REMINDER: Charlotte Marshall, EFA Secretary-treasurer, has recently sent out 85
past due notices to EFA members whose 1990 membership fees have not been
received. We hope members will take care of this matter immediately so that the
ELLER CHRONICLES will continue to reach you without interruption. Charlotte
also reports that we now have 191 members. We should easily pass the 200 mark
before the summer is over.
BEGIN NOW TO CONSIDER PLANS TO ATTEND THE 2nd ELLER FAMILY CONFERENCE, JULY
18-20, 1991, IN ESTES PARK, COLORADO
PLEASE DO NOT OVERLOOK THE QUESTIONNAIRE AT THE END OF THIS ISSUE. FILL IT OUT
AND RETURN TO BILL ELLER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
PRESIDENT'S PAGES
CONFERENCE '91- Each EFA member is asked to fill out the questionnaire (last
page) and return to me by September 1, 1990.
Would you believe- it is less than a year away'? We are making detailed plans
with our host, THE HOLIDAY INN, in Estes Park. We trust that you, too, are
making your plans to be with us for another enjoyable and rewarding gathering
of the ELLERS.
Repeating the theme from the cover, it is true- ALL ROADS DO LEAD TO ESTES
PARK. May the following begin to whet your appetite for your visit to Colorado.
No matter from which direction you approach Denver and then Estes Park, you
will be captured by the sight of our front range mountains. Coming from the
south on I--25 you will encounter the beautiful mountains to the west where at
least three 'fourteeners' (mountain peaks over 14,000 ft.) will greet you.
First comes Pikes Peak at Colorado Springs, then Mt. Evens as you approach
Denver and finally Longs Peak as you go north from Denver. The latter will
reappear in Estes Park in breath-taking grandeur. Approaching Denver from the
East, when you are 30-60 miles out, on either 1-70 or I-76, you will gradually
be able to make out the front range with these fourteeners standing out in your
view from the SW, sweeping to the NW. From the West and North, on I-80 and
then south on I-25 you will observe only Long's Peak, before you turn West to
Estes Park.
Madelyn and I drove to Estes Park on Memorial Day, the traditional day when one
of the areas most popular attractions is opened for the season, this being the
highest continuous highway in the country at 12,183 ft. It is closed during the
winter but come Memorial Day they usually are able to snowplow it clear,
through 10-12 ft. drifts in many places. We were also treated by seeing a
number of deer and elk.
REPRINT UPDATE- As of this issue, we have received 125 orders for the reprint
of the J.W. Hook book. We still need 125 additional orders to hold the cost to
$28.00 for 250 copies. Our printer, Closson Press of Apollo, PA, is waiting
patiently for the go ahead to print. A special treatment of projected volumes
II and III will appear in the November Chronicles.
GENEALOGY- Continue to send genealogical and family history information to
Gerald and Juanita Eller, Co-editors of the Eller Chronicles. You are reminded
that queries are printed free of charge and these reach out to the full
membership for possible answers. If you have submitted a query before and
received no answer, consider submitting it again.
-98-
I am always excited about locating new ELLER people. I have just recently met
three new ELLERS in Colorado Springs, CO., all from different lines, one of
which has recently become a member. I hope each of our members will be alert
for new ELLERS and help recruit them to EFA membership. Send in their addresses
to me or Charlotte Marshall if you wish us to follow up any such contacts. I am
also continuing to receive many contacts of new ELLERS and spousal ELLERS
through reprint orders. I have been sending information on the EFA as well as
requests for genealogy for Volumes 11 and III from all of them.
Appearing on pp. 163-164 are page samples of the format from J. W. Hook's book.
This is the preferred system of numbering generations for individual family
lines. For example, in the sample, George Michael Eller is placed in the #1
position. and this generation number, and all the others, are carried as a
superscript after the surname. More on this in the November issue.
CEMETERIES- Please send me information you have on cemeteries that contain
numerous Eller and related families. When I researched and compiled my wife
Madelyn's family, I found a cemetery in Iowa wherein are interred nearly all of
her gr. grandfather's children. Of particular interest would be cemeteries
dating back to the 1700 and 1800 period that may need the help of the EFA to
save and from which valuable genealogical information may be obtained.
