Eleazor H. Ellis

Eleazor Holmes Ellis (August 26, 1826 – December 9, 1906) was an American lawyer and judge. He was the 6th Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for seven years.

The Honorable Eleazor H. Ellis
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 10th Circuit
In office January 1, 1872 – January 1879
Preceded by	Ezra T. Sprague
Succeeded by	George H. Meyers
6th Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin
In office April 1860 – April 1861
Preceded by	Nathan Goodell
Succeeded by	Henry S. Baird
Personal details
Born	Eleazor Holmes Ellis August 26, 1826 Brown County, Michigan Territory, U.S.
Died	December 9, 1906 (aged 80) Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Harriet Sovina Gilbert ​ ​ (m. 1850; died 1854)​ Eliza D. Chappel ​ ​ (m. 1858; died 1878)​ Ruth K. Gillette ​ ​ (m. 1881⁠–⁠1906)​
Children	with Harriet Gilbert Albert Gallatin Ellis ^(b. 1851; died 1888) Gilbert Ellis ^(b. 1852; died 1860) with Eliza Chappel Virginia Ellis ^(b. 1859; died 1865) Ruth Ellis ^(b. 1861; died 1905) Frank Holmes Ellis ^(b. 1863; died 1884) Grace Ellis ^(b. 1865; died 1886) Frederick Wolcott Ellis ^(b. 1867; died 1867) Jenny May Ellis ^(b. 1871) James Wolcott Ellis ^(b. 1874; died 1952)
Mother	Pamela (Holmes) Ellis
Father	Albert Gallatin Ellis
Relatives	Frederick S. Ellis (brother)

Family

Eleazor Holmes Ellis was born on his father's farm in what was later known as Preble, Wisconsin, now part of Green Bay, Wisconsin. At the time of his birth, it was unorganized land of Brown County in what was then the Michigan Territory. Eleazor and his siblings were some of the earliest colonist children born within the boundaries of what would become the state of Wisconsin.[1] His father, Albert Gallatin Ellis, was the publisher of the Green Bay Intelligencer—the first newspaper published west of Lake Michigan. Albert G. Ellis was also Mayor of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, at the same time that Eleazor was Mayor of Green Bay.

Eleazor's younger brother, Frederick S. Ellis, was also active in politics, serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate, and also later serving as Mayor of Green Bay.

Eleazor married three times and had a total of nine children. In 1850, Ellis married Harriet Sovina Gilbert. They had two children before she died in 1854. Ellis then married Eliza D. Chappel in 1858. They had seven children before her death in 1878. In 1881, he married Ruth K. Gillette.[1]

Ellis died from old age in 1906 and was interred at Green Bay's Woodlawn Cemetery.[1][2]

Career

Baird Law Office at Heritage Hill

Ellis studied law under Henry S. Baird, who had been Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory.[3] He was admitted to practice law in the Wisconsin Territory at age 21, in 1847, and opened an office in Manitowoc. In 1851, he returned to Green Bay. Over the next twenty years he was a successful lawyer in the city forming a series of partnerships—with William H. Norris, George G. Greene, S. D. Hastings Sr., W. J. Green, and H. J. Fenbee.[1]

Ellis was elected Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in 1871, without opposition,[4] and served seven years, resigning in 1879 due to poor health and low wages. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1868 and 1891. Ellis served as Mayor of Green Bay in 1860. Later, he was Postmaster of Green Bay from 1896 to 1900 and Register of Deeds of Brown County, Wisconsin.[5]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1868)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1868[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 7, 1868
	Nonpartisan	Byron Paine (incumbent)	71,908	52.09%
	Nonpartisan	E. Holmes Ellis	66,143	47.91%
Plurality			5,765	4.18%
Total votes			138,051	100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1891)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1891[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 7, 1891
	Nonpartisan	Silas U. Pinney	96,661	54.90%
	Nonpartisan	Eleazor H. Ellis	77,312	43.91%
		Scattering	2,082	1.18%
Plurality			19,349	10.99%
Total votes			176,055	100.0%

References

1. "E. H. Ellis (1826 - 1906)". City of Green Bay. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
2. "Judge E. H. Ellis Died on Sunday". Appleton Evening Crescent. December 10, 1906. p. 8. Retrieved January 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Berryman, John R. (1898). "The Tenth Circuit, Its Judges and Lawyers". History of the Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Vol. 2. H. C. Cooper, Jr. pp. 433–434. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
4. "Judicial Election - Official Canvass". Wisconsin State Journal. May 5, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved January 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Reed, Parker McCobb (1882). The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Milwaukee: P. M. Reed. pp. 374–375. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
6. "Official Vote". Semi-Weekly Wisconsin. June 13, 1868. p. 1. Retrieved January 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Cunningham, Thomas J., ed. (1893). "Part III. Election statistics". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 308. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

External links

• Eleazer Holmes Ellis at Find a Grave