Another infinitely obscure American congressman is profiled today, Chesselden Ellis of New York. Ellis was originally born in New Windsor, Vermont in 1808 (no exact date of birth could be found for him.) He migrated to New York in his adolescence and graduated from the Union College in Schenectady in 1823.
After passing the state bar exam in 1829, Ellis set up a law practice in Waterford, New York. Eight years after establishing his law office, Ellis was elected as the Saratoga County prosecuting attorney and served until the latter part of 1843. That same year he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York and served one term. Ellis was defeated for reelection by a Whig candidate named Hugh White (1798-1870) in 1844. The following year Ellis moved to New York City and there established another law office in which he was the senior partner. He died in New York City on May 10, 1854, at age 46.
On December 13, 2011 another Chesselden Ellis was discovered, this one serving in the Massachusetts state government. Unlike the previous individual, this one has a face to place with the name!
From the Souvenir of Massachusetts Legislators, 1892.
Chesselden Leland Ellis was born on March 17, 1846, in West Woodstock, Connecticut. He is listed in the 1893 Souvenir of Massachusetts as a shoe and boot manufacturer in the South Brookfield area. He later served as a foreman for the G.H. Burt and Co. at South Brookfield. Little else is known of his life, except his marriage to Ellen Frances Holbrook, who predeceased him in death in 1925.
Ellis's inclusion here is due to his service in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives from 1892 to 1893. Both Ellis and his wife are buried in the Brookfield Cemetery, and a "C.L. Ellis" is listed as dying in 1936, making him around 90 at the time of his death. One can also wonder if these two men are possibly related, as the name Chesselden is quite unique in all respects.
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