Elijah Ely (1875-1952) and Cecil Ely (1895-1969)
Billy Bennington named them as makers and players, commenting that ‘Eli’ worked at Page’s wood factory and their dulcimers were ‘home-made’, rather thick and that Cecil’s instrument was made by someone else (possibly Marshall). In 2005, Des Miller from Rig-a-Jig Norfolk Music History group was in touch with the family who still had a dulcimer and two fiddles in their possession.
Elijah Ely was brought up on the outskirts of Wymondham and his first jobs were on farms. In the late 1890s he started a relationship with Fanny Cowles, resulting in the birth of their son Cecil on 3rd March 1895. He was baptised in 1898, using his mother’s surname, but his parents relationship prospered, and they married in November 1899, three months before their next child, Arthur was born. The family lived in Pople Street, in Wymondham itself, which was handy for Elijah’s new job as a wood sawyer for Pages’ (later the Briton Brush Company), who were brush manufacturers and employed a large proportion of the local population. Wymondham was also renowned for the skill of its wood turners, so no doubt the Elys would have been able to ask workmates to turn dulcimer bridges for them! Elijah’s sons Arthur and Leslie also worked in the wood factory.
His oldest son Cecil Ely, who was also named by Billy Bennington, worked at the brush factory as a young man, but after serving in the 1914-1918 war, he went off to find work in Lincolnshire, and in the 1921 census was boarding in Gainsborough, an unemployed fitter’s labourer. He married a Wymondham girl, Laura Brown, in 1938 and by 1939 they were living with her parents in Gunton Road and Cecil’s employment was given as horticultural labourer.
The fact that Billy Bennington describes both Elijah and Cecil as working in the wood factory suggest he was remembering them before the First World War. He also mentioned a Jack Ely, but I have not yet been able to identify who he was.
In 2005, Des Miller from Rig-a-Jig Norfolk Music History group was in touch with a family member who still had a dulcimer and two fiddles in their possession.
All material on this website is copyright. Anyone wishing to quote or use this original research should credit it to Katie Howson and cite this website as the source. Please see our Terms and Conditions page for more information, and do contact me if you wish to use any of the contents in any way. Thank you.