The Life of Ellwood Conrad Jones--An Exercise in Speculation

Approaching Philadelphia on the way to Ocean City you see a sign for the borough of Conshohocken, a suburb of Philly in Montgomery County. Wagging her finger at the sign, Mother would teasingly, and without fail, say: “Your great-aunt Martha married a Jones. Not just any Jones—a Jones of Conshohocken.” 

Ellwood Conrad Jones' father

Indeed, to be a Jones of Conshohocken carried prestige.  A Jones of Conshohocken was a member of a very distinguished, very respectable, very wealthy Quaker family with well-established roots in the area. Ellwood Conrad Jones was the Conshohocken Jones whom Great-aunt Martha Washington Sommer married. Both Ellwood’s father, Ellwood Jones (1830-1870) and his mother, Rachel Roberts Conrad (1829-1908) were descended from some of America’s earliest settlers. Rachel’s immigrant ancestor arrived at Philadelphia from Crefeld, Germany in 1683, and his home is thought to have been the site of the first Quaker Meeting in Germantown. The first Jones arrived at Philadelphia in 1700 with a certificate of membership from his Quaker meeting in Pembrokeshire, Wales. 

The Jones and the Conrad families immediately set about establishing family businesses. Their Quaker commitment to fairness and honesty meant those businesses prospered, and were handed down from father to son. When Ellwood Conrad Jones, Ellwood’s and Rachel’s last child, was born in Conshohocken on May 5, 1867, his father co-owned Jonathan Jones’ Sons, a lumber business, with his brother Evan. The Jones brothers also operated a sawmill in Conshohocken. 

Ellwood Jones died in 1870, and Rachel probably assumed her husband’s job until Horace Conrad Jones, Ellwood’s and Rachel’s eldest child, was of an age to take over the operations. In 1880, at the age of just 23, Horace expanded the family business interests when he established the firm of H. C. Jones Company and purchased a woolen mill which he named the Schuylkill Valley Woolen Mill. In 1899, Horace was president of the family firm, and his younger brother, Ellwood C. Jones, was the firm’s secretary. 

Ellwood C. Jones married Martha W. Sommer, the daughter of Henry J. and Mary C. (Rühl) Sommer, on February 18, 1903 in Quakertown at the Emanuel Episcopal Church. The marriage was probably regarded as desirable, even advantageous by two families that enjoyed wealth and status in their communities. The future for the not so very young couple (Ellwood was a 36-year old bachelor and Martha was a mature woman of 26 who had lived on her own in Philadelphia where she practiced dentistry) must have looked bright and promising. 

Gwynedd Monthly Meetinghouse, Norristown

Ellwood’s decision to be married outside of Quaker meeting jeopardized his standing as a member of the Society of Friends. This must have been a difficult decision for a man whose roots in Quakerism were so deep, and perhaps his sacrifice shows that he loved Martha very much. On the other hand, it might show what a strong-willed person Martha was. (More on Martha in a future article.) As I never heard one way or the other, we can never know, but as a family historian, I enjoy speculating what motivated the ancestors to do whatever they did. Because the facts are so elusive, there’s much about Elwood and his marriage on which to speculate. 

Regardless of why Ellwood agreed to be married in an Episcopal church, he couldn’t ignore the pull of those Quaker roots, and more likely, the Quakers in his immediate family. Eight months after the marriage, he wrote the following apology to Gwynedd Monthly Meeting: “In order to proceed in marriage with a member of another denomination, I violated one of the rules of discipline. I am sorry to have transgressed the rules of the Society and would like to retain my membership.” At the same time, Martha requested membership in the Society of Friends. Within two months, and after meeting with committees appointed by the Meeting to determine both Ellwood’s Martha’s sincerity and commitment, Ellwood was reinstated and Martha was admitted to membership.

