History of Davidson County North Carolina United States of America

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John Willis Ellis, governor of North Carolina, was born in Rowan (afterward Davidson) county, N.C., Nov. 23, 1820; son of Anderson and Judith (Bailey) Ellis. He attended the schools of Salisbury, N.C.; an academy at Beattie's Ford, N.C., and Randolph-Macon college for one term; and was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1841. He studied law under Chief Justice Richmond Pearson of North Carolina and was admitted to the bar in 1842, practising in Salisbury, N.C. He was a member of the state house of representatives, 1844, 1846 and 1848; and a judge of the superior court of the state, 1848-58. In 1858 he was elected governor of North Carolina and was re-elected in 1860, serving 1859-62. He was married Aug. 25, 1844, to Mary, daughter of the Hon. Philo White, U.S. minister to Ecuador; and second, Aug. 11, 1858, to Mary McKinlay, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth (Ginham) Daves of Newbern, N.C. By his second wife he had two daughters: Mary, born June 9, 1859, was married to William H. Knowles of Pensacola, Fla.; and Jane Graham (born Oct. 8, 1860, died May 25, 1897) was married to Maj. William Trent Russell, U.S.A. Governor Ellis died at Red Sulphur Springs, Va., July 7, 1861.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

John Franklin Heitman, educator, was born in Davidson county, N.C., April 17, 1840; son of Henry N. and Eve (McCrary) Heitman, and grandson of John F. C. and Nancy Heitman; and of John and Sarah McCrary. His paternal grandfather, John F. C. Heitman, came to America from Germany early in the nineteenth century' and his maternal great2 grandfather, Hugh McCrary, came from Ireland about 1760-70. He entered Trinity college, N.C., in 1861, and the following year joined the Confederate army serving until the close of the war, being woundedn at Fredericksburg, captured near Appomattox and imprisoned for several months On Johnson's Island. He was graduated from Trinity college in 1868, and soon after entered the Methodist Episcopal ministry and preached in various places until 1881. In 1882 he founded and became editor of the North Carolina Educational Journal which he continued until 1887. In 1883 he accepted the professorship of Greek and German in Trinity college, and was transferred successively to the chairs of German and metaphysics, Greek and metaphysics, and metaphysics and theology. He was chairman of the faculty and president of the college, ex officio, 1884-87. On the removal of the college to Durham, N.C., he resigned his professorship and became headmaster of Trinity high school, established in the old college building.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Davidson County North Carolina

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