Eleazor Holmes Ellis (August 26, 1826December 9, 1906) was an American lawyer and judge. He was the 6th mayor of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, and was a Wisconsin circuit court judge for seven years.

Family

Eleazor Holmes Ellis was born on his father's farm in what was later known as

Preble, Wisconsin Preble was a town in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States from 1859 to 1964. It ceased to exist as a jurisdiction in 1964, when by referendum it consolidated with the city of Green Bay. Origin of town name The town's name may originate from Com ...

, now part of

. At the time of his birth, it was unorganized land of Brown County in what was then the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

. Eleazor and his siblings were some of the earliest colonist children born within the boundaries of what would become the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. His father,

Albert Gallatin Ellis Albert Gallatin Ellis (August 24, 1800December 23, 1885) was one of the first American pioneers to settle in Wisconsin. He was the 2nd, 6th, 8th, and 10th Mayor of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Before statehood, he was a member of the legislature of ...

, was the publisher of the ''

Green Bay Intelligencer The ''Green Bay Intelligencer'' was Wisconsin’s first newspaper. Based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was founded by businessman John V. Suydam, with the first issue published on December 11, 1833. Albert Gallatin Ellis joined the paper in 1834 ...

''—the first newspaper published west of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. 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 Fredrick Seymour Ellis (January 17, 1830June 6, 1879) was an American surveyor, insurance agent, and politician. He was the 18th Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and, as a member of the Democratic Party, he represented Brown County in the Wiscons ...

, was also active in politics, serving in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, 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. Ellis died from

old age Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

in 1906 and was interred at Green Bay's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Career

Ellis studied law under

Henry S. Baird Henry Samuel Baird Jr. (May 16, 1800 – April 30, 1875) was an Irish American immigrant, Wisconsin pioneer, lawyer, and politician. He was the first Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory, appointed by territorial governor Henry Dodge ...

, who had been Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory. 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, Samuel D. Hastings, W. J. Green, and H. J. Fenbee. Ellis was elected Wisconsin circuit court judge in 1871, without opposition, and served seven years, resigning in 1879 due to poor health and low wages. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

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.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1868)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 1868

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1891)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 1891

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Eleazor Holmes People from Brown County, Wisconsin Mayors of Green Bay, Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers 1826 births 1906 deaths People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin Wisconsin state court judges Wisconsin Democrats