”The House of Representatives of the Fifty Third Congress” (detail), The Graphic Chicago, 1893, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

ELLIS, William Thomas, a Representative from Kentucky; born near Knottsville, Daviess County, Ky., on July 24, 1845; attended the common schools; enlisted in 1861, at the age of sixteen, in the First Kentucky Confederate Cavalry, which became a part of the celebrated Orphan Brigade, and served with his regiment continuously until April 21, 1865; attended Pleasant Valley Seminary, Daviess County; principal of Mount Etna Academy, Ohio County, in 1867 and 1868; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1868; was graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1870 and commenced practice in Owensboro, Ky., the same year; elected county attorney in 1870 and 1874; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1895); chairman, Committee on Revision of the Laws (Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1894; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1896; resumed the practice of law; also engaged in literary pursuits; died in Owensboro, Ky., January 8, 1925; interment in Elmwood Cemetery.