Description:An abridged version of his biography from the Handsworth Magazine. The full version is available for download.
It is no exaggeration to say that the name of Ellis is a household word in Handsworth. It is the patronymic of men who have assisted very materially in making the place a worthy neighbour of “the best governed city in the world” and undoubtedly we should be lacking in judgement if we failed to include in “Our Picture Gallery” the present head of the family, Councillor William Adcock Ellis, J.P.
Mr W A Ellis is a son of the late William Medlicott Ellis, of The Willows, Perry Barr, a justice of the peace for the County of Stafford and the then Borough of Birmingham and of Elizabeth, the first wife of this worthy magistrate. His mother was the daughter of Samuel Clarke Adcock, of the parish of Shenstone, near Lichfield, and it is from this circumstance that he derives his second name. Shortly after their marriage his parents came to reside in Hunter’s Lane, Handsworth, and there the subject of our sketch was born in 1845. As soon as he was old enough to commence his studies he was sent to a private school in Worcestershire, and there mastered the three R’s. In 1856, he was admitted, on the foundation of King Edward’s School, New Street, and under the tuition of the Rev. E H Gifford (headmaster) and his staff of masters, completed his school career.
When the Christmas vacation of 1859 came round he bade goodbye to his schooldays and entered upon the more serious business of his life. His grandfather, Mr Charles Ellis, of Thornhill Cottage, Soho Road, in partnership with the late William Mendicott Ellis and A Adcock Ellis, carried on the business of metal platers, casters and rollers at 65 Constitution Hill, Birmingham, and Wychall Rolling Mills, King’s Norton. Mr W A Ellis was admitted into the firm and is now second senior partner.
In the year 1867 he married Mary Emily, daughter of the late William Mackenzie Eglington, of Aldridge, an amiable and gifted lady who passed over to the great majority in 1875, leaving her husband three handsome boys as pledges of their affection. The eldest son, William Eglington Ellis, entered into holy orders and is now vicar of Long Itchington, near Rugby – a living at the disposal of Lord Leigh and Mr W A Ellis.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Mr W A Ellis has always taken an active interest in work of a public nature. When a young man he acted as teacher in a night school, presided over by the Rev. H R Peel – an estimable gentleman who when rector of Handsworth, had under him as curate the Rev. the Honourable Augustus Legge, now Bishop of Lichfield. At the time of which we are writing there were no School Boards and evening continuation classes were unthought of. Hence the necessity for night schools. These institutions would perhaps compare but ill with the magnificent elementary schools of today, but many a working man had just cause to be grateful for their aid. The night school with which Mr Eillis became identified was held in a large room in Heathfield Road, over premises now occupied by Mr Gibson, veterinary surgeon, and had a career of unqualified success.
Mr Ellis is a staunch upholder of the State Church. In his younger years he attended St Paul’s, Birmingham, where his father held office as people’s warden and is now a member of the Handsworth Parish Church. He is not an admirer of the Ritualistic party and regards with aversion the introduction of many so-called popular features of Divine service. A Conservative to the backbone, he is always a little suspicious of innovations, but his love for the Church itself is shown in a hundred ways. Between 1860 and 1864 a great incentive to church work in Handsworth was given by the Rev. H R Peel, Rector. St Michael’s Church had been built a few years before and under the pastorate of the Rev. G D Boyle, now Dean of Salisbury, was speedily filled. Mr Charles Ellis, the grandfather of our subject, who passed away in 1867 at the ripe age of 81, took a foremost part in the building of this church and was afterwards one of the first trustees of St Michael’s Schools.
Holy Trinity Church was built shortly after and Mr W M Ellis did good work upon the Building Committee.
In 1887, Mr Ellis entered the lists of candidates for the Local Board, as a champion of the scheme, which then exercised the attention of the district for acquiring land as a park. He encountered strong opposition, but was successful in his candidature. It certainly seems strange in the light of recent events that the proposal to reserve a score or so of acres of open land for recreation purposes should have provoked opposition but such was the case and had not Mr Ellis and others equally far-sighted stuck manfully to their guns, the Victoria Park, of which we are so justly proud would never have been opened. The forward policy initiated by the Board was not allowed to drop and we can see the results of it in our improved sanitation, handsome Technical School and institutions of various kinds. At the expiration of his three years of office Mr Ellis had again to fight for his seat and we may add that all the elections in which he has been concerned were contested. He was re-elected with a good majority at his back and in 1891, the years which saw Mr David Rose elected as Chairman of the Board, he was appointed Chairman of the Sanitary Committee, a position which he has held with the greatest credit to himself and the authority of which he is a member ever since. The office has been anything but a sinecure. For long the attention of the committee was directed to finding a solution of the difficulty experienced in the removal and disposal of house refuse. Pressure was brought to bear upon the contractor for this department of the committee’s work whenever the applications fell into arrears and as this was the normal state of affairs, both contractor and committee were plunged into perplexity. At one time the number of arrears was no less than 1,000. Verily a nice situation this! Complaints poured into the nuisance inspector’s office in perfect shoals and then overflowed into the ready columns of the local press. Indignation ran high, columns of abusive letters were printed, editorials were written to prove to the point of demonstration that, owing to the foulness of the ash pits which, to the extent of a thousand or more were polluting the atmosphere and demoralising the wretched taxpayers upon whose houses they abutted, an epidemic of smallpox or some other loathsome disease would inevitably ensue; and altogether it was evident that to be a District Councillor and especially a member of the Sanitary Committee, one must be very resourceful and a very cool-headed individual indeed. Mr Ellis and his colleagues quickly rose to the occasion. They realised at once that the only satisfactory way out of trouble was to make the Council directly responsible for the work. This was done. The services of the contractor were dispensed with; his duties were taken over by the committee; and in a very short time the arrears were cleared off. Since then all has been plain sailing. There are no complaints and a refuse destructor is being erected in Queen’s Head Lane at a cost of £8,500.
Mr Ellis has also interested himself in educational matters. During the first School Board election in Handsworth he acted as hon. sec. to the Bible Teaching Party and had the satisfaction of seeing the whole of this party returned. He is a consistent advocate of the voluntary systems and is a liberal supporter of St Michael’s Schools. In 1890 he was appointed by the managers of these schools hon. sec., and Government correspondent and still fulfils the duties devolving upon him in this capacity. It says much for the success of these schools that the number of scholars has increased since 1890 from 386 to 512. Mr Ellis is a governor of the Bridge Trust School and a member of the Technical School Committee. Within the past few weeks his p