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- In 1700, Rowland Ellis represented the Welsh Tract, or at least Merion, in the Assembly, and generally he was an active man in Welsh affairs, and because of his sound judgment in all cases, civil and religious, he was highly respected,
*"The Commander-in-Chief, with great pleasure, expresses his approbation of the behavior of the Pensylvania Militia yesterday, under General Potter, on the vigorous opposition they made to a body of the enemy on the other side of the Schuylkill." From "Orderly Book," 12 Dec. 1777.
not only by the Welsh Quakers, but in the Province generally. His last attendance at Quarterly Meeting was in Philadelphia on 31. 6mo. 1731.
Mr. Ellis was taken suddenly ill, after attending meeting at Gwynedd, and died in 7mo. 1731, in his 80th year, at the home of his son-in-law, John Evans, in "North Wales," or Plymouth, Philadelphia Co. (where he lived in 1717), and was buried there in the ground of the Gwynedd Monthly Meeting, which Meeting prepared a Memorial respecting him, stating he had "a gift in the ministry which was acceptable and to edification."
About 1672, Rowland Ellis* was married first to his cousin, Margaret Ellis, daughter of Ellis Morris, of Dolgun, and by her had a son and a daughter:
- (Research):ELLIS , ROWLAND ( 1650 - 1731 ), Welsh-American Quaker ; b. at Bryn Mawr in the parish of Dolgelley, Mer. , 1650 , son of Ellis ap Rees . He m. twice: (1) c . 1692 , Margaret , daughter of Ellis Morris , (2) Margaret , daughter of Robert ab Owen . He joined the Society of Friends c. 1672 and because he was steadfast in his new faith he suffered persecution and imprisonment. After the founding of Pennsylvania he sent Thomas Owen and his family over to make a settlement. On 16 Oct. 1686 , together with his son Rowland and about 100 of his neighbours, he sailed from Milford Haven to Pennsylvania . He arrived in Philadelphia in April 1687 , and settled at Bryn Mawr , now Lower Merion . After making arrangements to make this place his new home he returned to Wales in 1688 and, later, returned again to Pennsylvania with the remainder of his family. Being a man of ability, of good education and estate, and interested in public affairs, he was in 1700 elected to represent Philadelphia in the assembly of his province. He was a good and zealous worker with the Quakers , to whom he was able to minister in the Welsh language. Ellis translated into English David Lloyd 's revision of Ellis Pugh 's Annerch ir Cymru ( Philadelphia , 1721 \emdash see Pugh , Ellis ) \emdash the first Welsh book printed in America . The translation appeared in 1727 at Philadelphia under the title of A Salutation to the Britains . (There were London editions in 1732 , 1739 , and 1793 .) Ellis bought a tract of land in Plymouth which he made his home after selling his Merion plantation. He d. early in Sept. 1731 , at the home of his son-in-law, John Evans , in Gwynedd , and was buried in the Friends' burial ground at Plymouth . Bryn Mawr College (now University) for women is a reminder of the Bryn Mawr in Wales where Rowland Ellis was born.
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