Bishop Jesse Delano Ellis II of the Pentecostal Church of Christ was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Jesse Lee Ellis, a migrant from Wilson County, North Carolina, and Lucy Mae Harris Ellis.

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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 508 East Walnut Street, ice plant laborer Calvin Ellis, 33; wife Matha, 29; and son Jessie L., 10; plus roomers Wilson Webb, 47, a Contentnea Guano laborer, wife Victoria, 40, and daughter Minnie Webb, 2.

In the 1940 census 0f Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: domestic Martha Ellis, 39, widow; sister Lucy Lucas, 33; and son Jessie, 20, coal yard laborer. In 1935, Martha Ellis had lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Lucas, in Philadelphia; and Jesse Ellis in Wilson, North Carolina.

In 1940, Jesse Lee Ellis registered for the World War II draft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his registration card, he was born 18 August 1919 in Wilson, N.C.; his contact was mother Martha Ellis; and he worked for the 1355th Company, Civilian Conservation Corps, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Jesse and Lucy Mae Ellis, presumably at their 1943 wedding in Philadelphia.

In the 1950 census of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Martha Ellis, 49, widow; son Jesse L. 30, stevedore on docks; daughter-in-law Lucy Mae, 21; and grandsons Jesse D., 5, James B., 1, and John C., born in November [1949].

In 1950, Jesse L. Ellis applied for World War II compensation in Pennsylvania. Per his application, he was born 18 August 1919 in Wilson; lived at 616 Mercy Street, Philadelphia; and his dates of service were 22 June 1942 to 26 March 1943.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user Dawn Speaks.