Ervin G. Chrislip
1834–1919
Ervin G. Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3), born 7 November 1834, Ervin Gallatin Chrislip was the eldest of five children born of Abram Chrislip and Amanda Britton. When grown, he married Mary M. Daniels, daughter of Joseph Daniels.
Mary Daniels’ father, Joseph Daniels, was a pioneer settler in the area later known as Elk City. “Joseph Daniels was a pioneer in this region of West Virginia, his home being near Elk City, and he died during the Civil War. He came here from Augusta County, Virginia. At one time he was an elected member of the Legislature in old Virginia and attended the legislative sessions, journeyed to and from Richmond on horseback.” The History of West Virginia, Old and New, p. 353.
Mary M. Daniels Chrislip died on 9 March 1873 at age 37 years, 5 months, 5 days, as reported by Ervin G. to the Barbour County Clerk’s office. (This information is in conflict with what was inscribed on her gravestone.) When Mary Daniels Chrislip died, she left a family ranging in age from fourteen down to two years. Since Ervin G. did not remarry, the grandparents, Abram and Amanda, shared in the bringing up of his children.
During the Civil War, Ervin G. Chrislip served as a soldier in the Confederate Army for a brief time. He and his cousins were members of the Barbour Light Horse Company under the command of Capt. William K. Jenkins. After the Battle of Philippi, the entire company was dismissed. An engraving of the Battle at Philippi can be seen below:
The fight at Philippi, Virginia, June 3rd 1861—The United States Troops, under the command of Colonel Dumont, supported by Colonels Kelly and Lander, and the Confederates, under Colonel Porterfield.
Ervin G. Chrislip’s discharge from that service in the Confederacy is shown below. The reverse side describes Ervin as age 29, height 5’ 10”, blue eyes, fair complexion, and brown whiskers.
Ervin Gallatin Chrislip–Confederate Army Discharge
While others of his family remained loyal to the Confederacy, Ervin and some of his cousins joined the Union Army. On 13 October 1862, Ervin G. Chrislip enlisted in the Union Army, as shown here.
Ervin G. Chrislip–Union Army Enlistment
After having been a widower for 46 years, Ervin G. Chrislip died of pneumonia on 13 April 1919, as reported by his son-in-law, Lawrence McGee. Ervin G. Chrislip’s obituary, which appeared in the Philippi Republican on 24 April 1919, described the deceased as “an ever patient and kind father to his family, a good neighbor and friend and especially to those in distress. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. C.B. Morris of the M.E. Church, South at the home of his daughter, Mrs. McGee, on Tuesday, April 15, after which he was laid to rest by the side of his wife who preceded him to the grave 46 years ago.”
Photo courtesy of Harold McGee, Elk City, West Virginia.
While writing his history of the Christlieb family, it was Ervin G. Chrislip whom Benjamin Franklin Christlieb contacted for information of the West Virginia branch of the family. Surviving letters reveal the familial bond that developed between the men, who were third cousins once removed.
Children of Ervin Gallatin Chrislip and Mary M. Daniels
William Luther Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [753], born ca. 1858; died 6 August 1930, aged 72 years, 8 months and 4 days. He was buried in the family cemetery at Chrislip Hollow. A merchant in Philippi, Luther and his brother, Albert, started a farm machine business. Together they introduced the first corn drill and the first ball-bearing mowing machine in Barbour County. William married, 24 April 1880, Martha A. Griffith, born 1863; died 1939.
Albert Gallatin Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [754], born 26 August 1859; died 1946.
Edmond Hall Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [755], born 1861; died in March 1918. Edmond married, 20 October 1887, Martha Jane McDaniel. The 1910 Federal Census lists Edmond at age 49.
Emma F. Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [755], born 1865; died in 1924. A seamstress, Emma married Jacob T. Rogers on 29 March 1894, in Barbour County, West Virginia. The 1910 census records show that the Rogers family was living in the Union District of Barbour County with their three daughters.
