Famous People we are related to
Signer of the Decloration of Independence
William ELLERY

HISTORY of CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 1630-1877
page 238

page 537

Newport, R. I., Inhabitants of, John Bannister, 626; Governor Benedict, Freelove, Godsgift Arnold, 626; Thomas Brattle, 500; Admiral Jahleel Brenton, 626; Samuel Clark, 662; Elizabeth Ellery, 529; William Ellery, 529, 640; Edward Pelham, 626; Jonathan Titcomb, Esq., 662

page 621

Remington, Ann (Judge Jona., Jona., John) b. 19 Feb. 1725, m. William Ellery of Newport, R. I., 11 [Oct.] 1750, d. 7 Sept. 1764, she was the mother of Elizabeth Ellery who m. Chief Justice Dana, and of Lucy who m. William Channing, grandmother of William E. Channing D. D., Walter Channing M.D., and Prof. Edward T. Channing, 640

Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949
Biographies E page 1125

ELLERY, Christopher (nephew of William Ellery), a Senator from Rhode Island; born in Newport, R.I., November 1, 1768; was graduated from Yale College in 1787; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newport; clerk of the superior court of Newport County 1794-1798; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ray Greene and served from May 6, 1801, to March 3, 1805; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1804; appointed by President Jefferson as United States commissioner of loans at Providence, R.I., in 1806; appointed collector of customs at Newport and served from May 1, 1820, to July 7, 1834; died in Middletown, R.I., on December 2, 1840; interment in Island Cemetery, Newport, R.I.

ELLERY, William (uncle of Christopher Ellery), a Delegate from Rhode Island; born in Newport, R.I., on December 22, 1727; taught by private teachers; was graduated from Harvard College in 1747; naval officer of Rhode Island in 1754; clerk of the court of common pleas of Newport County in 1768 and 1769; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1770 and commenced practice in Newport, R.I.; elected a Member of the Continental Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel Ward and served from May 14, 1776, to 1781; one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; chosen to the newly constituted board of admiralty in 1779, with full oversight of the marine affairs of the Nation; again a Member of the Continental Congress 1783-1785; appointed chief justice of Rhode Island in 1785; appointed by the Continental Congress commissioner of the Continental Loan Office in 1786; collector of the port of Newport from 1790 until his death in Newport, R.I., February 15, 1820; interment in the Old Cemetery.

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans:
Volume III E

Ellery, William, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Newport, R.I., Dec. 22, 1727; son of William Ellery (1702-64), a graduate of Harvard, 1722, a merchant, judge, assistant and deputy governor of the province of Rhode Island; and grandson of Capt. Benjamin Ellery, who removed from Gloucester, Mass., to Newport and was assistant in 1741 under Governor Ward. William was graduated at Harvard in 1747, became a merchant in Newport, naval officer of the colony, one of the incorporators of Rhode Island college in 1764, and clerk of the general assembly, 1769-70. He became a lawyer in 1770, was a member of the committee of safety, 1775-76, of the committee of investigation, of the committee of military defences, and of a committee to bear a memorial to Washington at Cambridge. On the death of Gov. Samuel Ward, delegate to congress, he was chosen to fill the vacancy, and took his seat May 14, 1776, the colleague of Stephen Hopkins. He affixed his name to the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, and remained in the congress until 1781. He was re-elected in 1782 and served his second term, 1783-85. He was a member of the marine committee and subsequently of the board of admiralty. On leaving congress at the end of 1775 he found his home burned by the British soldiers, his treasures destroyed, and his native town, Newport, almost ruined. In April, 1786, he was elected by congress, loan commissioner for the state of Rhode Island, and in June, 1790, was appointed by President Washington collector of U.S. customs at Newport, retaining the later office till his death. He was married in 1750 to Ann, daughter of the Hon. Jonathan Remington of Cambridge, Mass. She died Sept. 7, 1764, aged 39, and his second wife, Abigail, died July 27, 1793, aged 51 years. His daughter Lucy was the mother of Dr. William Ellery Channing. He died in Newport, R.I., Feb. 15, 1820.

