{{Short description|Legislator, lawyer, and physician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Robert Ellyson | office = Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing James City County | term_start = 1655 | term_end = 1656 | predecessor = Thomas Dipnall | successor = William Corker | term_start1 = 1660 | term_end1 = 1665 | predecessor2 = Mathew Edlowe | successor2 = Robert Holt | office3 = Sheriff of Saint Mary's County | term_start3 = January 1643 | term_end3 = February 1643 | children = Gerrard • Hannah • Eleanor | occupation = Politician • physician • lawyer | spouse = Elizabeth (née unknown) <!-- Military service -->| branch = Virginia militia | rank = Colonel • Lieutenant Colonel • Captain • Major | birth_place = Lanarkshire, Scotland (presumed) | death_date = {{circa|1671}} | death_place = James City County, Colony of Virginia, British America }}
'''Robert Ellyson''' ({{circa}} 1615/20–1671) was a legislator, lawyer, military officer, and physician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing James City County from 1655 to 1656 and from 1660 to 1665.
Ellyson was selected sheriff of St. Mary's County, investigated the Richard Ingle uprising, and served as a physician in Kent County. By 1646, he had moved to York County, Virginia and began practicing law. In 1655, he was elected a burgess for James City County and appointed a justice of Gloucester County in 1657. An officer in the Virginia militia, accepted various local positions and was re-elected as a burgess in subsequent sessions. By the 1660s, he had patented hundreds of acres on the Virginia Peninsula. Ellyson died about 1671 in James City County.
== Background == Ellyson's origins are disputed. He may have been born between 1615 and 1620 in Lanarkshire, Scotland, although this has not been confirmed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Doliante |first=Sharon J. |title=Maryland and Virginia Colonials |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Company |year=1991 |pages=235-240}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Goff |first=Rev. Janin Ryniker |last2=Davis |first2=Michael Lee |orig-date=27 February 2019 |title=Robert Ellyson I, Burgess from James City County |url=http://www.jamestowne.org/1/post/2019/02/-robert-ellyson-i-burgess-from-james-city-county.html |archive-date= |access-date=30 January 2022 |website=Jamestowne Society |language=en}}</ref> Ellyson's descendant, Elizabeth Allison Ervin, claimed in her family bible in the late 18th century that he was the son of Robert Allison and Sarah (née Spence) Allison, although this claim has been questioned.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Mills |first=Laurens Tenney |url=http://archive.org/details/southcarolinafam00mill |title=A South Carolina Family: Mills-Smith, and Related Lines |date=1960 |publisher= |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center |pages=64}}</ref>
According to Ervin, Ellyson's paternal grandparents were John Allison and Ellin (née Hamilton) Allison, and that following their marriage they emigrated from Lanark to Virginia prior to 1625.<ref name=":5" /> While a John Ellison arrived in the colony aboard the ''Prosperous'' and his wife, Ellin, on the ''Charitie'' about 1623, a familial connection to Robert Ellyson has not been verified.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hotten |first=John Camden |url=http://archive.org/details/originallistsofp00hottuoft |title=The Original Lists of Persons of Quality: Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went From Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700 |date= |publisher=London: John Camden Hotten, reprinted New York: Empire State Book Co. |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |year=1874 |pages=230}}</ref>
Douglas W. Ellyson Wagner claimed that Ellyson was descended from Robert Elysson of Northumberland, England, and that he was a cousin of Robert Ellison, an influential member of the Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Parliament of England. Wagner also suggested that Ellyson gained a "considerable education," although no evidence has been found to substantiate this claim.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Wagner |first=Douglas W. Ellyson |date=1964 |title=The Early Generations of the Ellyson Family in Virginia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4246997 |journal=The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography |location=Richmond |publisher=Virginia Historical Society |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=42–49 |issn=0042-6636}}</ref>
