John Ellis (1643–1738) was an English official and Member of Parliament.
Life
Born in or about 1643, he was the eldest son of
John Ellis, author of ''Vindiciæ Catholicæ'', by his wife Susannah, daughter of William Welbore of Cambridge. He received his education at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, and was elected student of
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, in 1664. At college he met
Humphrey Prideaux
Humphrey Prideaux (3 May 1648 – 1 November 1724) was a Cornish churchman and orientalist, Dean of Norwich from 1702. His sympathies inclined to Low Churchism in religion and to Whiggism in politics.
Life
The third son of Edmond Prideaux, he was ...
, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. Ellis did not take a degree, but obtained employment in the secretary of state's office.
In March 1672 he was under
Sir Joseph Williamson in the paper office, Whitehall. On the promotion of Williamson to be secretary of state in the autumn of 1674 Ellis lost his situation. He obtained, however, the appointment of secretary to
Sir Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625 – 1 September 1685) was a Welsh academic, diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties (e.g. Nimègue), jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer who served as Judge of the High Court of Adm ...
, one of the envoys chosen to attend the conference at
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
, the Netherlands, and set out 20 December 1675. He was employed in this capacity until September 1677. His doings during this period of his life were set down in his ''Journal of Proceedings of the Nimeguen Conference, 1674–1677'', and ''Note Book at Nimeguen, 1675–6''. From 1678 to 1680 Ellis acted as secretary to
Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory
Vice-Admiral Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (1634–1680) was an Irish soldier and politician. He was the eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond but predeceased his father and therefore never succeeded as duke.
...
. At the beginning of 1680 he made another journey into the Netherlands to lay before the States-General the claims of Lord Ossory to the rank of general, which the latter had received from the Prince of Orange. He was successful in obtaining the necessary confirmation. After the death of Ossory in August 1680 Ellis became secretary to his father,
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failur ...
, then
lord-lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...
. In October 1682 he received the appointment of secretary to the commissioners of the revenue of Ireland, a post he continued until the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
.
He left Dublin for England early in 1689, and his place at the Irish treasury was filled up by some one on the spot. Towards the end of 1689 he became secretary to
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde
James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protes ...
, as he had been before to his father, the Earl of Ossory. Two years later he was one of the commissioners of transports, and finally under-secretary of state in May 1695. He filled for ten years the office of under-secretary to four successive secretaries of state; but after some misunderstanding with
Sir Charles Hedges, he resigned in May 1705. William III had given him the place of
comptroller of the Mint, worth £500 a year on 23 May 1701. The office was confirmed to him in the next reign by letters patent of 11 June 1702. In 1711 he was deprived of it by
Robert Harley, and he petitioned to be reinstated at the accession of George I.
Ellis sat for
Harwich, Essex
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring District, Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-w ...
, in the parliaments of 1702–5 and 1705–8, and in 1710 unsuccessfully contested
Rye, Sussex
is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederati ...
. He died unmarried at his house in
Pall Mall 8 July 1738, aged 95. By making use of opportunities while in office he had become wealthy.
Legacy and reputation
He gave towards the buildings in Peckwater quadrangle at Christ Church, Oxford. To his Jacobite brother,
Sir William Ellis (died 1732), he had lent £1,231, and in consideration of the debt he received a grant of the brother's forfeited estate in Ireland from William III. The estate having been ‘resumed’ and vested in trustees by the Act of Resumption (11 and 12 Will. III) ‘before he had received any benefit by it,’ Ellis in the next reign petitioned parliament for a bill of relief, and obtained it in May 1702. He died possessed of the estate.
Ellis left a large collection of letters addressed to him on both public and private matters. Two volumes of his correspondence during 1686, 1687, and 1688 were edited in 1829 by
George Agar-Ellis
George James Welbore Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover PC FRS FSA (14 January 179710 July 1833) was a British politician and man of letters. He was briefly First Commissioner of Woods and Forests under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1831.
Background ...
, a descendant of his brother
Welbore Ellis. Attention had already been drawn to the value of the manuscript by Sir Henry Ellis, who published some extracts in vol. iv., 2nd ser., of his ''Original Letters''. In 1872 the trustees of the British Museum purchased from
Thomas Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Augustus Wolstenholme Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield (17 March 1811 – 24 July 1896) was a British peer. Before inheriting the earldom, he sat in the House of Commons as Conservative Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire from 1837 until ...
a voluminous collection of Ellis's official and private correspondence and papers extending from 1643 to 1720. The letters from Humphrey Prideaux, ranging from 1674 to 1722, but with many gaps, were edited for the
Camden Society
The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary an ...
in 1875 by Sir
Edward Maunde Thompson
Sir Edward Maunde Thompson (4 May 1840 – 14 September 1929) was a British palaeographer and Principal Librarian and first Director of the British Museum.
He is noted for his handbook of Greek and Latin palaeography and for his study of Will ...
. Ellis's letters to
George Stepney
George Stepney (1663 – 15 September 1707) was an English poet and diplomat.
Stepney was the son of George Stepney, groom of the chamber to Charles II, and was born at Westminster. He was admitted on the foundation of Westminster School in 16 ...
, 1700–8, are in Additional MSS.
Ellis was one of the many lovers of the
Duchess of Cleveland. His intrigue is mysteriously alluded to in six lines of
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
's ''Sober Advice from Horace'', implying that, having offended the duchess by boasting of the intimacy, he was, at her instigation, castrated. In a poem called ''The Town Life'' he is singled out from certain disreputable company as "that epitome of lewdness, Ellys" (''Poems on Affairs of State'', ed. 1703–7, i. 192). There is also allusion to him in ''The Session of the Poets'' (ib. i. 210).
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, John
1643 births
1738 deaths
English MPs 1702–1705
English MPs 1705–1707
People educated at Westminster School, London
English letter writers
17th-century English writers
17th-century English male writers
18th-century English writers
18th-century English male writers
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1707–1708
English male writers