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 Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Ellis served twice as the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

Early life and education

Ellis was born in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, on September 17, 1867, though he grew up in

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area, Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,970 as of the 2020 census, almost eve ...

. After attending a

business college A business college is a school that provides education above the high school level but could not be compared to that of a traditional university or college. Unlike universities and even junior and community colleges, business colleges typically ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Ellis attended

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

, graduating with his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1889. He was admitted to the

Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated, or unified bar organization for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States.

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 ...

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 William Sherman Jennings (March 24, 1863February 27, 1920) was an American politician who served as the 18th governor of Florida after being a lawyer, county judge, and state representative. Early years and education He was born near Walnut Hil ...

appointed him as to the position. Ellis served as the state's

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

until February 15, 1904, when he was appointed as the 18th

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is ...

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 fathe ...

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

benefit society A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, or fraternal benefit order is a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief from sundry difficulties. Such organizations may be formally organized with ...

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 A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of Florida's Internal Improvement Fund.

Supreme Court of Florida

On January 5, 1915, Governor

Park Trammell Park Monroe Trammell (April 9, 1876 – May 8, 1936) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Florida. Trammell represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1917 until his death in 1936. As chair of the Senate Naval Aff ...

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 Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

, writing: While on the court, Ellis served as the President of the Florida Bar from 1919 until 1920. In 1926, the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

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 of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. Since the speech occurred on

Confederate Memorial Day Confederate Memorial Day (called Confederate Heroes Day in Texas and Florida, and Confederate Decoration Day in Tennessee) is a holiday observed in several Southern U.S. states on various dates since the end of the American Civil War. The holi ...

, Ellis invoked references to

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

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

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, breaking with the progressive views of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in favor of the ideals of

states rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and t ...

, which would eventually turn into the Dixiecrat Party.

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. 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 (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

, as well as

Pi Gamma Mu Pi Gamma Mu or is an international honor society in the social sciences. The society was formed in 1924 at Southwestern College and the College of William & Mary. It is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. History On Decem ...

and

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is a North American professional fraternity composed of pre-law and law students, legal educators, attorneys, judges, and government officials. It is one of the largest professional law ...

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 Supreme Court of Florida Gender equality States' rights American Freemasons Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Florida 20th-century Florida politicians Neo-Confederates