Powhatan Ellis (January 17, 1790 – March 18, 1863) was a justice of the
Mississippi Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1869. The court ...
,
United States senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, and a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
of the
United States District Court for the District of Mississippi
The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...
.
Education and career
Born on January 17, 1790, at
Red Hill Farm in
Amherst County
Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amhers ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
Ellis graduated from Washington Academy (now
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...
) in 1809, received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1810 from
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...
and graduated from the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
in 1814,
where he studied law.
He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in
Lynchburg, Virginia from 1813 to 1814 and from 1815 to 1816.
He was a lieutenant in the Prevost Guards of Virginia in 1814.
He resumed private practice in
Natchez,
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...
in 1816.
He continued private practice in
Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, Mississippi Territory (State of
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
from December 10, 1817) from 1816 to 1817.
He was a justice of the
Mississippi Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1869. The court ...
from 1817 to 1818 and from 1818 to 1825.
Congressional service
Ellis was appointed as a
Jacksonian Democrat
Jacksonian democracy, also known as Jacksonianism, was a 19th-century political ideology in the United States that restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andrew Jackson and his supporters, i ...
to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
from Mississippi to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
United States Senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
David Holmes and served from September 28, 1825, to January 28, 1826, when a successor was elected and qualified.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to fill the vacancy.
He was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1827, to July 16, 1832, resigning to accept a judicial position.
Federal judicial service
Ellis was nominated by President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
on July 13, 1832, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the District of Mississippi
The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...
vacated by Judge
Peter Randolph.
He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on July 14, 1832, and received his commission the same day.
His service terminated on January 5, 1836, when he resigned.
Later career and death
Ellis was appointed
charge d'affaires
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aq ...
to
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
for the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
by President Jackson, serving from January 1836 to December 1836 when he closed the
legation
A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...
.
He was appointed
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...
to Mexico for the United States Department of State by President
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
,
serving from February 1839 to April 1842. He resumed private practice in Natchez starting in 1842 and continued private practice in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, Virginia until 1863.
He died on March 18, 1863, in Richmond.
He was interred in
Shockoe Hill Cemetery
The Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery located on Shockoe Hill in Richmond, Virginia.
History
Shockoe Hill Cemetery, as it is presently called, was established in 1820, with the initial burial made in 1822. It was earlier known as th ...
in Richmond.
Heritage and family
One account in
''The Green Bag'' stated that Ellis was a descendant of
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
. In 1833, he married Eliza Rebecca Winn who died in the spring of 1835. Together, they had two children.
Legacy
The city of
Ellisville, Mississippi is named in Ellis's memory.
See also
*
List of justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi
Following is a list of justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi.
These justices served in three different iterations of the court.Dunbar Roland, ed., ''The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi'', Volume 1 (1904), p. ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Powhatan
1790 births
1863 deaths
People from Amherst County, Virginia
American people of English descent
Mississippi Jacksonians
Jacksonian United States senators from Mississippi
Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico
Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi
United States federal judges appointed by Andrew Jackson
19th-century American diplomats
People from Lynchburg, Virginia
Washington and Lee University alumni
Dickinson College alumni
William & Mary Law School alumni
19th-century United States senators