William Ely (August 14, 1765 – October 9, 1817) was a
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
.
Early life and education
Ely was born in
Longmeadow in the
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...
on August 14, 1765. He was the youngest son
of Deacon Nathaniel Ely (1716–1799) and Abigail (Colton) Ely (1724–1770); his mother died when he was 5.
Ely completed preparatory studies. He was graduated from
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
in 1787. He studied law. Ely was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in 1791.
Career
Following this, Ely commenced practice in
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Ely served as a member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
from 1801–1803.
Ely married Abigail Bliss about November 1, 1803.
Ely was elected as a
Federalist to the
Ninth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1815).
Ely was again a member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
in 1814 and 1816.
Death
Ely died on October 9, 1817, in
Springfield, Massachusetts; his wife survived him but died in 1827. They are buried in Springfield Cemetery.
References
External links
William Ely entryat
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...
* and als
here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, William
1765 births
1817 deaths
People from Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Yale College alumni
Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts