The Family › Temple–Catchings › Willet
Ellen Lofton Willet
1815–1886
Life
- Born
- 14 Jan 1815 · Franklin, Williamson County,Tennessee,
- Died
- 3 Mar 1886 · Little Rock AR, Pulaski County
- Buried
- Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States of America
Parents
Marriage & children
Isaac Thomas Cates, Jr. (1837–1857)
Felix Pratt Cates (1843–1905)
Spouse(spouse unknown)
W. F. Cates (c. 1852–)
Timeline
- 11 Mar 1834MarriedIsaac Thomas Cates — Lauderdale, Alabama, USA
- 1850ResidenceLittle Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA
- 1860ResidenceLittle Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, USA
Records behind this page
1850 United States Federal Census
Year: 1850; Census Place: Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: M432_29; Page: 356b; dwelling 580, family 588
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HOUSEHOLD AS READ ON THE ORIGINAL IMAGE 6 Aug 2026 (register K123b; image in ancestry/sources/, 1850-census-little-rock-...-ISAAC-CATES-household...jpg): 1850 US Census, Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Ark., M432 roll 29, p. 356b, dwelling 580 / family 588, enumerated 20 Sep 1850: Isaac Cates 46 M Merchant b. Tenn; Ellen [Cates] 33 F, real estate $1,000 in her own line; Thos [Cates] 13 M b. Miss.; Pratt [Cates] 7 M b. Ark; Julia Sterling 7 (sex recorded M); Sarah A [Sterling] 5 F; Julia Willett 47 F b. Va. No relationship column in 1850; identifications per sterling-willett-cates-junction.md sec.2 (Thos = the Mississippi-born [1901]; Pratt = [1819] b. 28 Oct 1843; the 1850 age 47 for Julia Willett is the outlier against her 1796 birth).
1860 United States Federal Census
Year: 1860; Census Place: Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: M653_49; Page: 43; FHL 803049; dwelling 285, family 284
read the transcript
HOUSEHOLD AS READ ON THE ORIGINAL IMAGE 6 Aug 2026 (register K123a; image in ancestry/sources/, 1860-census-little-rock-...-ELLEN-F-CATES-household...jpg): 1860 US Census, Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Ark., M653_49, p. 43, FHL 803049, dwelling 285 / family 284, enumerated 18 Jul 1860: Ellen F Cates 40 F b. Tennessee, real est. $2,500 / pers. $300; Julia Willet 64 F b. Virginia; Prett [Cates] 18 M Druggist b. Ark; Willie [Cates] 9; Julia Sterling 16 F; Mary Joseph Sterling 14; then, still inside family 284, the Bezham boarders (William W 29, Mary F 21, Elbert 2/12). No relationship column in 1860; identifications per sterling-willett-cates-junction.md sec.2 (ages and birthplaces matched person-by-person against the tree). Head of household is ELLEN - [1162] Joseph W. Sterling is NOT on this page.
Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012)
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 6 Aug 2026
AUDITED 6 Aug 2026 - NO LONGER A DIRECT ANCESTOR. [192] Julia Sterling, [1164] Mary Joseph and [1165] Sarah F were removed from her and given to her sister Sarah W. Willett; Ellen is their AUNT, who raised them after they were orphaned. Find A Grave memorial 7732315 says Julia "lost her parents at an early age and was raised by her aunt, Mrs. Ellen Lofton Cates", and the Mount Holly gravestone of Sarah Willett Sterling (memorial 105775929) calls her "MY SISTER". Her own marriage stands: family F421 with [1818] Isaac Thomas Cates, married 11 Mar 1834 Lauderdale Co., Alabama - which is what made the old structure impossible, since [1819] Felix Pratt Cates was born to her 28 Oct 1843, 279 days after Julia's 22 Jan 1843. She appears as head of household in the 1860 census (Little Rock, p. 43, dw 285/fam 284, 18 Jul 1860) as "Ellen F Cates", 40, born Tennessee, with real estate $2,500, her mother Julia Willett aged 64 born Virginia, and the two orphaned Sterling girls. ⛔ Her birthplace is now recorded FOUR different ways: Tennessee (tree, uncited, and the 1860 census), a short abbreviation that is plainly not "Tenn" in the 1850 census, and Alabama on her niece's 1936 death certificate no. 1241. Unresolved. Full account: ancestry/sterling-willett-cates-junction.md; register K123-K126.
Elsewhere
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