Ernest Benjamin Gillis Family History
Mary Elizabeth CODVILLE[1, 2, 3, 4]
1849 - 1940 (90 years)-
Name Mary Elizabeth CODVILLE [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] Born 11 Sep 1849 Quebec, , Qu?bec, Canada 
[5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15] Gender Female Residence 1852 Qu?bec County, Canada East (Quebec), Canada [13] Residence 1871 Quebec, Canada [15] Arrival 1877 [12] Arrival 1877 [7] Arrival 1877 [10] Arrival 1877 [7] Residence 1880 Wardsboro, Windham, Vermont, United States [11] Residence 1900 Pine Island Village, Goodhue, Minnesota [7] Residence 1900 Pine Island Village, Goodhue, Minnesota [7] Residence 1910 Walnut Grove, Redwood, Minnesota [12] Residence 1920 Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota [10] _UID 279C098E581D4ED6A8D0A500F6F8AA17BF32 Died 22 Apr 1940 Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota, USA [5, 6, 14, 16] - Y
Buried Lakeview Cemetery, Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota, USA [6, 16] Person ID I35 tag1 Last Modified 14 Jul 2014
Father Hilary CODVILLE, b. 6 Jan 1797, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, Scotland , d. 3 Jan 1873, Quebec City, QB - Wesleyan Methodist Church (Age 75 years) Mother Mary Ann ROBINSON, b. 1814, COUNTY TYRONE, IRELAND , d. 12 Nov 1856, Quebec City, QB (Age 42 years) Married 24 Nov 1846 Quebec Ctiy, QB - Wesleyan Methodist Church [5, 17, 18] Family ID F11 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Rev. William McNab GILLIS, b. 20 May 1845, Inverness, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada (Gillis Corners) , d. 1 Jul 1928, Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota, USA (Age 83 years) Married 24 Apr 1877 Quebec, , Qu?bec, Canada [5, 6, 8, 9, 16, 19] - The couple married April 24, 1877 at 3pm in the afternoon in the home of her brother, in Quebec City. The service was performed by the Rev. H. E. Blaud.
Their honeymoon consisted of a trip to Rutland, Vermont, where William was ordained as a minister and received his first appointment to the Methodist-Episcopal Church at Landgrove, Vermont. [5, 6]
Children 1. Winnifred Martha GILLIS, b. 5 Mar 1878, Landgrove Town Center, Bennington, Vermont, USA , d. 27 Jul 1963, Wisconsin (Age 85 years)2. May Gertrude GILLIS, b. 20 Sep 1879, Landgrove Town Center, Bennington, Vermont, USA , d. 12 Feb 1980, Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota, USA (Age 100 years)3. William Hillary GILLIS, b. 27 Jan 1881, Wardsboro, Windham, Vermont, USA , d. 20 Apr 1973, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, USA (Age 92 years)4. Edith Mabel GILLIS, b. 2 Jul 1882, Wardsboro, Windham, Vermont, USA , d. 27 Aug 1964, Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota, USA (Age 82 years)5. Ernest Benjamin GILLIS, b. 11 Jul 1888, South Royalton, Windsor, Vermont, USA , d. 13 Mar 1976, Redmond, King, Washington, United States Of America (Age 87 years)Last Modified 26 May 2014 Family ID F10 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Notes - Mary Elizabeth Codville Gillis was the daughter of a very wealthy
family and grew up in Quebec City, Quebec. Her mother, Mary
Ann Robinson Codville , died when Mary was seven. Mary had an older brother, Hilary
Jr., who died when he was 16, and Mary was just 14. Mary's father,
Hilary Codville , was a merchant. Hilary died when Mary was a
young woman of the age of 24.
Family lore
states that Mary was a sole heiress to the prospering family
business of exporting; however, when her marriage was announced
in the newspaper, it stated that she was married at the home of her
brother, now identified as John James Codville, and letters and
legal documents between the two have been found.
It appears that when Mary's father died, the family assets were
dispersed between the two siblings. Shortly after, John was a
principal investor in the Thompson, Codville Co. which later
became The Codville Co., a successful grocery wholesale business
throughout Canada.
Legal documents show that when Mary married William, she
signed over power of attorney to her brother, John. It is likely that
due to distance and difficulty transferring funds between the
United States and Canada that Mary entrusted her brother to assist
in managing her portion of their inheritance.
