{{Short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = William Thomas Ellis | honorific_suffix = | image = William-T-Ellis-by-Aurelius-O-Revenaugh.jpg | caption = Portrait of Ellis by Aurelius O. Revenaugh | alt = A man with receding brown hair and a mustache wearing a white shirt and black coat and tie. He rests his chin on his right hand and holds a book with his left. | state = Kentucky | district = 2nd | term_start = March 4, 1889 | term_end = March 3, 1895 | predecessor = Polk Laffoon | successor = John Daniel Clardy | birth_date = {{birth date|1845|07|24}} | birth_place = Daviess County, Kentucky | death_date = {{death date and age|1925|01|08|1845|07|24}} | death_place = Owensboro, Kentucky | resting_place = Elmwood Cemetery | resting_place_coordinates = | birth_name = | party = Democrat | other_party = <!--For additional political affiliations--> | spouse = Alice Coffey<br />Mattie B. Miller | relations = | children = | alma_mater = Harvard Law School | profession = Lawyer | signature = | signature_alt = | footnotes = | nickname = | allegiance = {{flag|Confederate States of America}} | branch = {{flagicon|CSA|army}} Confederate States Army | service_years = 1861{{spaced ndash}}1865 | rank = | unit = {{Flagicon|Kentucky}} 1st Kentucky Cavalry | commands = | battles = American Civil War | awards = }}
'''William Thomas Ellis''' (July 24, 1845 – January 8, 1925) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, United States.
==Early life and family== William Ellis was born near Knottsville, Kentucky, on July 24, 1845.<ref name=congbio>"Ellis, William Thomas". ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''</ref> He was one of two sons born Luther R. and Mary M. (Kellum) Ellis.<ref name=bc199>''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 199</ref>
Ellis was educated in the common schools until age sixteen.<ref name=congbio /> On October 5, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry.<ref name=bc197>''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 197</ref> This unit became a part of the Orphan Brigade.<ref name=congbio /> Ellis eventually rose to become a non-commissioned officer in command of scouts.<ref name=bc197 /> He served until the end of the war and mustered out on April 21, 1865.<ref name=congbio />
After the war, Ellis resumed his studies at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Daviess County.<ref name=congbio /> To defray the cost of his education, he worked during the summer months.<ref name=bc197 /> He studied law, supporting himself by serving as principal of Mount Etna Academy in Ohio County in 1867 and 1868.<ref name=congbio /> Admitted to the bar in 1868, he attended a course of lectures at Harvard Law School before commencing practice in Owensboro in 1870.<ref name=bc197 />
On October 20, 1871, Ellis married Alice Coffey.<ref name=bc199 /> Coffey died in 1872, and on November 2, 1876, Ellis married Mattie B. Miller.<ref name=bc199 />
==Political career== In August 1870, Ellis was elected county attorney for Daviess County.<ref name=bc197 /> He was re-elected to this position in 1874.<ref name=bc197 /> He served as a Democratic presidential elector for the ticket of Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas Andrews Hendricks in the 1876 presidential election.<ref name=bc197 /> He unsuccessfully sought election to the Fiftieth Congress in 1886.<ref name=congbio />
Ellis was elected to represent Kentucky's Second District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1888.<ref name=bc197 /> He was twice re-elected, serving in the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895).<ref name=congbio /> While he was away from his law practice on congressional business, the firm's business was handled by his law partners, one of whom was future Congressman William N. Sweeney.<ref name=bc199 />
During the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses, he chaired the Committee on Revision of the Laws.<ref name=congbio /> A Free Silver supporter, he served on the Banking and Currency Committee and was critical of President Grover Cleveland's sound money position.<ref name=bc198>''Biographical Cyclopedia'', p. 198</ref> He did not seek re-election in 1894.<ref name=congbio />
==Later life and death== After his service in Congress, Ellis returned to his law practice.<ref name=congbio /> He was a delegate to the 1896 Democratic National Convention.<ref name=congbio /> He also engaged in literary pursuits.<ref name=congbio />
Ellis died in Owensboro, Kentucky, on January 8, 1925, and was interred in Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery.<ref name=congbio />
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Bibliography=== *{{cite book |title=Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky |publisher=J.M. Gresham Company |location=Chicago, Illinois |year=1896 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028804122}} {{CongBio|E000139}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline|William T. Ellis|William Thomas Ellis}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Kentucky | district=2 | before=Polk Laffoon | after= John D. Clardy | years=March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895 }} {{s-end}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 51st–53rd United States Congresses |state=Kentucky}} {{USCongRep/KY/51}} {{USCongRep/KY/52}} {{USCongRep/KY/53}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, William Thomas}} Category:1845 births Category:1925 deaths Category:Confederate States Army soldiers Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Kentucky county attorneys Category:Orphan Brigade Category:People from Daviess County, Kentucky Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Kentucky Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:19th-century United States representatives