Please turn your device to landscape view for wide tables like those below.
Ellis Wilson
Member From: 1869 - 1871
- Birth Date: 1824 Birth Place:Dinwiddie County, Virginia
- Death Date: September 1904
- Gender: Male Race: African American
- Spouse: Biddy A.
- Children:
- Religion: Baptist
- Education:
- Military Service:
- Occupation/Profession: Farmer and Minister
-
Additional Info Links:
Bio from Virginia's Martin Luther King Jr. Commission
Encyclopedia Virginia Biography
- Bio: Ellis Wilson, born into slavery, was a member of the House of Delegates from 1869 to 1871 who may have constructed coffins for the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands before winning a two-year term representing Dinwiddie County. He voted against measures that built racial segregation and discrimination into the new public school system. In the debate over how to deal with Virginia’s crippling prewar debt, Ellis voted for the bill that refinanced the antebellum public debt. When his term in the House of Delegates ended, he did not seek reelection and returned to his life as a farmer and as an ordained Baptist minister. Wilson died in September 1904.
| Session | District | District Number | Party | Leadership | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869-1871 | Dinwiddie | Retrenchment and the Economy |
*The information within this interactive and searchable application has been researched extensively by the House Clerk’s Office. As with any historical records of this age and breadth, there may be discrepancies and/or inconsistencies within records obtained from a variety of credible sources. Any feedback is encouraged at history@house.virginia.gov.