America Jane Moore was born on July 16, 1839 in Missouri to William H. Moore and Nancy Logan. In the late 1840s, the Moore family moved to California, settling in Sonoma County.
America Jane married Commodore Cornelius Fulton Elliott, and they had five children: Florence Eleanor (1862), Ida May (1865), Elizabeth (Lizzie) (1867), Henry Harrison (1869), and Burtt Logan (1873). In 1873, America Jane divorced her husband and relocated to Mendocino from Red Bluff, California, with her children.
Elliott Family, 1890. America Jane Elliott and her children: Mary Elizabeth Elliott, Ida May Elliott, Florence Eleanor Elliott Jarvis, Henry Harrison Elliott and Burtt Logan Elliott.
In Mendocino, she established a dressmaking and millinery business. The family resided in an apartment over the Jarvis & Nichols store (where Gallery Bookshop is located today) on the west side of the building. James Nichols and his family occupied the flat on the east side.
In 1916, Henry Jarvis and James Nichols retired and sold their store to America Jane’s youngest son, Burtt. He continued to live upstairs and operated the store for the next eighteen years, selling clothing and shoes on one side and groceries and meat on the other. In 1934, Burtt sold the store to his clerk, Chet Bishop
The Kelley House Museum is open from 11AM to 3PM Friday through Sunday. Come by to see our current exhibit on the Northern Pomo. Walking Tours of Mendocino are available throughout the week; the cost is $25. Visit the Kelley House Event Calendar for a Walking Tour schedule.