Life

Ellis was born at Ystumllyn, near Criccieth

Criccieth

Criccieth is a town and community on Cardigan Bay, in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It has a population of 1,826....

, Caernarvonshire. He matriculated

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...

 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...

 in 1640, graduating with a B.A.

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 1644, and taking his M.A. degree in 1646. In 1648, when the Parliamentary

Roundhead

"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...

 visitors came to the college during the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, Ellis was asked whether he meant to submit to the authority of Parliament, he replied that he could not "without the hazard of shipwrackinge of my soule". He later submitted and was appointed Fellow of the College in 1649, although he was a critic of the Parliamentary-appointed Principal, Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts (college principal)

Michael Roberts was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1648 to 1657.-Life:Roberts came from the parish of Llanffinan in Anglesey, Wales, but his date of birth is uncertain. He graduated with a BA from Trinity College, Dublin in 1620 and was incorporated at Oxford and Cambridge in 1624...

. Ellis kept his fellowship on the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

, becoming vice-principal under Francis Mansell

Francis Mansell

Francis Mansell was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford on three occasions: from 1620 to 1621; from 1630 to 1648, when he was ejected during the English Civil War; and from 1660 to 1661. He had previously studied at the college.-References:...

. He hoped to be appointed to succeed Mansell in 1661, but the position went to Leoline Jenkins

Leoline Jenkins

Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...

 and Ellis then gave up his teaching duties (although he retained his fellowship until 1667).

Ellis had a particular interest in the study of Welsh history. However, his publication record was not without difficulty. Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt intended to publish a new edition of The Historie of Cambria by David Powel

David Powel

David Powel was a Welsh Church of England clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584.-Life:...

 and asked Ellis to complete the work, using Vaughan's notes as well as his own. However in 1663, after 128 sheets of the book had been printed, Ellis complained that all of Vaughan's material had been published in 1661 by Percie Enderbie and refused to continue. Memoirs of Owen Glendowr, published in 1775, was attributed to Ellis, but Sir John Edward Lloyd

John Edward Lloyd

Sir John Edward Lloyd , was a Welsh historian, the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest, 2 vols...

 later showed that Vaughan had written it, with Ellis simply being the copyist.

In 1665, King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

, his court and Parliament moved to Oxford to escape the plague, and Ellis's fortunes improved. He succeeded his kinsman John Ellis

John Ellis (clergyman died 1665)

John Ellis was a Welsh Anglican clergyman and religious writer.-Life:Ellis was bortn at Gwylan, Maentwrog, Merionethshire. He was educated at Hart Hall, Oxford . He was ordained deacon in 1621 and priest in 1622...

 as 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 St Mary's, Dolgellau

Dolgellau

Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...

, Merionethshire

Merionethshire

Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...

. He died in April 1673 in Ystumllyn, and was buried there.