- John Willis Ellis
John Willis Ellis (
23 November 1820 ndash7 July 1861 ) was the Democratic governor of theU.S. state ofNorth Carolina from 1859 to 1861.Ellis studied law under
Richmond Mumford Pearson , practiced law, and was elected to theNorth Carolina General Assembly from Rowan County. He served as a statesuperior court judge from 1848 to 1858. He was elected Governor in 1858 by a large majority overDuncan K. McRae , a Democrat supported by remnants of the Whig Party. Ellis was easily re-elected in 1860 overJohn Pool .As the
American Civil War was beginning, PresidentAbraham Lincoln requested troops from North Carolina to quell the rebellion. Ellis replied, “I can be no party to this wicked violation of the laws of the country and to this war upon the liberties of a free people. You can get no troops from North Carolina.”Shortly after North Carolina seceded from the Union, Ellis died in office. The
Speaker of the North Carolina Senate ,Henry T. Clark , completed his term.External links
* [http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/46/entry North Carolina History Project]
* [http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/ellis/ellis.html Speech Accepting Democratic Nomination for Governor: March 9, 1860]
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