Mary Jane Miller was born around 1844 in Ohio to Mathias and Sabina Miller. Her father was a farmer who owned $10,000 of real estate and $1,500 of personal property in 1860. Daniel Webster Ellis began courting her during the Civil War, and the couple got married in Miami County, Ohio, on January 9, 1867. Their daughter Daisy was born in 1871. They lived with Mary’s parents in Springcreek, Ohio, and her husband worked as a farm laborer. By 1870, they owned $1,000 of personal property. Her husband died on May 1, 1872, and her father passed away four years later. Mary and Daisy continued to live with Mary’s mother until at least 1880. Mary applied for a widow’s pension in June 1881 and eventually secured one. By 1900, Mary was living with her daughter Daisy and Daisy’s husband in Springcreek. She died there on July 11, 1909.