July 1942                       Grant Ellison Sr.

4                   Grant Ellison Jr.                                              12 Aug 1947                       Grant Ellison Sr.

4                   Marilyn Elizabeth Ellison                                 19 Oct 1943                        Grant Ellison Sr.

4                   Kelvin Kence Ellison                                       22 May 1961                        Grant Ellison Sr.

4                   Fred Orville Ellison                                         27 May 1950                        Grant Ellison Sr.

4                   Texana Ellison                                                1905                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Olivia Ellison                                                   1907                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Marvin Ellison                                                 1910                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Rufia Ellison                                                   1912                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Isaac Ellison                                                   1914                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Albert Ellison                                                  1916                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Avis Ellison                                                     1918                                     Lee Ellison

4                   Manuel Ellison                                                13 May 1920                      Lee Ellison

4                   LT Ellison                                                        1922                                     Lee Ellison

4                   OB Ellison                                                       1924                                         Lee Ellison

4                   Bennie Ellison                                                 1926                                        Lee Ellison

4                   Dorothy Ellison                                               1928                                       Lee Ellison

4                   Carla Annese Ellison                                      12 Sep 1961                         Albert Ellison Jr

Our ancestors as you know came from Alabama with their slave masters through Mississippi and on to Texas. To truly understand our history I will post some history of the people who owned our people. Once that is established I will tell you your family tree and it's history.

Holloway and Martha Ellison began their trek to Texas in 1847 with other families including the Tabors, Flemings, Cobbs, Jeffreys, and Rectors. Also among them was Thomas Baines. President LBJ's grandfather. They traveled in a covered wagon caravan. Holloway convinced 4 of his brothers to make the trip to Texas as well. Each of them owned several slaves. My research of the 1860 Federal Census shows that there were 94 Slaves in Caldwell County owned by these Ellison men.

Holloway bought land on Plum Creek near Clark's Chapel. Then later sold and moved to the Clear Fork Community. The old homestead was located where a present day man named Robert Brown III lives.  He owned many hundreds of acres on both sides of the road at Clear Fork. Ellison was a big slave owner. His slaves, (our ancestors), split the rails and fenced the property. Holloway and his wife and slaves settled down here and reared their families.

Mrs Ellison and the slaves did all their cooking on Saturday. The kitchen extended away from the house in order to keep down fires. They went to church on Sundays and were very devout Christians.

Holloway's brothers settled in various areas around Lockhart. His brother Jonathan and his slaves settled near Martindale on land that is now called Reedville. His brother William orginally settled in Travis County, and later moved to Caldwell County. His brother Thomas settled near the Plum Creek in what is now the Seawillow Community. His brother Nathaniel settled in what is now the Brownsboro community.

Many of the Ellison men (including the Lockhart Commander) fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. A.A. Ellison, Holloway's oldest son, Was the sheriff of Caldwell County for over 10 years in the 1870's.  After Emancipation in the 1860's...the oldest living Black Ellison in Caldwell County was none other than our ancestor...my  great great GREAT Grandfather

JORDAN ELLISON.  He endured over 50 years of being a slave (1813-1865) before he was able to truly be his own man with his own family, living on his own terms. Jordan was 17 years older than his wife Mary A. Ellison which explains why he had so many children (10) at such a late age.

 Born in Alabama, Jordan more than likely had brothers named Ben, Milton, Terrell and Robert. I cannot prove this yet, but the fact that they lived near each other, had children named after each other, and are the ONLY men that originated in Alabama within the same time frame. One would be compelled to believe so. I will wait till I have better support for that theory, but for now I will tell you a little about Jordan.

Despite being 52 when he was freed, he and his wife Mary lived long lives and were married for over 60 years. I do not have an accurate date of death but I do know they were born in the early 1800's (1813,1830) and they were still alive and well in Lockhart in the 1910's living right next to tomorrow's featured relative: ALBERT ELLISON SR., . A majority of us descend from Lee, Grant or Samuel Ellison. Albert Sr. was their father and he has a colorful history. Tomorrow I will talk about what I call Generations 1-3 of the Ellison Family. Jordan's 10 children, and their offspring which includes Grandfather Albert and his 15 children.

Until Nextiime,

MICHAEL