Ellen spent her childhood in Rome, Georgia. Her father’s name was Reverend S.E. Axson. Her father was a Presbyterian minister. Thomas Woodrow Wilson first saw Ellen when he was about six and she only a baby. In 1883, as a young lawyer from Atlanta, "Tommy" visited Rome (Georgia) and met "Miss Ellie Lou" again. She was looking after her father’s household. He wanted to marry her. The marriage took place in 1885, as she did not immediately wanted to leave her father alone. 