"ELLER FAMILY NEWS" - a Denver based publication. This relates to a
postcard many of you have probably received and about which I have had a few
inquiries. I've looked into this and find it legitimate. Basically, this is a
business here in Denver that caters to many surnames, not just ELLER. It
amounts to a bulletin board to collect information, news items, and inquiries,
and printing these in a family news bulletin and then selling that bulletin to
subscribers. I have sent an ad (free), advertising the ELLER reprint by
displaying the Special Announcement and Order Blank published in the May issue
of the Chronicles. I subscribed to the Eller Family News and will pass along
any information of interest to the EFA membership. I did not bother with the
Eller Family Registry, maintained by the same organization, since the EFA
obtained a copy of a similar list several years ago.................. A.
William Eller, President, EFA
-99-
FROM YOUR EDITORS
Unless one has been directly involved, few can appreciate the amount of hard
work it takes to plan a family conference such as Conf' 91 in Estes Park. When
members are scattered around the world an EFA Conference is hardly comparable
to the annual meeting of the Rotary Club. I can assure you from experience that
nothing is more exasperating than working many hours on plans and then
submitting a questionnaire to the membership for information necessary to the
planning process and then receiving only four or five replies. SO PLEASE
REMOVE THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE LAST PAGE, ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AND RETURN IT
PROMPTLY TO BILL ELLER SO HE AND THE PLANNING COMMITTEE CAN PROCEED WITH THE
HUNDREDS OF DETAILS THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR CONF' 91. Even if you are unsure of
your present plans, or if you know you definitely will not attend, send in the
questionnaire anyway. This will not be a definite commitment or prevent you
from changing your mind later. And it will be of great service to the planners.
SUGGESTED FORMAT AND GENEALOGICAL NUMBERING SYSTEM: Bill Eller suggests above
that the format in the J.W. Hook 1957 book be adopted for all volumes to be
published by the EFA. An aspect of this which Bill has pointed out to me
concerns the assignment of the #1 position in individual family lines. Bill
makes a very valid point, which I had not considered; in preparing descendant
and ancestral charts etc. for various U.S. Eller lines, the first generation
should begin with the immigrant ancestor when he or she is known, rather than
the European ancestor (Examples: Using Casper Eller in the # 1 position for the
family lines of Jacob, Melchoir, etc. as I have done on occasion) Bill's plan
all members of the same generation in different lines in alignment. Placing
Casper Eller at the beginning of some family lines introduces misalignment of
generations when compared to lines already published as for the George Michael
Eller line. I agree with Bill and will not use Casper Eller as the beginning
point of lineages in the Chronicles. I recommend others do the same.
THE SQUEAKY GATE GETS THE GREASE: We fussed a bit in the May issue because of
the lack of genealogical data from the members. WHAT A RESPONSE! More material
was submitted for this issue than ever before and some must await the November
issue. Your editors are most grateful to the many members, and in some cases
non-members, who submitted such a rich and diverse body of information. Thanks
again "Keep those cards and letters coming, folks."
ON KARL ELLER: Several members have sent recent newspaper stories updating the
latest on entrepreneur Karl Eller, featured in the May, 1990 issue. In the last
several months the large Circle K Corporation (2nd largest convenience store
company in the U.S.) of which Karl Eller was chairman and chief executive
officer has declared bankruptcy due to heavy indebtedness and sharp drop in
sales. Karl Eller has resigned from the company. He has been the subject of
numerous newspaper stories across the U.S. and even in Europe.
THE FIRST ELLER FAMILY OF GOLF: We are conferring this title on the family of
HAROLD and RUTH ELLER, EFA members who display a talent which few Ellers of my
acquaintance possess --athletic prowess. Perhaps we are not sufficiently well
informed on this subject so we invite others to send in stories on the athletic
accomplishments of Ellers and their descendants. Our congratulations to Harold
and Ruth, and our thanks to their son-in-law, Gene Pearce, for the story.
Harold is of the Jacob Eller line.
Part II: ELLERS OF BAVARIA (from IGI): This deferred to a later issue.
.................................... Juanita and Gerald Eller