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John Ellens was Dutch, born August 1, 1904 in Santpoort, Velsen, Noord, The Netherlands. His parents were Harms and Amelia Ellens. He moved to Canada in 1929 from The Netherlands by ship to Halifax and then by the Canadian Pacific Raiway to the Okanagan Valley. He moved to the Vancouver area in late 1929 and purchased 6.5 acres of property in 1931.There was a house and a barn on the property at 521 Alexander Road (7852 208th Street) just south of Willoughby Elementary School. He moved from Vancouver onto the property permanently in 1935. John married Kathleen Straw on June 26, 1937 in Vancouver. They had two sons, Harry Ellens and William (Bill) Ellens. The couple lived about a mile south of Kathleen's parents, just south of Willoughby school on 208th Street. John was a landscape designer/gardner and comercial horticulturist. He maintained the grounds at Fort Langley Historic Site in the late 1950s and was a volunteer Fire Fighter with the North West Langley Fire Department. John died Dec. 28, 1990 in Langley.

The John and Kathleen Ellens house was located at 7851 208 Street and was built in 1939. John Cornelius Ellens was of Dutch ancestry. Born in Friesland and trained in horticulture, he came to Canada in 1929. He and his wife (Kathleen Straw) married in 1937 and built this house in 1939. Mrs. Ellens was a school teacher in West Langley. Mr. Ellens operated a nursery and landscaping business. He had a bulb and nursery operation on the property and did garden work throughout Langley. He was responsible for the development of the grounds of Fort Langley National Historic Site in 1957 - 58.