Ellwood and Martha were faithful to their commitment to their Meeting (they attended Plymouth Preparative Meeting, a smaller meeting under the wing of Gwynedd Monthly Meeting), as shown by the Meeting’s minutes.  Their marriage, even though accomplished outside of Meeting, was duly recorded, as was the birth of their son, Ellwood Conrad Jones, Jr.  When the little family decided to relocate to Lincoln, Loudoun County, Virginia in 1911, they requested and received from Gwynedd a certificate of transfer to Goose Creek Monthly Meeting. A certificate of transfer assured the receiving Meeting that the new family were Quakers in good standing and worthy of being accepted as members. The minutes of Goose Creek note that “Certificates of membership for Elwood [sic] and Martha Jones were received from Gwynedd Monthly Mtg…[and] We welcome them into membership with us.” 

Gwynedd Monthly Meeting records the Jones' request to transfer their certificate of membership
to Goose Creek Monthly Meeting, Loudoun County, Virginia

Now comes the part of the story where the facts become scattered. Because of the way this story played out, speculation about what actually happened during the course of the marriage is impossible to resist.  The speculation centers primarily around the family’s places of residence from 1903-1920. 

Following their marriage in 1903, Ellwood and Martha probably lived in or near Conshohocken. Ellwood’s job as secretary of the family business would require him to live in the vicinity. The Quaker Meeting to which they belonged (Plymouth Preparative) was in Plymouth Township, located between Norristown (the site of Gwynedd Monthly Meeting) and Conshohocken. 

We can’t be certain when the family moved, but on October 17, 1909, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the transfer “At Conshohocken…of an elegant residence property, on Fayette street, above Ninth avenue, from Elwood [sic] C. Jones…consideration $6500.” On April 18, 1910, Ellwood, Martha, and Conrad were enumerated in Martha’s mother’s Quakertown household, Martha’s father having died on January sixth of that year. The census record shows that Mary Sommer’s son-in-law Ellwood had “no occupation.” It’s possible that Martha and Ellwood went to be with Mary shortly after Henry’s death, but the sale of the Conshohocken residence could point to an earlier date. For certain, they were in Quakertown on January 19; their second son, Robert Sommer Jones was born there on that date. (Sadly, Robert only lived ten days.)  A year and a half later, Ellwood requested the certificate of transfer for himself, Martha, and son Ellwood.

Death certifcate for Robert Sommer Jones, Ellwood's and Martha's second child.

It always seemed out-of-character that these two people from distinguished Bucks and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania families, one with a very long family history in the area, would relocate to a southern state. Was there a need to put distance between themselves and those who knew them best? Although there was no definitive diagnosis (that we know of) before 1920, it’s possible that between 1910 and 1920, it became increasingly apparent that Ellwood Conrad Jones was, to use the terminology of the day, insane. 

On August 20, 1920, at the age of 53, Ellwood was admitted to Brattleboro Retreat, a private hospital for the mentally ill in Brattleboro, Vermont. His diagnosis was serious: “Psychosis with Psychotic personality.” While a number of behaviors characterize this diagnosis, the three main symptoms are hallucinations, delusional thinking, confused and disturbed thoughts. Ellwood might have seen things or heard voices; he likely suffered from paranoia; he might have been violent He likely suffered from anxiety and depression, and he might have been suicidal. “Senility” was added to his diagnosis around 1925; Ellwood might have had what we now call early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. From his detailed 1946 death record, we know he never left Brattleboro Retreat. 

So how did Ellwood end up in Brattleboro, Vermont from Quakertown via Loudoun County, Virginia, and Littleton, Massachusetts? (This latter place was Ellwood’s official residence while he was in Brattleboro.) Allow me to speculate. 

Martha’s older brother, Henry Joseph Sommer, Jr. was a medical d

Henry Joseph Sommer, M.D., c. 1900

octor who specialized in psychiatry. He was also a pathologist, and published a two-volume work in 1908 (available on Amazon!) called Postmortems of the Insane based on 1,180 autopsies he performed while at the state hospital in Norristown between 1900-1904. Around 1905, Henry and his young family possibly moved to Quakertown (Henry is listed as “owning property” in the city directory), before moving to Altoona in 1909 where Henry became the superintendent of the Blair County Hospital for the Insane. What’s important is that Dr. Sommer, a respected expert on “insanity” was nearby during the first several years of Ellwood’s and Martha’s marriage. He might have noticed some odd behaviors, or Martha might have described incidents she’d observed and asked for her brother’s help. 

