Ernest George Wall was the second child of Josiah Wall & Sarah Ann L(e)ager born June 24th, 1873 & christened July 13th, 1873 at St Bartholomew’s, Wednesbury.
In 1881 Ernest & his older brother & sister were living with their parents at Cross St, Wednesbury where his father was a shingler.
The family had moved to 33 Potters Lane, Wednesbury by 1891 & Ernest was still living at home & working as a railway wheel worker.
In 1894 Ernest & his older brother John Richard emigrated to the USA sailing from Liverpool on the SS Teutonic & arriving in New York on March 1st, 1894. The ship’s manifest shows John as a clerk & Ernest was a turner.
The US 1900 census shows Ernest living in Newark Township, Licking, Ohio & he was single & working as a machinist.
Ernest married Helen Grace Purcell on October 15th, 1900 at Licking, Ohio. Helen, a teacher, was born October 19th, 1879 in Ohio, the daughter of Helen & Matthew Purcell.
In 1906 Ernest & Grace were returning to Ohio from England on the SS Parisian sailing from Glasgow to Boston. They were both noted as American Citizens. Accompanying them were sister Amy & brother Josiah, a brass finisher. It appears they had returned to England to bring Amy & Josiah to their home in E. Church St, Newark.
Ernest’s WW1 draft registration card in 1918 shows him living in Stair Avenue, Franklin, Ohio. He was a musician & employed at the Grand Opera House, Columbus, Ohio.
The 1920 US census states that Ernest was a musician in the theatre. He & Grace were living in Marion, Indiana.
By 1930 Ernest & Grace were living in Chicago, Illinois & Ernest was still a musician. With them was Ernest’s sister Amy who was a saleslady in a store.
By 1940 Ernest & Grace had moved south to Miami, Florida. Ernest was described as a musician in the movie theatre. Lodging with them was another musician, Michael Cherep. It appears that Ernest & Grace had no children.
The following information comes from Find A Grave:
Ernest was a tenor singer and bass player. He played his last gig at Flamingo Park, Miami Beach with Oscar Adler's orchestra on March 8, 1942. He traveled with road shows, sang in Ziegfeld productions, and was leading tenor in a number of shows, including Red Feather and Madamoiselle Napoleon.
Ernest died on March 13th, 1942 in Miami, Florida & was buried at Miami Memorial Park Cemetery.
He was survived by widow Grace, his sister Amy & brothers John Richard & Josiah.