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The Work of Our Hands John Randall Ellis, son of Allin Ellis, grandson of village co-founder Henry Ellis. J. R. Ellis built coffins, houses and furniture for some of Mount Pleasant's "best" families. He built the George Bryce house and made elegant furniture from local walnut for Archibald McEwen which was sought after when the McEwen household effects were auctioned in 1935. M. Smyth tells of a village youngster overcome with morbid curiosity peeking into Ellis' coffin room, only to see a corpse move. The victim was truly dead however -the body was only settling as the ice used as a preservative melted underneath. An inscription on a salvaged floor board from one of Ellis' buildings lets us hear his voice: "This board was layed [sic] by John R. Ellis on the 21 of December at eighteen minutes of the clock 1842. Now it is probible [sic] before this is seen again I may be beneath the clods of the valley and I pray God that I may pass through death tryumphat [sic[ and home." His prediction came true. Brantford Expositor, Christmas 1892 ed. Courtesy Brant Historical Society. Ellis/Carlyle House (undated photo, possibly early 1900s), now 707 Mount Pleasant Road. A good example of the typical 24'x40' frame houses with bedroom loft, which frequently replaced log houses in the 1820s and 1830s. Refinements here included a false mantel in the dining room, a formal parlour, and a prominent front door with a big brass key. Mrs. J. R. Ellis was the daughter of John Carlyle, halfbrother of historian Thomas Carlyle.