Dr. Henry J. Sommer knew and was known by a great many of the most respected men who specialized in the treatment of “diseases of the mind”. One of those was Dr. Joseph DeJarnette whom Henry refers to in a note in my possession as “my friend”. (If you look up

Western State Hospital, Staunton, Virginia, c. 1910

Dr. DeJarnette’s history, you’ll realize why this disturbs me.) DeJarnette became superintendent of Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia in 1906, where he instituted the most progressive practices of the day in the treatment of the mentally ill, banning restraints, allowing patients free movement, providing good food, pleasant surroundings, sympathetic treatments. (Henry instituted these same treatments at Blair County Hospital.) Although Staunton and Lincoln, where the Joneses settled, are 123 miles apart, just being in Virginia put Ellwood and Martha closer to Dr. DeJarnette than they could be in Quakertown or Conshohocken. 

Worcester State Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1905

Sometime between 1911 and 1918, when Ellwood C. Jones appears in the city directory, the family moved to King Street (no number is given) in Littleton, Massachusetts. Littleton is about 50 miles from Worcester, the site of Worcester State Hospital, another facility run according to the “progressive” standards of psychiatry. Perhaps Martha and Ellwood sought help there. Frustratingly, especially since Ellwood C. Jones is listed on King Street in Littleton’s 1922 directory, neither Ellwood, Martha, nor Conrad have been located—anywhere—in the 1920 U.S. census. Since that was the year of Ellwood’s diagnosis and admission to Brattleboro Retreat, his condition might have deteriorated to the point that the family was constantly moving in a frantic search for someone who could help, and some place where Ellwood could be treated. 

Brattleboro Retreat, main entrance, 2020

Perhaps Brattleboro Retreat was ultimately chosen for Ellwood because of its Quaker connections. Brattleboro’s treatment approach was influenced by the Quaker concept of “moral treatment”, meaning that mental disorders were recognized as illnesses and not character flaws or the result of “sinful living”. Treatment emphasized the values of fresh air, daily exercise, educational enrichment, and therapeutic work, such as farming. We know the latter was part of Ellwood’s treatment; his death certificate lists his occupation as “farmer.”

Were there intimations that Ellwood was mentally ill well before 1920? A tiny news item in the July 10, 1900 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer leads me to believe Ellwood might have struggled with mental health problems for years, and possibly his entire life. The “news” was simply that “Ellwood C. Jones of Conshohocken is summering at Grand View in Wernersville.” 

Grand View Sanatorium, Wernersville, Pennsylvania

Grand View was a sanatorium in Berks County, Pennsylvania. One of several such facilities in the area, Grand View could accommodate 150 guests seeking cures for conditions ranging from rheumatism to “nervous prostration”. In addition to traditional medical treatments, Grand View offered massage, a glass-enclosed solarium that captured the warmth of a southern climate, and gimmicky approaches to restoring health such as electrical treatment, salt rubs, vapor, and sulfur baths. The setting was idyllic, and the “Pavilion Spring” water was believed to have remarkable curative power for all sorts of ailments.

There’s no way of knowing why Ellwood C. Jones spent two to three summer months at a sanatorium, or if it were his first and only stay at Grand View or any other place of rest and respite. We only know for certain of the 1920 diagnosis, but I suspect Ellwood didn’t go to Grand View in the summer of 1900 just for the scenery and to drink some Pavillion Spring water. Remember that “nervous prostration”, a diagnosis covering a broad range of symptoms, was one of the conditions for which guests sought treatment at Grand View. Interestingly, some of those symptoms, particularly anxiety and depression, are also among the symptoms of pyschosis.

I think of what a nightmare a life and a marriage that seemed so promising became. I wonder if Ellwood married so late in life because he knew things weren’t quite right in his mind. If so, maybe he hoped marriage and a family would make things better. 

We can only speculate.

Ellwood is buried in Mooreland Cemetery, Paxton, Massachusetts next to his son and daughter-in-law.
Robert C. Jones, 1938-1939 was his only grandson. Ellwood and Martha have no descendants.