Mr. Noyes was succeeded as pastor at Cincinnati by Rev. Charles W. Wendte in the fall of 1875. The idea of preaching, of carrying to others the blessed Unitarian faith which had been her joy and strength, now filled Miss Ellis's soul. She discussed various schemes to this end with friends who respected her and her earnestness too much to laugh at the (in worldly eyes) utter absurdity of her hopes, as futile as Miss Toosey's desire to go as a missionary to Nawaub. Could she not go out into Ohio villages and hold lay services, reading the printed prayers and sermons of our Unitarian ministers? Great must have been the yearning for the ministry consuming her soul, to tempt the reserved, feeble little woman, with her deafness and dyspepsia, her incessant cough, her love of her own room and things, her exactness and exquisite nicety of habit, seriously to contemplate such a career. Yet, but for absolute physical incapacity, and the dissuasions (on that account) of her family, she would certainly have made the experiment. Or might she not open a reading-room in the church, to be kept open all the week, where the treasures of Unitarian literature could be dispensed? Even in her last years she seriously meditated going to the church every Sunday morning during the vacation to open her library and meet those who might want books, papers, or advice. The summer vacation was always a grief to her. She wished the church might be open every day.
Nov. 9, 1876, a rough draft of the following letter to Mr. Wendte appears in her diary:—
"I cannot resist returning special thanks for your sermon of last Sunday, 'To what end is your life?' I do not know when a sermon has so fully aroused the will of my youth.... At twenty years of age, 'the object of my toil' was to live for the earthly comfort of the family, for the good of society in general, so far as in my power, at the same time keeping an eye to the higher interests of life by working in and for the church.... 'The goal of my ambition' in middle life is to labor for the spiritual welfare of those about me; but I find myself without means to assist others.... My preference is decidedly to labor for the higher natures of others as well as for myself; therefore, remembering your kind offer in your letter to me during the summer, I ask, can you suggest anything for me to engage in, in the spreading of Christianity? [She wishes] to devote the remainder of my life to the highest and best I know. If you can put me in the way of assisting others as well as myself in the highest and holiest way, I shall be ever indebted to you. I shall be glad to so live that when I lay down my life I shall in some measure have returned the many kindnesses of parents, sisters, brothers, and friends, repaid the efforts of teachers and pastors in my behalf, and proved myself a worthy child to Him who gave me being."
At the end, however, she writes: "Didn't send it. Concluded it was better to talk with him."
The same ideas in another form appear again in the diary as a letter to Mr. Wendte. One of the burdens on Mr. Wendte's heart in those days was "to find something for Miss Ellis to do." Partly to this end he devised Sunday-school lessons in manuscript, which Miss Ellis copied each week for all the teachers. In 1877 he appointed a Missionary Society with a formidable list of names, the significant one among whom events proved to be Miss Sallie Ellis, Treasurer,—she being, indeed, the "society." The little programme says:—
"The object of the Missionary Society is to spread the knowledge and increase the influence of Liberal religious ideas throughout the city and State by publications, correspondence, and such other means as may seem to it suitable and best."
During the winter of 1877-78 Miss Ellis, aided by Mr. Wendte, distributed 1,846 tracts and 211 "Pamphlet Missions" (as baby "Unity" was called) in twenty-six States. Miss Ellis was always scrupulously systematic, methodical, and exact in all she did, and a huge pile of closely written blank books gives every minutia connected with the business details of her work. In her diary was a copy of this letter to Mr. Wendte, dated Feb. 21, 1878:—
"Why not have a 'Mission Sunday' sometime soon? Do not announce it previously, however; for some might feel inclined to remain at home; but catch as many together as possible, and make them listen to a rousing address from you,—a report of what you have done and the letters you have received. It might not be as social or interesting as a concert or something else; but it would not hurt the people to listen to it, and would make the missionary work more a reality to them, and I believe in the end an appeal from you would bring in more money than anything else.
"I have one request to make of you, however; and that is, that you do not bring my name out in the pulpit, unless you have occasion to mention the names of the Missionary Society. It is merely necessary to mention you have been assisted by one of the 'Missionary Committee,' not saying 'Treasurer,' man or woman. I have no objection if any one asks you privately who has done the work, to have you tell them. I love to do good work, but wish no other praise than to know that the recipient of the act has been benefited thereby. I act from the mere pleasure of doing good to others and believing it to be right, therefore deserve no credit.... The winter's work has brought out the desire of younger days, when a Presbyterian friend used to tell me, 'You ought to go as a missionary to China.' I then had five little brothers and sisters to help care for, and considered that 'mission' enough. Since they are grown my health has been too poor to undertake anything, but now I should like a work in life. If I have a 'taste' or 'talent' for anything, it is for the study and the spread of religion.... All the family are only too kind to me, which only makes me the more anxious to use my one talent to the utmost extent. If you know of any work I could assist in, in our denomination, East or West, I would be much obliged to you if you would let me know."
The first mentions in the journal of missionary work are Nov. 25, 1877, "Mr. Wendte came to me with missionary work to do,—five hundred tracts to distribute;" and Dec. 9, 1877, "Feel that I am doing good in lending books and papers and distributing tracts."