Life

Ellis was the second son of Thomas Ellis, from Llandegwning

Llandegwning

Llandegwning is a village and former civil parish in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The parish was abolished in 1934, and incorporated into Botwnnog....

, Llŷn

Llyn

Llyn is the Welsh word for "lake" or, occasionally, "pond" or "pool". The word and its cognates in other Celtic languages , as well their derivatives—including lyn, lynn and lin—appear in many placenames throughout the current and former Celtic world, as, for example, in Dublin and King's...

. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

, matriculating

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

 there on 31 March 1690 aged 16. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1693 and his Master of Arts degree in 1696. He was also appointed as a Fellow of Jesus College in 1696, holding this position until 1713. In 1703, he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Divinity

Bachelor of Divinity

In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....

. He was ordained deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

 on 7 September 1707, with his ordination to the priesthood taking place on 4 July 1708. He was then appointed rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of Llandwrog

Llandwrog

Llandwrog is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport...

 on 30 September 1710; in the same year, he was made a Canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....

. In 1713, he was made prebend of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd

Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd

Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd is a village in Denbighshire, Wales, situated in the Vale of Clwyd about one mile south of the town of Ruthin. By the 2001 census, it had 1048 residents and 50.6% of them could speak Welsh. The age group with the highest percentage of Welsh speakers was the 15 year olds where...

 and surrendered his position at Bangor Cathedral. On 24 July 1719, he became rector of Llanbedr-y-cennin

Llanbedr-y-Cennin

Llanbedr-y-Cennin is a small village in Conwy county borough, Wales.It lies in the foothills on the western side of the Conwy valley, in North Wales. The river Conwy runs through the valley, running into the sea to the north, at the town of Conwy, which is about five miles north of the village. ...

 and vicar of Caerhun

Caerhun

Caerhun is a village and rural community on the west bank of the River Conwy, to the south of Henryd and to the north of Dolgarrog, in Conwy County Borough, north Wales. The population was 1200 at the 2001 Census.-Features:...

. His wife, Catherine (whom he married on 13 May 1720), was the step-sister of Humphrey Humphreys

Humphrey Humphreys

Humphrey Humphreys was successively bishop of Bangor and of Hereford .-Life:He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford and was later a Fellow of the college. A patron of Welsh literature, genealogical research and of the then newly-formed Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge...

, Bishop of Bangor

Bishop of Bangor

The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...

 from 1689 to 1701. Only one of their children survived infancy, also called John, becoming vicar of Bangor

Bangor, Gwynedd

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...

. Ellis had a particular interest in antiquarian matters and assisted with Browne Willis

Browne Willis

Browne Willis was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708.-Early life:...

's work A Survey of the Cathedral Church of Bangor in 1721, as Willis acknowledged. Ellis himself died at Llanbedr-y-cennin in July 1735 and was buried in the parish on 12 July 1735.