Jackson W. Ellis (1859 - 1929)

Born 12 Mar 1859 in Sweettown, Indian Territory, Oklahoma

Ancestors

Husband of Cordelia C (Smith) Ellis — married 1886 (to 12 Dec 1901) in Park Hill, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory

Descendants

Died 25 May 1929 at age 70 in Bunch, Adair, Oklahoma, United States [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: C J Cole [send private message]

Biography

Jack was Cherokee.

Jack was a Lighthorsemen in the Cherokee Nation.

Jackson was born March 12, 1859 in Sweettown, Indian Territory, which is near present day Adkins, Oklahoma. He was the son of Edward Ellis and Catherine McCammon, both Cherokee. ^[1] He married Cordelia Smith, also Cherokee, in 1886. They were the parents of five children. Cordelia died in 1900 and Jackson married Susie Crawford in 1905. ^[2]

Captain ELLIS became affiliated with the Indian Police early in his life and rode with them for more than 25 years, according to old residents. In his younger days he rode the western part of the state and later was transferred to this section. He was for many years captain of the "Light Horse Brigade," the name by which the Indian police were known. He was influential in political and tribal affairs until most of the power was taken from the hands of the tribes and many stories are told of his maneuverings.

Jackson died May 25, 1929 and is buried at the Bunch Cemetery, Adair, Oklahoma. ^[3]

Homestead Deed

Jackson N Ellis was issued Homestead deed #26601, 7 January 1909, Cherokee Roll No. 26. He signed as "Capt. Jack Ellis."^[4]

His application for allotment family:

Jackson W Ellis

Charlotte Ellis, daughter

Nellie L Ellis, daughter

Jackson N Ellis, son

Richard Ellis, son

Blair Ellis, son

Passport Applicatioon

Captain Jack completed a passport application in 1919, in which he listed his father as Esward Ellis, born in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. His wife, Susie Ellis, of Tyler, Texas, born March 1878. He is living in Muskogee, Oklahoma, a real estate agent. They intend to visit Spanish Honduras and Guatemala, Central America, on business "to look after my own real estate."

Description of Applicant:

Age: 59; Stature: 6'-1/2 inches; Forehead: high; Eyes: black; Nose: straight; Mouth: straight; chin: medium; hair: iron gray; complexion: medium; face: slightly long. The accompanying photo is of a very handsome man.

Find A Grave Memorial

Jackson W. Ellis was born in Sweet Town, Cherokee Nation, in 1859. In youth he attended the public schools, and as early as sixteen years of age went to work on a farm. Jackson was the only son of the late Edward Ellis, who, with his brother Samuel, was killed at Fort Gibson during the war while corraling the horses of their company. At the age of twenty-one he was appointed deputy sheriff of Tahlequah district, also sheriff of commissioner's court; and later, in 1872, deputy warden of the national penitentiary, and in the same year commissioner of the quarantine district. In 1876 he went into the drug business until 1878, when he clerked for the two years following in a mercantile house. In 1885 he was appointed Deputy United States Marshal for Western District of Arkansas, and the same year was appointed on the Indian police force. He had not been employed in this capacity over six weeks when, in self-defense, he shot down Bud Trainer on the streets of Tahlequah. Jackson then moved to Fort Gibson, where he was appointed city marshal. Here he shot and killed Dick Van, who resisted arrest. Dick was the murderer of Captain Sixkiller, of the Indian police, and a noted desperado. From thence he went to Atoka, where he was appointed officer of the peace. During his four years here he shot and arrested Daniel Fields, an escaped convict. Soon afterward he shot and killed Harry Finn, a desperado who had killed his father in Missouri, and was following the business of whiskey peddler. This was followed by the shooting and capture of Charley Carter, a desperado and murderer, whom the officer was tracing for some time. Jackson Ellis also shot and captured Watson and Whitrock, both whiskey venders and desperate men. In all these instances Officer Ellis never out stepped the bounds of duty; such is the public verdict, and all law-abiding citizens feel themselves indebted to this fearless officer for clearing the country of so many "terrors to society." In 1890 the subject of sketch, in partnership with D. J. Folsom, commenced the practice of law in Atoka, but the former was soon after appointed constable for the second division United States court at South McAlester, under Judge Shackelford. Jackson Ellis married Miss Beatrice Becklehymer, by whom he had two children, neither of whom survived, their mother following them to the grave in 1883. In 1885 he married Miss Cordelia C. Smith, daughter of N. J. Smith, of Cherokee, principal chief of the eastern band of Cherokees. Mrs. Ellis was a young woman of great personal attractiveness, highly educated and possessing talents which, in the social scale, place her on a footing with the most accomplished of her sex. Jackson Ellis is fully six feet five inches in height, a fearless, determined man and a fine specimen of his race.

By R. Burnett

Jackson Wilson Ellis was my great grandfather, my mother personally knew his children-her aunts and uncles.

Sources

1. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration Eastern Cherokee Applications of the Court of Claims, application #8861, Jackson Ellis. Jackson see attached image.
2. ↑ Dawes packet #6, Cherokee by Blood, Jackson Ellis.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/103324325/jackson-wilson-ellis : accessed 03 June 2021), memorial page for Capt Jackson Wilson Ellis (12 Mar 1856–25 May 1929), Find a Grave Memorial ID 103324325, citing Bunch Cemetery, Bunch, Adair County, Oklahoma, USA ; Maintained by R Burnett (contributor 47445819) .
4. ↑ "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H3-Q476 : 11 March 2018), Jackson N Ellis, 1899-1907; citing Oklahoma, United States, tribe or clan Cherokees by Blood Roll, file Pacific County Probate Estate Files., National Archives and Records Administration, Southwest Region, Fort Worth, Texas. 18:54, 29 December 2018 (UTC)

• See also:

• "The Indian Journal" Muskogee, Indian Territory article 12/17/1885 tells of Jackson Ellis' marriage to Cordelia (Cordie) Smith.
• History of the Western District Court

Acknowledgements

Unsourced family tree handed down to C J Cole.