Henry Ellis (August 29, 1721 – January 21, 1806) was an Irish explorer, author and slave trader who served as the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the colonies of

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and

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Biography

Early years

Ellis was born August 29, 1721, in

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

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, the son of Francis and Joan (''née'' Maxwell) Ellis. He studied law at the

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. In May 1746, he went out as agent of a company for the discovery of the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...

. After extinguishing with difficulty a fire in his ship, he sailed to

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, where he exchanged commodities with the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

peoples on July 8. He then proceeded to Fort Nelson and wintered in

Hayes River The Hayes River is a river in Northern Manitoba, Canada, that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was historically an important river in the development of Canada and is now a Canadian Heritage River and the longest natura ...

. He renewed his efforts in June 1747, without success, and returned to England where he arrived on October 14. He published an account of his explorations in 1748, entitled ''A voyage to Hudson's-Bay by the ''Dobbs Galley'' and ''California'' in the years 1746 and 1747 for discovering a North West Passage''" and in 1750 published ''Considerations on the Great Advantages which would Arise from the Discovery of the North West Passage''. After publishing these accounts, Ellis was inducted into the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Governor of Georgia

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...

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, named Ellis lieutenant governor of Georgia on August 15, 1756. Ellis arrived at

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, on February 16, 1757, and, on May 17, 1758, was made royal governor. His administration of the colony was highly esteemed. Recognizing the danger posed to the colony by hostile neighbors, he established a treaty with the Creeks. He published "Heat of the Weather in Georgia" in ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' in 1758. The subtropical climate took its toll on his health and he had to be removed from governor then left Georgia on November 2, 1760, stopping in

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to request military assistance to the southern colonies.

Later years

After his return to England, his knowledge of American affairs were called into requisition for developing the plan for taxing the colonies. In return for this service he was rewarded with

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval ch ...

offices. From 1761 to 1763, he held the commission of governor of Nova Scotia, though he did not enter on the duties of his office. He afterward resided in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, principally occupied in scientific researches. Before he died he had a friendship with the Creek leader.

Death

He died on January 21, 1806, (aged 84–85) in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, Italy.

Legacy

Fort Ellis in Nova Scotia and Ellis Square in

are named after him.

References

Henry Ellis article in Georgia History

Article in New Georgia Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Henry 1721 births 1806 deaths Explorers of North America Politicians from County Monaghan British slave traders Fellows of the Royal Society Colonial governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Governors of the Colony of Nova Scotia