Born: June 23, 1839
Died: April 20, 1902
Married: R. S. Smith?; William McMaster
Children: William James (1869-1955); Andrew (b. July 1, 1872, d. August 6, 1954); John (b. September 22, 1875, d. December 31, 1935); Joseph Weslie (b. 1877, d. 1957)
The family gravestones in the Harrietstown Cemetery give Ellen Wilson McMaster's dates of birth and death as shown above. It is not entirely clear which of two William McMasters in the same cemetery was her husband, but it seems to be the William born September 16, 1831 in Ireland, who died September 2, 1892. The stone engraved "Baby McMaster" (May 26, 1868-d. June 26, 1868) may have been an unnamed first child of William and Ellen. It does not give the baby's parents, but the date of birth seems to fall in line with the four brothers who apparently followed (see above). Both William James and Joseph Weslie married women named Cora! The stones for Andrew and John each say "Son of Wm. and Ellen McMaster."
The following is a work in progress, based on census records on ancestry.com, but to be checked.
In the New York state census of 1865, the McMaster household consisted of William, 34, laborer; R. S. Smith, 33; Ellen Smith, 28, wife; Henry Merritt, 27, boarder; Charles F. Owen, 21, laborer and Elvira Mamiy (Manly?), 19, domestic.. It appears that Ellen was at that time the wife of R. S. Smith. Speculation: At the time of the census, it may have been that William and Ellen McMaster were staying temporarily in the household of R. S. Smith, son of preacher Samuel Smith, whom they surely would have known as one of the few neighbors in the vicinity. Ellen may have been misidentified by the census taker as a Smith, the wife of the head of household, rather than of his laborer. James and Patricia Richards make a similar suggestion on page 34 in their book, The Reverend Samuel Smith and Family 1804-2006, writing of Robert (who was staying at his uncle's house in Garnet Lake when the census was taken in 1850) that he was mistakenly listed as Robert Richards in the census. Three other unrelated persons were also in the household, which indicates that Smith was taking in help for his farm and boarders, but had no family there at the time.
In the US Federal census of 1870, the household was that of William, 75 (born c. 1795 in Ireland); William, 35 (born c. 1835 in Ireland); James, 33 (born 1837 in Ireland); Effie, 19 (born c. 1851 in Ireland), who was keeping house; Ellen (born in Ireland), also keeping house; and William, with no additional information, but who may have been the infant of William, age 35, and Ellen.
In the New York state census of 1875, the McMaster household consisted of William, 44; Ellen, 35, wife; Willie J., 5 (born 1870) son; Anna A. (born 1871) daughter; Andrew S. (born 1873) son; William, 20 (born 1855), uncle (? some error here), and George Key, 14, servant.
In the US Federal census of 1880, the McMasters were William, 48, farmer; Ellen, 40; William J., 10, son; Annie D., 9, daughter; Andrew S., 7, son; John, 4, son, Joseph W. R., 2, son; and William, 83, who was single and at home..
By 1892, Ellen was the executrix of the will of William McMaster and William J., the oldest son, was the special guardian for the infants Andrew, John, Joseph and Ella.
The death dates in the cemetery records for William, the father, and John, the son, seem to be in error. I believe the father's death date is September 2, 1892, not 1902; and John's death date is December 31, 1954, not 1935, especially as the complete birth dates do match those of the cemetery records.
Whatever became of the daughters Anna and Ella (or was she Anna?) is not known.
See also "The history of McMaster Road" by Debra J. Donaldson.
