Biography:

Dr. Daniel David Ellis was born in Wallace Township (Perth County), Ontario on the 6th of January, 1859.  Dr. Ellis was the 4th of 5 children born to Elijah Ellis and the former Margaret Singleton.  His father was a shoemaker and a farmer and his siblings were; William Stewart Ellis, Emily Ellis, Harvey B. Ellis and Parker Ellis.  His father was born in Fermanagh, Ireland and his mother was born in Megantic, Quebec.

Dr. Ellis graduated from the Victoria College of Medicine in Coburg in 1885.  According to the 1892 Ontario Medical Register, Dr. Ellis joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons on the 29 April, 1885.  After his graduation, Dr. Ellis settled in Tilbury to practice medicine.

Dr. Ellis married Wilhelmina Hess on the 24th of April, 1889 in Toronto, Ontario.  Mrs. Ellis was born on the 17th of February, 1865 in Berlin, (now known as Kitchener) Ontario.  She was the 2nd of 7 children born to John George Hess and the former Elizabeth Christine Hueffner.  Her parents were born in Germany but they met and married in Ontario.  According to the 1871 census, the Hess family lived in Listowel.  Mrs. Ellis’s father was a cabinet maker and furniture manufacturer who served on the Listowel Town Council and was the Mayor in 1883.  Mr. Hess represented Perth North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1883 until 1890.  In 1893 Mr. Hess was named as a Customs Collector for the Town of Stratford and served in that capacity until his death in 1915.  Mrs. Ellis’s siblings were; Elizabeth Hess, Emma M. Hess, Robert Oscar Hess (who died on the 25th of January, 1885 at the age of 14), Anna Julia Hess (who died at the age of 2 months of pertussis), Wilhelm Ludwig Hess and Winnifred Christina Hess (who died at the age of 40 days).

After their marriage, Dr. and Mrs. Ellis lived in Tilbury for a short period of time.  Dr. Ellis was listed in the 1886 Elgin Kent Essex and Lambton Business Directory and the 1887 Ontario Business Directory and Gazetteer under the subtitle of Tilbury.  While in Tilbury Dr. Ellis joined the Orange Lodge Association.

Dr. and Mrs. Ellis moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1889 and practiced medicine in Stratford until 1894.  While in Stratford Dr. Ellis served as the Medical Officer of Health and he was a surgeon for the Perth County Militia.  Dr. and Mrs. Ellis moved to Fleming, Saskatchewan in 1894 and their son Elijah John Ellis was born there on the 7th of January, 1897.

In 1905, Dr. Ellis was elected as the Provincial Rights Party member for the neighboring town of Moosomin and served until 1908.  This was the first Provincial Election in Saskatchewan.  In 1910 Dr. Ellis was elected as the Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge (GOL) of Saskatchewan.  Dr. Ellis served as the Grand Master of the GOL of Canada from 1914 until 1918.  In 1916, Dr. Ellis was elected as the Mayor of Fleming and he continued to care for his patients.  According to the 1921 census, Dr. and Mrs. Ellis were still residing in Fleming, Saskatchewan, but shortly after that census was completed, Dr. and Mrs. Ellis moved back to Listowel.

Dr. Ellis died on the 10th of September, 1927 at the Listowel Memorial Hospital.  Mrs. Ellis died in 1947.  Dr. and Mrs. Ellis are buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Listowel.  Mrs. Ellis’s parents and some of her siblings are also buried at the Fairview Cemetery.

*Dr. Ellis’ son, Elijah Ellis was killed in action during World War I on the 26th of October, 1917.  Elijah Ellis was buried in Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery in Belgium.  He had enlisted in Kingston in 1915 while he was a student at Queen’s University.  At the time of his death, Elijah John Ellis was 20 years old and he was the only child of Dr. and Mrs. Ellis.