Rowland Ellis ( – 1 July 1731) was a Welsh-born landowner and politician who immigrated to the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

where he spent the rest of his life. Ellis was born in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The owner of the "Bryn Mawr" farm near

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), 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 counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, he became a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

after English religious leader

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 13 January 1691 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Dissenters, English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as t ...

visited Dolgellau in 1657. As a result of

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

against Quakers in Wales, Ellis and a number of other Welsh Quakers emigrated to Pennsylvania, an English colony in North America, in 1686. A new settlement established in the colony was named Bryn Mawr after Ellis' farm. In 1688, he returned to Wales to settle his affairs before returning to Pennsylvania, where Ellis entered into a political career and was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly representing the constituency of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1700. He died on 1 July 1731. In 1969, Welsh writer Marion Eames, who lived in Dolgellau at the time, wrote a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

of the emigration of Welsh Quakers, including Ellis, to Pennsylvania. Published under the Welsh title ''Y Stafell Ddirgel'', subsequent English translations were published as '' The Secret Room''.T. A. Glenn, Merion in the Welsh Tract with sketches of the townships of Haverford and Radnor : historical and genealogical collections concerning the Welsh barony in the province of Pennsylvania, settled by the Cymric Quakers in 1682; published 1896.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Rowland 1650s births 1731 deaths 17th-century Welsh landowners 18th-century Pennsylvania politicians Converts to Quakerism Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Welsh Quakers British Quakers