Captain William Ellis, 3rd Regiment, New Hampshire Continental Line
William Ellis was born April 23, 1738 in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was the son of Eleazer and Mary (Crosby) Ellis. In Springfield Parish on February 18, 1763, William married Mehitable Ellis, the daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Fisher) Ellis. After their marriage, William and Mehitable removed to Keene, New Hampshire.
On November 8, 1776, William Ellis was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the 3rd Regiment, New Hampshire Continental Line. On May 4, 1777, First Lieutenant Ellis was promoted to Captain with duties as Commander of the 8th Company of the 3rd NH.
During the Continental Army’s encampment at Valley Forge, Captain Ellis is listed as commanding the Third Company of the 3rd New Hampshire. He is further marked as “Present” for December 1777, “Furlough” from January to April 1778, and finally as “Sick/Absent” for May 1778 and “Present” in June of 1778.
Captain William Ellis resigned on June 30, 1780.
Sources:Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army, (Baltimore, 1914), 215; The State of New Hampshire, Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, Volume XIV: 1775 to May, 1777, (Concord, 1885); Frank Smith, Biographical Sketch of the Residents of that Part of Dedham, which is now Dover, (Dover, 1909), 31; Selected Wartime Service Records for Captain William Ellis.
