William Hull Ellis (September 17, 1867 – April 14, 1948), more commonly referred to as William H. Ellis and W. H. Ellis, was an American attorney and politician from the state of Florida. Ellis served twice as the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

Early life and education

Ellis was born in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

on September 17, 1867, though he grew up in Quincy, Florida. After attending a business college in Atlanta, Georgia, Ellis attended Stetson University, graduating with his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1889. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in the same year. He began a private law practice in Quincy. Ellis was one of Florida's delegates at the

1900 Democratic National Convention The 1900 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place the week of July 4, 1900, at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. The convention nominated William Jennings Bryan for president an ...

Political career

Early career

In February 1903, Ellis helped reorganize Florida's Office of the Expert Accountant into th
Office of the Florida State Auditor
In return, Florida Governor William Sherman Jennings appointed him as to the position. Ellis served as the state's auditor until February 15, 1904, when he was appointed as the 18th Florida Attorney General by Jennings, finishing the term of

James B. Whitfield James Bryan Whitfield (November 8, 1860 – August 20, 1948) was an American attorney and politician who served as a long-time Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Early life and education Whitfield was born on November 8, 1860 on his father ...

, who had been appointed to the Supreme Court of Florida. Ellis was elected to his first full term later in 1904. While serving as attorney general, Ellis, a

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

, contributed in the reorganization of the Florida Bar, transforming the organization from a simple

benefit society A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, fraternal benefit order, friendly society, or mutual aid society is a society, an organization or a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief fr ...

to an active group of lawyers, publishing a legal journal and drafting court procedures. Ellis did not seek reelection in 1908, opting instead to return to private practice. From 1911 until 1915, he served as the general counsel of Florida's Internal Improvement Fund.

Supreme Court of Florida

On January 5, 1915, Governor Park Trammell appointed Ellis to the Supreme Court of Florida. Ellis served a long and distinguished career on the court, with his dissenting opinion for ''State v. Daniel'' (1924) foreshadowing what would become gender equality, writing: While on the court, Ellis served as the President of the Florida Bar from 1919 until 1920. In 1926, the Florida Constitution was amended to allow the justices to elect their own chief justice. In January 1927, Ellis became the first chief justice elected in this way, "because he was the member with the most seniority who had not yet served in that capacity". He served as the court's Chief Justice twice, from 1927 until 1929 and from 1937 until he retired from the court due to illness on November 1, 1938. In 1935, Ellis delivered a speech titled ''The Spirit of Americanism'' to the

Civitan Club Civitan International, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is an association of community service clubs founded in 1917. The organization aims "to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual ...

of Jacksonville, Florida. Since the speech occurred on Confederate Memorial Day, Ellis invoked references to

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

to stoke the flames against what he saw was the overreach of the federal government during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, breaking with the progressive views of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in favor of the ideals of states rights, which would eventually turn into the

Dixiecrat Party The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived Racial segregation, segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in Southern United States, the South. It arose due t ...

Death and legacy

Ellis died on April 14, 1948 in Jacksonville. He is buried in Quincy's Eastern Cemetery. In January 2018, Ellis' granddaughter, Martha Ellis Holcomb, and her daughter Catherine Berry, donated many of his possessions to the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society, including his 100-page personal memoir.

Personal life

In 1894, Ellis married Minnie Ramelle Nicholson. They were married until her death in childbirth for their second son, Melville Hull, in 1902. In 1906, Ellis married Serena Taylor, the daughter of Florida Supreme Court Justice

R. Fenwick Taylor Robert Fenwick Taylor (March 10, 1849 – February 26, 1928) was an American lawyer and a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who served on the Florida Supreme Court for 35 years, 18 of them as chief justice. He was first app ...

. They had two children, twin daughters Julia Taylor and Amelia Fenwick, and were married until Ellis' death. Ellis was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

, as well as Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Alpha Delta.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, W. H. 1867 births 1948 deaths American judges Florida Attorneys General People from Pensacola, Florida People from Quincy, Florida Stetson University College of Law alumni Stetson University alumni Florida Democrats Progressive Era in the United States Justices of the Florida Supreme Court Gender equality States' rights American Freemasons 20th-century American politicians Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court