Irene Sample Ellerbe

b. 22 April 1876, d. 23 December 1965
  • Irene Sample Ellerbe was born on 22 April 1876 in Montgomery County, Alabama.
  • Charlotte Walker Cobbs appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1880 in Montgomery, Alabama, at Mobile Road enumerated in the household of Charlotte's brother J. L. Cobbs.. Other members of the household included Irene Sample Ellerbe, Clarence Ellerbe and George Herbert Ellerbe.
  • She married William Bonnell Hall, son of William Bonnell Hall and Susan Juliet Anderson, on 9 February 1888 in Hale County, Alabama.
  • William Bonnell Hall and Irene Sample Ellerbe appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1900 in Suwanee, Franklin County, Tennessee, at The University of the South. William is enumerated as head of Hoffman Dormitory, with thirty-one male students.
  • William Bonnell Hall and Irene Sample Ellerbe appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, at 720 Fremont Street. Other members of the household included Lucy Landon Hall and Charlotte Walker Cobbs.
  • The following appeared on 9 May 1920 in The Anniston Star: Among the charming women visiting Montgomery during the past week, was Mrs. Charlotte C. Ellerbe, of Selma, Ala., who was the guest of her friends, Mrs. Mary P. Watt. Mrs. Ellerbe is a native of this city, the daughter of the late Bishop and Mrs. Nicholas Hamner Cobbs, whose names are still reverenced by many Montgomery people. She resides with her daughter, Mrs. W. D. [sic] Hall at Selma, but frequently visits her son Mr. Clarence Ellerbe who resides at Shreveport, La.
         Mrs. Ellerbe is a very attractive, alert and charming woman to whom years have brought the sweetness of the mellowing time. Her visit was a delight to many friends who found in this splendid woman the kindness and gentleness of a wide and generous experience.--Montgomery Advertiser.
         Mrs. Ellerbe is a sister of Mr. R. H. Cobbs and has many friends in Anniston where she often visits.
  • William Bonnell Hall and Irene Sample Ellerbe appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1930 in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, at 720 Pettus Street. Other members of the household included Lucy Landon Hall.
  • The following appeared on 8 August 1937 in the Monroe Morning World: (Shreveport, Aug. 7) Clarence Ellerbe, 65, for 40 years a resident of Shreveport and one of the leading planters of the Red river valley for years, died last night at his home here, following a heart attack.
         He had been in ill health several years which forced his retirement from business. He is survived by his widow and three daughters, Mrs. Sam Webb Smith, Mrs. Charles Egan and Miss Mollie Ellerbe, all of Shreveport, and a sister, Mrs. W. B. Hall of Selma, Ala., was born at Montgomery, Ala., and was a grandson of Bishop Nicholas Cobb, first Episcopal bishop of Alabama.
         He came to Shreveport in 1897 as assistant to the president of the L. R. and N. railroad, now the Louisiana and Arkansas, but later engaged in planting.
  • William Bonnell Hall and Irene Sample Ellerbe appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1940 in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama, at 716 Pettus Street. Other members of the household included Lucy Landon Hall.
  • Irene Sample Ellerbe became a widow at the 20 February 1946 death of her husband William Bonnell Hall.
  • The following appeared in the Sewanee Alumni News: (May 1946): Dr. William Bonnell Hall, ’85, one of Sewanee’s distinguished alumni, died at his home in Selma, Alabama, on February 20, at the age of 80. “Dr. Billy” came out of retirement in 1909 to head the University, following the death of Vice-Chancellor Edward Wiggins. He remained on the Mountain until Bishop Knight became Vice3-Chancellor in 1914.
         Holder of the degrees of B.S., C.E., and M.A. from the University of the South, he served Sewanee in many positions, including those of medical officer, professor of physicis and botany, and dean of the college. He received his M.D. degree at the University of Virginia. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
         Dr. Hall was a native of Lowndes County, where his family had settled before Alabama became a state. At one time he was mayor of Selma and president of Selma Times-Journal Corporation.
         His widow, Mrs. Hall, was the former Irene Ellerbe, a granddaughter of Bishop Cobb of alabama. His daughter, Miss Landon Hall, is a teacher at Parish High School. Dr. Hall was the brother of Mrs. W. H. MacKellar of Sewanee.
  • Irene Sample Ellerbe died on 23 December 1965 at age 89 in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama.
  • She was interred at Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, Dallas County, Alabama.
  • The following appeared in The Sewanee News (October 1990): Landon Hall Barker, daughter of former Vice-Chancellor (1909-1914), Regent (1914-1934), and retired teacher of science William Bonnell Hall, established a scholarship fund [William Bonnell Hall and Irene Ellerbe Hall Memorial Scholarship] in memory of her father and mother. The income from this fund, now in excess of $173,000, is to be used for scholarships to aid pre-medical students or students majoring in chemistry or biology. Landon Hall Barker, who was born in the house now known as the French House, was the wife of George Henry Barker, C'26, captain of the 1924 Sewanee football team (the last year in which Sewanee defeated Vanderbilt).
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2015

Family: William Bonnell Hall b. 3 January 1866, d. 20 February 1946