Volume 3 D
page 118

Dana, Francis, jurist, was born in Charlestown, Mass., June 13, 1743; son of Richard (1700-1772) and Lydia (Trowbridge) Dana. He was graduated at Harvard in 1762, studied law with his uncle, Judge Edmund Trowbridge, and was admitted to the bar in 1767. He joined the Sons of Liberty, where he discussed with his fellow patriots the right of taxation, and his law practice consisted largely of causes involving civil and political rights. In 1773 he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of William Ellery of Newport, R.I., afterward a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In April, 1774, he went to England, ostensibly to visit his brother, the Rev. Edmund Dana, settled there, but primarily to represent the patriots of Massachusetts among their friends in England, hoping thereby to avert a conflict by securing a modification of the oppressive laws. He prolonged his visit to two years, but finding no hope for an adjustment, he returned to America in April, 1776, and so reported to the patriots. He was a member of the Massachusetts council, 1776-80, a delegate to Continental congress after November, 1776, too late to sign the Declaration of Independence, but he affixed his signature to the articles of confederation. He was chairman of the committee on the reorganization of the army, of the committee to visit the soldiers at Valley Forge in 1778, and of the committee to consider the conciliatory proposals of Lord North, which were unanimously rejected. In 1779 he was secretary of legation to France, with power to treat for peace and commerce with Great Britain, and he accompanied John Adams on the mission, arriving at Paris early in 1780. They subsequently visited Holland to negotiate a loan for the United States and on his return to Paris he found his commission as U.S. minister to Russia and proceeded to St. Petersburg in the summer of 1781. The Empress Catherine did not receive him officially, fearing the displeasure of England and wishing to act as mediator between the two countries, but he was accorded access to the minister of foreign affairs and reported the political condition to Robert R. Livingston, the American secretary of foreign affairs. After two years' residence at the court of St. Petersburg, Mr. Dana, considering that he had remained as long as appeared to him compatible with the dignity of his country, obtained leave from congress and left St. Petersburg in September, 1783, returning to Boston. In 1784 he was again in congress as a delegate and at the beginning of 1785 he left congress, having been appointed to a seat on the supreme bench of Massachusetts. He was appointed a delegate to the Philadelphia convention of 1787, which framed the constitution, but ill health prevented his attendance. He was, [p.118] however, a member of the Massachusetts convention of 1788 called to decide upon the adoption of the instrument and took a leading part in that historical gathering in advocating the measure. In November, 1791, he was appointed chief justice of Massachusetts. He was a presidential elector in 1789, 1793, 1801 and 1809. He was obliged to decline the appointment made by President Adams in 1797 as envoy to France with C. C. Pinckney and John Marshall, as well as to resign the post of chief justice in 1806, on account of his health. He was a founder of the American academy of arts and sciences and its vice-president. He received from Harvard the degree of A.M. in 1765 and that of LL.D. in 1792. He died in Cambridge, Mass., April 25, 1811

Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography
page 152

BROOKS, CHARLES TIMOTHY, clergyman, author, was born June 20, 1813, in Salem, Mass. He was a Unitarian clergyman of Newport, R. I., in 1837-73. His other work includes "Songs of Field and Flood"; "The Simplicity of Christ"; "William Ellery Channing: a Centennial Memory"; and Poems Original and Translated. He died June 14, 1883, in Newport, R. I.

page 206

CHANNING, EDWARD TYRREL, educator, author, was born Dec. 12, 1790, in Newport, R. I. He was a professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard university; and was the author of "Life of William Ellery"; and "Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory". He died Feb. 8, 1856, in Cambridge, Mass.

CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY, clergyman, author, was born April 7, 1780, in Newport, R. I. He was a unitarian theologian of eminence, who became pastor of the Federal street church in Boston in 1803. He was the foremost theologian in America in his time, and his influence is still great. He wrote upon philanthropic and social as well as religious and ethical questions, and was a noted opponent of slavery. His writings have been translated into French, Italian, German, Icelandic, Russian, and Hungarian. "Evidences of Revealed Religion" "Self-Culture". He is the author of "Essay on Milton" and "The Duty of the Free States", are among his most notable works. He died Oct. 2, 1842, in Bennington, Vt.

CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY, author, poet, was born June 10, 1818, in Boston, Mass. He is the author of "The Wanderer"; "Near Home"; "Eliot"; and <"I>John Brown". "Thoreau, the Poet Naturalist"; and "Conversations in Rome between an Artist, a Catholic, and a Critic", are prose volumes.

page 335

ELLERY, WILLIAM, lawyer, jurist, congressman, was born Dec. 22, 1727, in Newport, R.I. He was a delegate to the continental congress from 1776 to 1780, and from 1783 to 1785. He as a signer of the declaration of independence, and also of the articles of confederation. In 1786 he was appointed commissioner of loans for Rhode Island; and was elected chief justice of the state. In 1789 he was appointed, by President Washington, collector of Newport, which office he held until his death, which occurred Feb. 15, 1820, in Newport, R.I.

Back to Famous People we are related to

Back to The Decloration of Independance

Back to Our Genealogy Home Page.