John Willis Ellis (1820 - 1861)

Born 23 Nov 1820 in Rowan County, North Carolina, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Mary McKinlay (Daves) Nash — married 11 Aug 1858 in Craven, North Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 7 Jul 1861 at age 40 in Red Sulphur Springs, Monroe County, Virginia, USA

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Preceded by 34th Governor Thomas Bragg

John Willis Ellis 35th Governor of North Carolina 1859—1861

Succeeded by 36th Governor Henry Toole Clark

John Willis Ellis is Notable.

Biography

John's first marriage was to Mary P. White of Philadelphia in 1844.^[1][2]

John's second marriage was to Mary McKinley Daves in New Bern, North Carolina in 1858.^[3][4]

http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/commentary/46/entry

John W. Ellis (1820-1862): John Ellis, a successful lawyer, legislator, judge, and Democratic governor. Image courtesy of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, Raleigh, NC. Born in eastern Rowan County, in what is now part of Davidson County, on November 23, 1820 to Anderson and Judith Ellis, John Willis Ellis was a North Carolina lawyer, legislator, judge, and Democratic governor.

Ellis graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1841 and then studied under the famous lawyer, Richmond Mumford Pearson. A year later, Ellis embarked on a law career in Salisbury. From 1844 to 1848, he served in the state legislative assembly. In 1848, the General Assembly voted for him to be a Superior Court judge, a position he filled until winning the gubernatorial election of 1858. In 1860, Ellis was reelected and served in this position until he, suffering from bad health, died on July 7, 1861.

The son of a planter, Ellis unsurprisingly championed the property rights of slaveholders. Ellis believed the U.S. Constitution protected one’s private property (slaves were considered legal property). During the 1850s, he feared the influence of abolitionists—especially after U.S. Senator William H. Seward of New York called for a “complete and universal emancipation.” From Ellis’s perspective, such an action would destroy the republic; for slaveholders upheld constitutional property rights and supported the Union, but abolitionists dismissed them, thereby dividing the country. A strong and unified Democratic Party, Ellis believed, was the only means to preserve national unity and constitutional government.

Throughout his political career, Ellis vigorously promoted internal improvements—government-sponsored transportation projects. Although a Democrat, Ellis hailed from a predominantly Whig county, so his political speeches unsurprisingly reveal a combination of Democratic individualism and Whiggish economic planning. His encouragement for internal improvements resulted from a love for his native state as much as a desire to spread economic markets. During the 1850s, in particular, Ellis promoted the construction of the North Carolina Railroad, a line starting in Goldsboro, passing through Raleigh, and ending in Charlotte. He claimed the railroad was a panacea for all of North Carolina’s ills: it would boost the state’s economy by connecting towns and industry, and as a result, it would decrease emigration and foster political reconciliation. When the railroad was completed in 1856, Ellis delivered a speech praising the technological achievement and stirring local patriotism of the “Old North State.” It should be noted that North Carolina Railroad passed through Ellis’s hometown, Salisbury.

Ellis had the misfortune of being governor during the secession crisis. Historians William S. Powell and Noble J. Tolbert label Ellis an “ardent secessionist,” yet the governor did not aggressively steer the state toward secession. Although he sympathized with the plight of the original seven states of the Confederacy and anticipated Lincoln’s call for troops to put down the rebellion, he believed secession was unnecessary to preserve slavery. He cautiously dealt with an explosive political situation. For instance, Ellis dispatched envoys to Montgomery (the capital of the Confederacy before Virginia seceded) and Washington, D. C. and commanded secessionists who seized Forts Caswell and Johnston to give the federal forts back. But when Lincoln called for North Carolina troops to put down the rebellion, Ellis replied, “I can be no party to this wicked violation of the laws of the country and to this war upon the liberties of a free people. You can get no troops from North Carolina.” On May 20, 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Ellis then had no problem seizing federal forts. Shortly afterward, he finally succumbed to lifelong bouts with bad health.

Ellis is now buried in the Old English Cemetery in Salisbury.

Sources: John G. Barrett, The Civil War in North Carolina (Chapel Hill, 1963), John Willis Ellis, Speech of Hon. John W. Ellis, Delivered before the Democratic State Convention, in Raleigh, March 9, 1860 (Raleigh, 1860); William S. Powell, North Carolina Through Four Centuries (Chapel Hill, 1989); Noble J. Tolbert, “John Willis Ellis” in William S. Powell, ed., Dictionary of North Carolina Biography (Chapel Hill, 1979-1996); Harry L. Watson, “Old Rip and a New Era” in Lindley S. Butler and Alan D. Watson, The North Carolina Experience: An Interpretive & Documentary History (Chapel Hill, 1984). By Troy L. Kickler, North Carolina History Project See Also: Related Categories: Political History, Civil War, Transportation Related Encyclopedia Entries: North Carolina Railroad, Thomas H. Hall (1773-1853), William J. Gaston (1778-1844), Morehead City, Naval Stores, Aaron McDuffie Moore (1863-1923), Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, Secession, Salem Brass Band, Confederate States Navy (in North Carolina), United States Navy (Civil War activity), James Iredell Waddell (1824-1886), CSS Neuse, USS Underwriter, Warren Winslow (1810-1862), Prelude to the Battle of Averasboro, The Battle of Averasboro-Day One, Louis Froelich and Company, Louis Froelich (1817-1873), North Carolina Button Factory, CSA Arms Factory, Ratification Debates, Peace Party (American Civil War), Braxton Bragg (1817-1876), Daniel Harvey Hill (1821-1889), Battle of Bentonville, Bryan Grimes (1828-1880), Fort Hatteras, Fort Fisher, Fort Clark, Fort Macon, Daniel Russell (1845-1908), The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, Union League, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Levi Coffin (1798 – 1877), Raleigh E. Colston (1825 - 1896) , Thomas Fentriss Toon (1840-1902), Robert Fredrick Hoke (1837-1912), Battle of Forks Road, Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) , Fort Anderson (Confederate), Battle of Deep Gully and Fort Anderson (Federal), James T. Leach (1805-1883) Related Commentary: Toward an Inclusive History of the Civil War: Society and the Home Front, Edward Bonekemper on the Cowardice of General McClellan Related Lesson Plans: Discussion of the Lunsford Lane Narrative Timeline: 1836-1865 Region: Statewide

Sources

1. ↑ "Pennsylvania Marriages, 1709-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V26S-K5K : 11 February 2018), John W. Ellis and Mary P. White, 25 Aug 1844; citing Central Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm 505,525.
2. ↑ J.W. Ellis Papers, Vol I, Biographical Sketch of John Willis Ellis, Page xlviii.
3. ↑ "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VXTS-TQ3 : 4 November 2017), John W Ellis and Mary M Daves, 11 Aug 1858; citing Craven, North Carolina, United States, p. , Office of Archives and History, Division of Archives and Records. State Archive of North Carolina and various county Register of Deeds; FHL microfilm 288,301.
4. ↑ J.W. Ellis Papers, Vol I, Biographical Sketch of John Willis Ellis, Vol I, Page lxxiv.

• The papers of John Willis Ellis ed. Tolbert, Noble J. Raleigh, NC : State Dept. of Archives and History, 1964. Available on archive org: Vol I; Vol II. Includes biographical sketch citing unpublished masters thesis of Annie Walker Garrard, Duke University, 1930.

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 06 March 2018), memorial page for John Willis Ellis (23 Nov 1820–7 Jul 1861), Find A Grave: Memorial #5916169, citing Old English Cemetery, Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

• John Willis Ellis on Wikipedia

• Wikidata: Item Q361240, en:Wikipedia