Edwin E. Ellis, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Edwin E. Ellis
EDWIN E. ELLIS.
This well-known citizen was one of the youngest soldiers to enlist from this county, being at the date of enlistment not yet sixteen years of age. He comes of sturdy Welsh stock and his ancestors have resided in this country since Colonial days. His grandfather, Martin Ellis, was a native of the Empire State. Farming was his principal occupation in life, and he was married in Jefferson County, New York, and had five children, Benjamin S., Delos M., Augustus M., Henry J., and Eliza S. The father of these children came to Porter County, Indiana, in 1855, and settled in Valparaiso, where he retired from active life. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence. At the time of his death, which occurred August 6, 1864, when about seventy years of age, he had been a Mason for a longer period than any man in Porter County. His children were all educated in Jefferson County, New York, and all but one became teachers and two were also physicians. Dr. Augustus M. Ellis was born in Jefferson County, New York, February 8, 1821, gained a good education there and in addition received a good medical education. Later he began practicing medicine in Lewis County, Ohio. His nuptials with Miss Elizabeth J. Potter, daughter of Henry S. and Sylvia (Brockway) Potter, were celebrated in Jefferson County. The Potter family was prominent in Colonial days and many members of the family fought for independence and became distinguished men. To Dr. Ellis and wife were born four children: Augustine A., Delos M., Edwin E. and Sylvia A. About 1850 the Doctor and family moved to Porter County, Indiana, and settled in the old town of Tassinong, which was then a thriving village. There he practiced medicine for nine years and became widely and favorably known. He moved to Kansas late in the year 1859, and settled at Lawrence, where he practiced medicine many years, and where he now resides, retired from active life. He took an active part in the Kansas trouble and was in a militia regiment. During the hottest part of the trouble he was given ten days in which to leave the State by the border ruffians. His second marriage occurred in Lawrence, Kansas, to Miss Rachel Stull, who bore him three children, Lillie, Lydia, and Clifton. Dr. Ellis is a member and an active worker, in the Methodist Church, and stands high in the estimation of the people of the county. Edwin E. Ellis, our subject, was born in Lewis County, New York, February 14, 1848, and was about two years of age when brought by .his parents to Porter County. He received but a limited education and when but a mere boy enlisted in the army, at Valparaiso, Indiana, December 20, 1863, in Company M, Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, under Capt. Lewis Stoddard and Col. Anderson. The regiment was organized at Kendallville, Indiana. He served till December, 1865, with that command. The regiment participated in the Atlanta campaign, also in the engagements about Nashville, and was afterwards placed in the First Brigade, Seventh Division, Cavalry Corps of the West, under Gen. Wilson. The division was subsequently detached and sent from Nashville via New Orleans to Mobile, where it participated in the engagements which finally ended in the surrender of Fort Blakely and Spanish Fort, and the surrender of the city. It then made a raid of some seven hundred miles through Alabama and Georgia, and upon Johnston's surrender, was ordered to the trans-mississippi, but was stopped at Columbus, Mississippi, on the news of Kirby Smith's surrender. After receiving an honorable discharge he returned home. On account of his health he went West to Lawrence, Kansas, but returned in the fall of 1866 and married Miss Frances L. Wilcox, daughter of Charles and Maria (Phillips) Wilcox, their union taking place on the first of October, at Valparaiso. Directly after marriage Mr. Ellis went to Kansas and settled at Lawrence, where he engaged in the freighting business, at which he was successful. The last year he farmed near Lawrence, and here all his children were born, Ida M., William O., and Minnie A. In 1874 Mr. Ellis returned to Porter County, Indiana, and farmed on his present place, which he then rented. After remaining on this farm for four years he returned to Lawrence, Kansas, and engaged in farming near the city. After two years he returned here and bought his present farm, which now consists of 100 acres. Although Mr. Ellis received but a limited education in his youth he is a well informed man, for he is a man of observation and an extensive reader. In politics he is a Republican and socially he is a G. A. R., Walter's Post No. 229. He has held the office of junior vice-commander, senior vice-commander, and is now one of the trustees of the Post. He has held the office of Township Trustee. His children received a common school education, and his daughter, Ida M., taught school in this county for five years. Mrs. Ellis' father, Charles Wilcox, was born in the Empire State and was married there. His children are: Martin, who died in the army, Francis L., Emma, Carrie, Charles, Nancy, Sarah, Frank, Hiram, and Irwin. Mr. Wilcox followed farming all his life and moved to Porter County, Indiana, about 1855-58, and died at Lawrence Kansas, 1872, when fifty-five years of age. He was a Democrat in politics.
Source: Goodspeed Brothers. 1894. Pictorial and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke Counties, Indiana. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Brothers. 569 p.
Page(s) in Source: 267-269
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook