Looking for Negatives

Urchie Chadwick Ellis (1866-1910) was my 1st cousin, several times removed. His father David was the brother of my great great grandmother Mary Ellis Fulford.

U.C. Ellis House Wilmington, NC

On his death certificate his occupation was listed as photographer and it showed his home address at 116 Church Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. I decided to google the address and found that his home had been preserved and listed as a historic structure by the Historic Wilmington Foundation.


The plaque on his house reads:

"Queen Anne style cottage built for Urchie Chadwick Ellis (1866-1910), photographer; and wife, Eliza Winnifred Tindall (1866-1945)."

U. C. Ellis had a photography business and must have been pretty good at it. I've found his name online credited as the photographer for many photos of people, school groups, local buildings and even street scenes that had been made into post cards.

Finding photos of relatives from the 1800s is very unusual so having a photographer in the family could be a valuable resource. Unfortunately I don't know anyone in his immediate family to know if any family photos have survived.

Having a name like Urchie should make him easy to track down so I'm hoping to find some negatives soon.