Local historian seriously injured in fall
By From staff reports
Published in News on February 9, 2011 1:46 PM
Charles Ellis, one of Wayne County's pre-eminent local historians, suffered a serious fall Monday and is currently in critical condition at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh.
Ellis, 81, has been unconscious since the accident, his wife, Betty, said today. Doctors have been keeping him in a medicated coma until the bleeding and swelling in his brain stops, she said.
Ellis lost his balance and fell backward on the concrete steps at his home on Overbrook Drive, which he is in the process of selling.
Mrs. Ellis said she expects her husband's recovery to be slow. She said she has received a great deal of support from friends in the community and especially from the Ellises' church family at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
"Everybody loves Charles," she said. "He's been so interested in the history and preservation of history in Wayne County."
Ellis was in the process of completing a book with fellow local historian Emily Weil about plantations in Wayne County.
Ellis is a longtime member of the Wayne County Historical Association. He helped start the Wayne County Museum on William Street and also the North Carolina Cotton Museum in Pikeville.
Friends who want to send a card should send them to the Ellis home at 405 Tryon Drive, Goldsboro, NC, 27530.