History and Genealogy Research
WILLIAM ALEXANDER ELLIS
William A. Ellis of North Fork was
for a quarter of a century a supervisor of Madera County, and for
sixteen years he was the chairman of the board. Since 1926 he has given
his attention chiefly to managing his 2400 acres of land near North
Fork on the San Joaquin River.
William Alexander Ellis was
born at Coulterville, Mariposa County, September 3, 1874, the son of
Arthur C. and Dora (Wagner) Ellis. The family came to California in
1851, driving across the plains. The father mined in Mariposa County,
raised stock and later engaged in the lumber business, and located on a
farm. He moved to North Fork in 1890, and died in 1906.
W. A.
Ellis attended the Greeley school near Coulterville until 1888, and
then worked on his father's ranch, and he worked in sawmills and drove
oxen for part of two summers. At North Fork he was employed in a box
factory for a time. He also engaged in mountain road construction for
the Peckinpah and Pierce Lumber Company, and he hauled the first load
of freight to the Crane Valley dam of the San Joaquin Light and Power
Company. When he was twenty years old, he voted in favor of the
separation of Madera County from Fresno County.
Mr. Ellis was
elected supervisor in 1902 and served for twenty-four years. He was
chairman of the board during 1908-24. Since 1924 he has engaged in
stock raising and ranching.
Mr. Ellis served as a school
trustee for a number of years at North Fork. He was frequently named as
delegate to conventions of the Democratic Party, both local and state.
He was elected foreman of the Madera county grand jury in 1932. He is a
member of the Madera Businessmen's club.
Mr. Ellis married
Myrtle, daughter of Charles O'Neal, pioneer and founder of O'Neal's.
Their son William M. Ellis is in the United States Forest Service at
North Fork. Another son died many years ago.
From the History of Fresno and Madera Counties, 1933, Joseph Barcroft, editor for Madera County.
submitted by Carol Lackey
MARIPOSA COUNTY FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES
MARIPOSA COUNTY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY