Preceded by Admiral John Reynolds |
5th Governor of Colonial Georgia 1758–1760 |
Succeeded by Sir James Alexander Wright |
Preceded by Charles Lawrence |
7th Governor of Colony of Nova Scotia 1761–1763 |
Succeeded by Montague Wilmot |
Ellis was born August 29, 1721 in County Monaghan, Ireland, the son of Francis and Joan (née Maxwell) Ellis. He was Royal Governor of Georgia from 17 May 1758 -2 November 1760, The subtropical climate took its toll on his health, and he had to be removed as governor then left Georgia, stopping in New York to request military assistance to the southern colonies. He published "Heat of the Weather in Georgia" in Philosophical Trans actions of the Royal Society in 1758. His administration of the colony was highly esteemed. Recognizing the danger posed to the colony by hostile neighbors, he established a treaty with the Creeks.
He was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia on 15 August 1756 by Lord Halifax, President of the Board of Trade, after the death of Charles Lawrence but never actually set foot in the colony because he was recalled to England to advise the new secretary of state, Charles Wyndham, Lord Egremont on American affairs. Ellis left the administration of Nova Scotia to its Lieutenant Governor, Jonathan Belcher.
He studied law at the Middle Temple in London (p169, Who's who in America). In May 1746, he went out as agent of a company for the discovery of the Northwest Passage. After extinguishing with difficulty a fire in his ship, he sailed to Greenland, where he exchanged commodities with the Inuit peoples on 8 July. He then proceeded to Fort Nelson, and wintered in Hayes River. He renewed his efforts in June 1747, without success, and returned to England; where he arrived on 14 October. He published an accounts of his explorations in 1748, entitled "Voyage made to Hudson's Bay in 1746, by the Dobbs Galley and The California, to discover a Northwest Passage." and in 1750 published "Considerations on the Great Advantages which would Arise from the Discovery of the North West Passage". After publishing these accounts, Ellis was inducted into the Royal Society.
Ellis left his name to Fort Ellis in Nova Scotia and Ellis Square in Savannah, Georgia.
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