== Pursuits as a physician == Ellyson initially appeared in the tax levy for Saint Mary’s Hundred, Maryland of August 2, 1642, which assessed him to pay thirty pounds of tobacco as taxation. In September of that year, he appeared in nearby Kent County, where he may also have owned land. Identified as a “barber-chirurgeon” in January 1643, Ellyson attended to patients on Kent Island. He sued several of his patients who failed to pay for his medical services.<ref name=":0" />
During his residency in Virginia, Ellyson testified that he attended to Fortune Perkins when he received wounds on his arms and sides and a dislocated shoulder. In August 1661, he treated Perkins by reducing his shoulder, and he affirmed he did not how Perkins acquired his injuries. Prior to being received by Ellyson, Perkins had become the subject of an altercation in York County led by Benjamin Rucker, in which an incited multitude encouraged him by shouting "Beat out his eyes and do not let him breathe."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weisiger |first=Benjamin B. |title=York County, Virginia Records, 1659-1662 |publisher=B.B. Weisiger |year=1989 |pages=127}}</ref> In 1657, Ellyson received as a bequest from his friend and fellow physician, Henry Waldron of York County, "all my Library and Books whatsoever in this country and my horse together with my chest of physicall means."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tyler |first=Lyon Gardiner |author-link=Lyon Gardiner Tyler |url=http://archive.org/details/williammarycolle18941895tyle |title=The William and Mary Quarterly |last2=Swem |first2=Earl Gregg |last3=Institute of Early American History and Culture (Williamsburg |publisher=Institute of Early American History and Culture |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center |year=1892 |location=Williamsburg |pages=181}}</ref><ref name=":6" />
== Political career == Elected as sheriff of St. Mary’s County, Ellyson assumed office in January 1643. His tenure lasted less than two months, until February 9, 1643. During his service as sheriff, he investigated the case of treason of Richard Ingle, who later spearheaded an uprising against Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, the proprietary colony's Catholic governor, during the Plundering Time (1644–1646). Ellyson's final mention in Maryland was in February 1644.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Virginia Lee Hutchinson |title=Tidewater Virginia Families |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Company |year=1998 |publication-place=Baltimore |pages=382-384}}</ref>
By 1646, Ellyson had moved to York County, Virginia where he was listed as a lawyer.<ref name=":3">Leonard, Cynthia Miller. The Virginia General Assembly 1618-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 33, 36, 38</ref> He settled several estates and claimed 1,030 pounds from Robert Jackson. During the 1650s, he resided in Jamestown and surrounding James City and Gloucester counties. In 1657, he was listed as a Gloucester County justice and served as High Sheriff of James City County around this time.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Sheriff's Office {{!}} James City County, VA |url=https://jamescitycountyva.gov/2702/History |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=jamescitycountyva.gov}}</ref> He was elected to the House of Burgesses, the lower house of the General Assembly of Virginia, to represent the electoral constituency of James City County during the 1655-56 session, which convened in March 1654-55 and adjourned on March 10, 1655-56 and December 1, 1656. During this assembly, he served on the Leavie and Private Causes committees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=House History - Robert Ellison/Ellyson |url=https://history.house.virginia.gov/members/1569 |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=history.house.virginia.gov}}</ref> From 1657 to 1658, he served as sergeant-at-arms of the House of Burgesses.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tyler |first=Lyon Gardiner |title=Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography |date= |publisher=New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |year=1915 |pages=229}}</ref>
