apprenticeship in the shipyards of the area where he learned drafts- manship and the making of molds for ships. In 1800 he entered into partnership with George Chapman to form a shipbuilding company at Cleavehouses, Bideford, England, a company that built warships for the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. William began to hear about the New World where men could make a fortune and where the forests were dense and huge, so in 1814 he ended the part~ nership with Chapman and formed a new one with T.B. Chanter. Both men came to Prince Edward Island landing on August 9, 1814 and formed the Chanter and Ellis Shipyards at Bideford. In 1826, Ellis purchased his partner’s interest in the shipyard.

Big Robert Ellis and Wife.

William’s son, James Ellis, came over with the rest of his family in 1814. He assisted his father in the shipyard until he established one of his own. He also purchased a large tract of timber land along the river from Bideford to Ellerslie, which supplied the lumber for his shipyard. He married Jane Ramsay of Port Hill. They had two sons, B. Robert and John . His second wife, Marion McArthur, had Thomas along with four other sons and seven daughters.

313