Abram Elza Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [756], born 28 July 1869; died November 18, 1952 in San Francisco, California. California Death Index 1940-1997. Abram, who went by 'A E', met his future wife, Ellen Cordelia Orr of Roney’s Point, West Virginia, while attending Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901. Previously, he was a student at Fairmont Normal School at Fairmont, West Virginia from 1893–1896. A. E. Chrislip married Ellen Cordelia Orr on 28 June 1905, in Wheeling, West Virginia. They honeymooned at Niagara Falls, New York. A. E. served as Superintendent of City Schools in Milan, Tennessee from 1901 to 1905, and Superintendent of City Schools in Macon, Mississippi from 1905 to 1907. A.E. received his Master of Arts degree from Columbia University, New York City, in 1908. He was also an alumnus of the University of California. From 1909 to 1910, he was Dean of the State Normal School at Tallahassee, Florida. In 1920, he was a high school teacher in Denton, Texas. A. E. was also Professor of Education at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. The couple removed to California in 1921. By 1930, A. E. was a teacher of mathematics at the High School of Commerce at Berkeley, California and a teacher of Psychology at what later became San Francisco State University. His wife, Cordelia, was a college librarian at Berkeley. Born 24 July 1871 in Roney’s Point, West Virginia, she died in 1964. A. E. and Cordelia Chrislip are interred in California at Sunset View Cemetery. Until his death, A. E. Chrislip contributed financially to the care and maintenance of the family cemetery at Chrislip Hollow. Information provided by A. E. Chrislip’s granddaughter, Janet (Scott) Humphreys, daughter of Margaret Cordelia (Chrislip) Scott.
Sarah Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [758]. Although she is not mentioned elsewhere, the 1870 census shows Sarah as Ervin G. Chrislip’s youngest child, age 1 year. Sarah does not appear elsewhere in the historical record, leading one to conclude that she died in early childhood. She may have been buried in one of the unmarked graves in the family cemetery at Chrislip Hollow, near Elk City.
Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, Abram Chrislip3, Ervin G. Chrislip4) [758], born 22 December 1871, Barbour County, West Virginia; died 1 August 1958, Philippi, Barbour County, West Virginia; burial 3 August 1958, Barbour County, West Virginia; married, Barbour County, West Virginia, 23 September 1903, Lawrence Francis McGee son of Jonathan C. and Elizabeth (Proudfoot) McGee.
Photo courtesy of Harold McGee, Elk City, West Virginia.
Ervin Gallatin Chrislip with his grown children. Standing - Abram Elza Chrislip, Albert Gallatin Chrislip, Edmond Hall Chrislip, William Luther Chrislip. Seated - Mary Elizabeth Chrislip, Ervin Gallatin Chrislip, Emma F. Chrislip.
In the old family cemetery at Chrislip Hollow are these
headstones of Ervin G. Chrislip and his wife,
Mary M. Daniels.
After the death of his wife in 1873, Ervin G. Chrislip wrote this faith-based poem in honor of his deceased wife:
“A Song Ballad”
This book is all that’s left me now,
Tears will bidden start
With faltering lips and throbbing brow,
I press it to my heart.
For many generations past,
There is our family tree.
My mother’s hand this Bible clasped
She Ding gave it me.
Ah well, do I remember those
Whose name these records bear,
Who ‘round the hearth stove used to close
After the evening prayers.
And speak of what these pages said
In tones my heart would thrill,
Though they are with the silent dead
Here they are living still.
My father read this Holy Book
To sister, brother dear.
How calm was my poor mother’s look
Who loved God’s word to hear.
Her angel face I see it yet
What thrilling memory come!
Again this little group is met
Within the wall of home.
The truest friend man ever knew
Thy constancy I’ve tried
When all was false I’ve found the true,
My counselor and guide.
The minds of earth no treasure gives
That could this volume buy,
In teaching me the way to live,
It taught me how to die.
The reverse side of this photo reads, "Home of Capt. E.G. Chrislip, Elk City, West Virginia."