In March 1660, Ellyson was re-elected as a burgess and was appointed to a committee to act during the recess of the assembly under the direction of William Berkeley.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Virginia |url=http://archive.org/details/statutesatlargeb02virg |title=The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. Published Pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly of Virginia, passed on the Fifth Day of February One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight... |last2=Virginia (Colony) Laws |first2= |last3= |first3= |date= |publisher=Samuel Pleasants |others=University of Pittsburgh Library System |year=1809 |editor-last=Hening |editor-first=William Waller |editor-link=William Waller Hening |volume=2 |pages=31, 197, 211}}</ref> In the same year, he was selected to serve with Walter Chiles on a Virginia Governor's Council and General Assembly committee to draft plans for the construction of the third state house at Jamestown. Ellyson and members of the committee selected a site subsequently adjoining property owned by Philip Ludwell and Robert Beverely Jr. in 1694.<ref name=":2" /> [[File:Bruton Parish Church and churchyard Williamsburg Virginia by Frances Benjamin Johnston.jpg|thumb|Bruton Parish, formed in 1674.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McKinney |first=Jane Dillon |date= |year=1996 |title=Marston Parish 1654-1674: A Community Study |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539626035 |journal=Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects |location=Williamsburg |publication-place=The College of William & Mary |pages=135 |doi=10.21220/s2-pkee-f913}}</ref>]] On March 23, 1661-62, Peter Beverley noted Ellyson engaged in a dispute with Joseph Croshaw concerning the boundaries of Marston and Middletown parishes. The debate concluded when the assembly ordered the boundaries to remain in accordance with York County legislation from August 25, 1656.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Virginia, General Assembly |url=http://archive.org/details/journalsofhouseo02virg_1 |title=Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1659/60-1693 |last2= |first2= |last4=Virginia State Library |date=1619 |publisher=Library Board, Virginia State Library |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center |editor-last=McIlwaine |editor-first=Henry Read |publication-place=Richmond |page=19 |editor-last2=Kennedy |editor-first2=John Pendleton}}</ref> On September 11, 1663, he was appointed to a committee to examine the elections of burgesses, and on September 19 of that year he inspected the burgesses of the "king of Potomack."<ref name=":4" /> To resolve a boundary dispute that had arisen on the Pocomoke River in Somerset County, Maryland, he accompanied Edmund Scarborough to consult other commissioners.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Edward Duffield Neill |url=http://archive.org/details/virginiacaroloru00neil_0 |title=Virginia Carolorum: The Colony Under the Rule of Charles the First and Second, A.D. 1625-A.D. 1685, Based Upon Manuscripts and Documents of the Period |date=1886 |publisher=J. Munsell's Sons |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center |publication-place=Albany |pages=303}}</ref> While he actively participated in the local militias and was referred to as Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Captain, and Major, documentation concerning his military engagements are lacking.<ref name=":2" />
== Landholdings == Following a patent for 577 acres on August 26, 1657, Ellyson increased his acquisitions by securing 377 acres in New Kent County on the narrows of the York River by importing a headright of 12 indentured servants. In addition to these holdings, Ellyson also obtained a 200-tract on a branch of Birchen Swamp in James City County.<ref name=":6" /> His additional property included land on Ware Creek, which he had secured by the 1660s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foley |first=Louise Pledge Heath |title=Early Virginia Families Along the James River: Their Deep Roots and Tangled Branches |volume=3 |pages=58}}</ref> Following his death, several of his holdings were re-patented by his eldest son and heir, Gerrard Robert Ellyson.<ref name=":2" />
Ellyson appeared to have been closely associated with Henry Soane, Speaker of the House of Burgesses.<ref name=":6" /> On March 10, 1653, he was listed as a headright of Soane's for a 200-acre patent in Gloucester County on the Mattaponi River.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Nugent |first=Nell Marion |url=http://archive.org/details/cavalierspioneer00nuge |title=Cavaliers and Pioneers; Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800 |last2=Virginia State Library |last3=Virginia Genealogical Society |date= |publisher=Richmond, Press of the Dietz Print Co. |others=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |year=1934 |pages=240, 241, 338, 348}}</ref> On March 25, 1656, he was listed among 32 of Soane's headrights for a 2,800-acre patent in New Kent County on the Mattaponi River.<ref name=":7" /> Subsequently, he assigned 1,200 acres on the Mattaponi River to him.<ref name=":7" /> Considering Ellyson had previously risen to prominence in Virginia by the 1650s, it has been suggested that Ellyson illegally assisted Soane in securing the aforementioned properties by arranging his inclusion in Soane's headrights.<ref name=":6" />
