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Show 255 moved. There he courted and married Miss Eldredge in a liaison which was not very durable, ending in divorce instigated by his wife. He was said to be cruel to her-an attribution which Ellis could not accept, remembering the many pleasant times she and her friends had shared with him earlier. Was it for these reasons that both her father and Brigham Young were loathe to give their consent when he asked for Ellis' hand? Was his seniority of eleven years also a factor? At a dance given for missionaries away from Salt Lake, Milford, while married to Miss Eldredge, thought that Ellis was to be his partner. When Ellis went to someone else, through a simple error on the part of the dance manager, Milford was very angry-to the evident delight of the man who was then his father-in-law. Milford's eldest son by Ellis carried his name. Two daughters, Milfordetta and Bardella, bore it as well. Did their mothers coin the names, or were they suggested by Milford? He fathered nearly three dozen children. If we count the two by the two wives he had sequentially before he married Ellis, the tally of his offspring rounds out to an even 36. Sought after as a speaker and often sharing pulpits with eminent church leaders in Salt Lake City and elsewhere, why was Milford seemingly passed over for other responsible callings? Ellis may have been entertaining that question when, as Milford was on his second mission to England she remarked, "He is doing much good and I believe the Priesthood begins to appreciate him." |