Introduction
Clarence R. Ely was born in Michigan on October 18, 1885. He appears to have studied for the ministry; the 1910 Census lists him as a minister at a Methodist church in Albion, Michigan. During the 1910s he married Jessie, and the couple moved east. They were living in Pennsylvania when their daughter, Virginia, was born. By 1919, they had relocated to 103 White Horse Pike in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, where they remained through April 1930.
During the 1910s and early 1920s, Clarence Ely operated C. R. Ely Inc., a Ford dealership located at 24–26 Broadway, between Carman and Mickle Streets, adjacent to the Merchants Trust Bank. A son, Richard, was born in New Jersey around 1923. By the time of the 1930 Census, Clarence Ely was no longer involved in the automobile business.
By 1936, the Ely family had moved to 13 Seventh Avenue in Haddon Heights. They relocated again, and by 1947 were living at 208 Third Avenue, where they remained into the early 1970s. Jessie Ely died in December 1977. By that time, Clarence Ely had moved to the Haddon Hills Apartments in Haddon Township, New Jersey. Clarence Ely died in March 1981 and was survived by his son.
Photos
1923–1924 Camden City Directory Advertisement