David Ellis (31 August 1736 – 1795) was a Welsh Anglican clergyman, poet and transcriber of manuscripts.

Life

Ellis was born to Ellis and Elizabeth David, of

Dolgellau Dolgellau () is a town and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire ( cy, Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionnydd) ...

, north Wales. After attending the school in

Ystrad Meurig Ystrad Meurig (or Ystradmeurig) is a village and community in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies on the B4340 road northwest of the town of Tregaron, on the edge of the Cambrian Mountains. History and amenities Ystrad Meurig was the site of a Grammar ...

, he studied at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, but only from March to June 1764. He was then ordained deacon (1764) and priest (1765), serving as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, ...

Llangeinwen Llangeinwen is a village on the island of Anglesey in the community of Rhosyr. It is the location of St Ceinwen's Church, Llangeinwen. Welsh educator and founder of Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University ( cy, Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is ...

Derwen Derwen is a rural village in the south of Denbighshire, Wales. It lies approximately halfway between Corwen and Ruthin, in the upper part of Dyffryn Clwyd on the north side of the River Clwyd, opposite the village of Bryn Saith Marchog. Th ...

and

Amlwch Amlwch (; ) is a port town and community in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Amlwch Port, other settlements within ...

before his appointment as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

of Llanberis in 1788. In the following year, he became vicar of

Criccieth Criccieth ( cy, Criccieth ) is a town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing ...

, holding the post until his death. In addition to his clerical duties, Ellis wrote poetry and translated works by others from English into Welsh. He also transcribed many Welsh manuscripts, some of which are now preserved in the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million ...

. His burial at Criccieth took place on 11 May 1795.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, David 1736 births 1795 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh poets People from Dolgellau People from Criccieth