George Edward Ellis
Encyclopedia
George Edward Ellis was a Unitarian
clergyman and historian
.
. He graduated from Harvard
in 1833, and then from the Divinity School
in 1836. After two years' travel in Europe
, he was ordained, on 11 March 1840, as pastor of the Harvard Unitarian Church, Charlestown, Massachusetts
. From 1857 until 1863, he was professor of systematic theology
in Harvard Divinity School
. In 1864 he delivered before the Lowell Institute
a course of lectures on the “Evidences of Christianity
,” in 1871 a course on the “Provincial History of Massachusetts,” and in 1879 a course on “The Red Man and the White Man in North America” (1882). He resigned the pastorate of Harvard Church on 22 February 1869.
From September 1842 to February 1845, Ellis edited the Christian Register
, at first alone and later with George Putnam, D.D. From 1849 to 1855, he edited the Christian Examiner
. He was vice president and then president of the Massachusetts Historical Society
, and was a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard in 1850-54, serving for one year as its secretary. Harvard gave him the degree of D.D. in 1857, and that of LL.D. in 1883. Ellis was the fourth person who had received both these degrees from Harvard.
He published numerous sermons and addresses, and contributed to periodicals. He also printed privately memoirs of Charles Wentworth Upham
and Edward Wigglesworth
(1877).
His brother, Rufus Ellis (born in Boston
, 14 September 1819; died in Liverpool
, 23 September 1885), was also a Unitarian clergyman. He graduated with honors from Harvard in 1838, and at the Cambridge Theological Seminary in 1841. He preached at Northampton, Massachusetts
, then became the first Unitarian pastor in Rochester, New York
, and returned to Northampton in 1843. From 1853 until his death, he was pastor of the First Church in Boston
. He was also lecturer in the Harvard Divinity School
in 1869 and 1871, and for several years before his death was editor of the Religious Monthly Magazine. Many of his discourses were published, including a series of sermons commemorating the 250th anniversary of the First Church, which were published in a volume (Boston, 1880).
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
clergyman and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
Biography
Ellis was born and died in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. He graduated from Harvard
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1833, and then from the Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
in 1836. After two years' travel in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, he was ordained, on 11 March 1840, as pastor of the Harvard Unitarian Church, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
. From 1857 until 1863, he was professor of systematic theology
Systematic theology
In the context of Christianity, systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that attempts to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs...
in Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
. In 1864 he delivered before the Lowell Institute
Lowell Institute
The Lowell Institute is an educational foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., providing for free public lectures, and endowed by the bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell, Jr., who died in 1836. Under the terms of his will 10% of the net income was to be added to the principal, which in...
a course of lectures on the “Evidences of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
,” in 1871 a course on the “Provincial History of Massachusetts,” and in 1879 a course on “The Red Man and the White Man in North America” (1882). He resigned the pastorate of Harvard Church on 22 February 1869.
From September 1842 to February 1845, Ellis edited the Christian Register
Christian Register
The Christian Register was the leading American Unitarian weekly, published by the American Unitarian Association, Boston, until 1957 when "becoming less and less focused on Christianity" the title was changed to The Unitarian Register...
, at first alone and later with George Putnam, D.D. From 1849 to 1855, he edited the Christian Examiner
Christian Examiner
The Christian Examiner is a Christian newspaper. The Christian Examiner is a monthly publication serving Southern California, Minnesota and Washington state. The newspapers report on regional, national and international news and events from a Christian perspective...
. He was vice president and then president of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
, and was a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard in 1850-54, serving for one year as its secretary. Harvard gave him the degree of D.D. in 1857, and that of LL.D. in 1883. Ellis was the fourth person who had received both these degrees from Harvard.
Works
- Lives of John MasonJohn MasonCaptain John Mason was born at King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, and educated at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. He was a sailor and colonizer. Mason was appointed the second Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland's Cuper's Cove colony in 1615, succeeding John Guy. Mason arrived on the island in 1616...
(1844), Anne HutchinsonAnne HutchinsonAnne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
(1845), and William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
(1847), in Spark's “American Biography” - Half Century of the Unitarian Controversy (Boston, 1857)
- Memoir of Dr. Luther V. Bell (1863)
- The Aims and Purposes of the Founders of Massachusetts, and their Treatment of Intruders and Dissentients (1869)
- Memoir of Jared SparksJared SparksJared Sparks was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard University from 1849 to 1853.-Biography:...
(1869) - Life of Benjamin ThompsonBenjamin ThompsonSir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford , FRS was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics. He also served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Loyalist forces in America during the American...
, Count Rumford, in connection with an edition of Rumford's complete works, issued by the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(1871) - History of the Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
(1872) - History of the Battle of Bunker HillBattle of Bunker HillThe Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
(1875) - Address on the Centennial of the Evacuation by the British Army, with an Account of the Siege of BostonSiege of BostonThe Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
(1876) - Memoir of Charles W. Upham (1877)
- Memoir of Jacob BigelowJacob BigelowJacob Bigelow was an American medical doctor, botanist, and architect of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Biography:...
(1880) - Memorial History of Boston, three historical chapters (1880-1)
- History of the First church in Boston, 1630-1880, with Arthur Blake Ellis (1881)
- The Red Man and the White Man in North America (1882)
- Memoir of Nathaniel ThayerNathaniel ThayerNathaniel Thayer was a congregational Unitarian minister.He was born in Hampton, New Hampshire to Ebenezer Thayer and Martha Olivia Cotton. His maternal grandfather was John Cotton of Newton, Massachusetts, who was the great-grandson of John Cotton...
(1885) - Address on the 82d Anniversary of the New York Historical Society (1886)
- Narrative and Critical History of America, “The Religious Element in New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
” and other chapters (1886) - The Puritan Age and Rule in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1629-85 (1888)
- Articles for the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
He published numerous sermons and addresses, and contributed to periodicals. He also printed privately memoirs of Charles Wentworth Upham
Charles Wentworth Upham
Charles Wentworth Upham was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Upham was also a member, and President of the Massachusetts State Senate, the 7th Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and twice a member of the Massachusetts State House of Representatives...
and Edward Wigglesworth
Edward Wigglesworth
Edward Wigglesworth was a clergyman and teacher in Colonial America.-Life:His father was clergyman and author Michael Wigglesworth ....
(1877).
Family
In 1840 he married Elizabeth Bruce Eager. They had one child. She died in 1842. In 1859, he married Lucretia Goddard Gould who died in 1869.His brother, Rufus Ellis (born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, 14 September 1819; died in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, 23 September 1885), was also a Unitarian clergyman. He graduated with honors from Harvard in 1838, and at the Cambridge Theological Seminary in 1841. He preached at Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
, then became the first Unitarian pastor in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, and returned to Northampton in 1843. From 1853 until his death, he was pastor of the First Church in Boston
First Church in Boston
First Church in Boston is a Unitarian Universalist Church founded in 1630 by John Winthrop's original Puritan settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. The current building is on 66 Marlborough Street in Boston.-History:...
. He was also lecturer in the Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
in 1869 and 1871, and for several years before his death was editor of the Religious Monthly Magazine. Many of his discourses were published, including a series of sermons commemorating the 250th anniversary of the First Church, which were published in a volume (Boston, 1880).