== Marriage and family == Ellyson married Elizabeth (née unknown) in 1642. While it has been suggested that she was the daughter of Thomas Gerrard, a noted Catholic physician from Maryland, due to the first name of her eldest son, no documentation confirms that connection between the two families. Ellyson’s wife was a sponsor at the baptism of William Randolph, the son of Henry Randolph, on October 24, 1658.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1895 |title=Descendants of Henry Randolph |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1915057 |journal=William and Mary Quarterly |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=125–127}}</ref> They had three children who survived into adulthood, namely Hannah (1644–1728), Gerrard Robert (1656–1749), and Eleanor (1665–1722). Gerrard Robert married Anne Myhill, the daughter of John and Mary (née Lockey) Myhill.<ref name=":2" /> She was the niece of Edward Myhill, a burgess representing Elizabeth City County from 1680 to 1682.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> Hannah married Captain Anthony Armistead, an Elizabeth City County burgess during the 1696-97 session, on July 18, 1698.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hardy |first=Stella Pickett |url=http://archive.org/details/fl-1978556-tn-267949 |title=Colonial Families of the Southern States of America: A History and Genealogy of Colonial Families who Settled in the Colonies Prior to the Revolution |date=1911 |publisher=Tobias A. Wright |publication-place=New York |pages=25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stanard |first=William G. |title=The Colonial Virginia Register: A List of Governors, Councillors, and Other Higher Officials, and also of Members of the House of Burgesses, and the Revolutionary Conventions of the Colony of Virginia |last2=Standard |first2=Mary Newton |publisher=Joel Munsell's Sons |year=1902 |location=Albany |pages=18}}</ref>
== Death and legacy == Ellyson may have died in September 1671 in James City County, though his exact death date is unknown. On September 28, 1671, the General Court ordered Captain George Lyall to pay a debt of 593 pounds of tobacco from Ellyson's estate to John Harloe.<ref name=":6" /> On October 2, 1672, Thomas Viccars was selected guardian of Ellyson's orphaned son, Gerrard Robert Ellyson.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Virginia Council |url=http://archive.org/details/minutesofcouncil00virg_0 |title=Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, 1622-1632, 1670-1676, with Notes and Excerpts from Original Council and General Court Records, into 1683, Now Lost |date=1924 |publisher=The Colonial Press, Everett Waddey Co. |others=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |publication-place=Richmond |pages=311}}</ref>
Among Ellyson's notable descendants include John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States, and Lyon Gardiner Tyler, the 17th president of the College of William & Mary and member of the Virginia House of Delegates, who published an article concerning Ellyson in ''Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine'' in 1929.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koestler |first=Sally |title=Capt. Anthony Armistead & Hannah Ellyson |url=https://sallysfamilyplace.com/capt-anthony-armistead-hannah-ellyson/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=sallysfamilyplace.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tyler |first=Lyon Gardiner |date=1929 |title=Ellyson Family |journal=Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine |volume=10 |pages=32}}</ref> Henry K. Ellyson, Virginia House of Delegates member and the Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, and James Taylor Ellyson, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, were also descendants.<ref>{{Cite book |url= |title=Genealogies of Virginia Families: From Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine |date= |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Company |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-8063-0947-7 |pages=687 |language=en}}</ref> Ellyson is a qualifying ancestor of the Jamestowne Society.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-22 |title=Qualifying Ancestors |url=https://www.jamestowne.org/qualifying-ancestors.html |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=Jamestowne Society |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellyson, Robert}} Category:1610s births Category:1671 deaths Category:17th-century American medical doctors Category:House of Burgesses members Category:Lawyers from colonial Maryland Category:Medical doctors from colonial Virginia Category:Year of birth uncertain