Before her marriage to William McNabb Gillis, Mary was accustomed to having many maids and servants; it is said that she never even combed her hair. Her son Ernest Benjamin Gillis later related to his grandsons that his mother, Mary, had extremely long hair - down past her knees. It must have been quite an adjustment to be married to a poor country preacher.
The couple married April 24, 1877 at 3pm in the afternoon in the
home of her brother, John James Codville , in Quebec City. The
service was performed by the Rev. H. E. Blaud.
Their honeymoon consisted of a trip to Rutland, Vermont, where
William was ordained as a minister and received his first
appointment to the Methodist-Episcopal Church at Landgrove,
Vermont. You can read more about their married life including
their 25th and 50th wedding anniversary celebrations under William's story.
Ernest also related that his mother, Mary, had a habit of hiding paper currency (large bills) in books. Once in a while they had to use those funds to get by; sometimes, she had forgotten where they had put the money and would accidentally find money in books being pulled out to read.
According to Bill Baker, a grandson of William Mc Nab, Mary's father, Hilary (or Frank?) Codville, owned the Codville Company, a wholesale grocery distribution in western Canada. Frank gave her stock in the company.
After William died in 1928 at the age of 83, Mary kept up her own
home, living there in summers and spending winters with her
daughters who also lived in Windom. Mary passed away at age 90
on April 22, 1940. [5, 6]
- Mary Elizabeth Codville Gillis was the daughter of a very wealthy
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Sources - [S92] .
- [S112] .
- [S162] Ancestry Family Trees (Reliability: 3).
http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=26120745&pid=1782402530 - [S134] .
- [S2] .
- [S68] .
- [S161] Year: 1900; Census Place: Pine Island, Goodhue, Minnesota; Roll: T623_764; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 49. (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: Sep 1849Birth place: Canada EngMarriage date: 1877Marriage place: Residence date: 1900Residence place: Pine Island Village, Goodhue, MinnesotaArrival date: 1877Arrival place:
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1900usfedcen&h=75969052&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S202] (Reliability: 3).
Marriage date: 1877Marriage place: Qu?bec (Methodist) (Qu?bec (Wesleyan Methodist Church)), Qu?bec
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=drouinvitals&h=11888242&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S202] (Reliability: 3).
Marriage date: 1877Marriage place: Qu?bec (Methodist) (Qu?bec (Wesleyan Methodist Church)), Qu?bec
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=drouinvitals&h=14458511&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S163] Year: 1920; Census Place: Windom, Cottonwood, Minnesota; Roll: T625_828; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 69; Image: . (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: abt 1850Birth place: CanadaResidence date: 1920Residence place: Windom, Cottonwood, MinnesotaArrival date: 1877Arrival place:
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1920usfedcen&h=26648702&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S160] Year: 1880; Census Place: Wardsboro, Windham, Vermont; Roll: 1349; Family History Film: 1255349; Page: 530C; Enumeration District: 241; Image: . (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: abt 1850Birth place: CanadaResidence date: 1880Residence place: Wardsboro, Windham, Vermont, United States
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1880usfedcen&h=24470461&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S165] Year: 1910; Census Place: Walnut Grove, Redwood, Minnesota; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: . (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: 1850Birth place: Canada EnglishResidence date: 1910Residence place: Walnut Grove, Redwood, MinnesotaArrival date: 1877Arrival place:
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1910uscenindex&h=160040555&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S200] (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: abt 1849Birth place: QuebecResidence date: 1852Residence place: Qu?bec County, Canada East (Quebec), Canada
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1851canada&h=1976968&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S201] (Reliability: 3).
Death date: 22 Apr 1940Death place: Cottonwood, Minnesota
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=mndeaths&h=839656&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S199] (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: abt 1850Birth place: QuebecResidence date: 1871Residence place: Quebec, Canada
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1871canada&h=2748277&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S87] .
- [S9] .
- [S202] (Reliability: 3).
Marriage date: 1846Marriage place: Qu?bec (Methodist) (Qu?bec (Wesleyan Methodist Church)), Qu?bec
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=drouinvitals&h=12552701&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt - [S161] Year: 1900; Census Place: Pine Island, Goodhue, Minnesota; Roll: T623_764; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 49. (Reliability: 3).
Birth date: May 1845Birth place: CanadaMarriage date: 1877Marriage place: Residence date: 1900Residence place: Pine Island Village, Goodhue, MinnesotaArrival date: UnknArrival place:
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1900usfedcen&h=75969051&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
- [S92] .