known. He was the son of Pukeesheno, a chief of the Shawnees, and a brother of the famous Tecumseh. He possessed in 1808 a tract of country near the confluence of the Tippecanoe with the Wabash. With him was a band of about a thousand warriors belonging to various tribes. He administered the affairs of his followers so badly that in a short time he was deserted by all but about three
hundred, and these were in a most wretched state of existence. At this juncture Tecumseh appeared among them, and assumed the direction of affairs, acting, however, in the name of the prophet. In 1809 the government directed Gov. William H. Harrison to purchase of the Delawares, Miamis, and Pottawatamies a large tract of country on both sides of the Wabash, and extending up the river sixty miles beyond Vincennes. This tract included the section settled upon by the prophet and his band, and the purchase led to the famous interview between Harrison and Tecumseh. The prophet is next heard of at the battle of Tippecanoe, 4 Nov., 1811. where he directed or ordered the attack. During the action he was performing conjurations on an eminence in the vicinity, but out of the reach of danger. After the end of the war between Great Britain and the United States the prophet received a pension from the British government, and resided in Canada till 1826, when, together with the only surviving son of Tecumseh and others, he settled beyond the Mississippi. The accounts relative to his character, and his pretensions as a prophet, are conflicting. There can, however, be but little doubt that the Indians generally regarded him as possessing the gift of prescience in an eminent degree. In his fiftieth year, while in the act of lighting his pipe, he fell back upon his bed, and became apparently lifeless. Preparations were made for his interment, but during his removal for that purpose he revived. His first words were: “Don't be alarmed. I have seen heaven. Call the nation together, that I may tell them what has appeared to me.” When the people had assembled, he told them that he had been conducted to the gates of heaven by two young men sent by the Great Spirit, and that the Great Spirit was angry with them, and would destroy them unless they refrained thenceforth from drunkenness, lying, and stealing. See Edward Eggleston's “Tecumseh and the Shawnee Prophet” (New York, 1878).
ELLSLER, Fanny, dancer, b. in Vienna, Austria, 23 June, 1810; d. there, 27 Nov., 1884. She began her career at six years of age, and at the age of seventeen, with her sister, who was two years her senior, appeared on the stage at Naples. In 1830 the two performed in Berlin, afterward in Vienna, and in 1834 went to the opera-house in Paris. Fanny was much preferred for her grace, agility, and beauty, and caused an excitement among theatre-goers in the French capital. In 1840 she came to this country and appeared at the Park theatre in several ballets with immense
success, finally making a general tour through the principal cities of the United States. She returned to England in 1842, visited Russia and Germany professionally, and took leave of the stage at Vienna in 1851. Most of her later years were spent in retirement at her villa near Hamburg. She was tall and slender, and her features regular, animated, and winning. In sprightliness, combined with grace, she has never been excelled.
ELLSWORTH, Ephraim Elmer, soldier, b. in Mechanicsville, Saratoga co., N. Y., 23 April, 1837; d. in Alexandria, Va., 24 May, 1861. After entering mercantile life in Troy and New York city, he removed at an early age to Chicago, where he studied law, and became a solicitor of patents. In 1860 he organized a regiment of zouaves, which became renowned for the perfection of their discipline, and of which he was commissioned colonel. He accompanied Lincoln to Washington in 1861, and proceeded thence to New York, where in April he organized a zouave regiment composed of firemen. Of this regiment he was appointed colonel, and sent to Alexandria, Va. Seeing a Confederate flag floating above a hotel owned by a man named Jackson, Ellsworth rushed to the roof and tore down the flag. On his way from the roof he was met and shot dead by Jackson, who in turn was immediately killed by one of Ellsworth's men, Frank E. Brownell.
ELLSWORTH, Erastus Wolcott, poet, b. in East Windsor, Conn., 27 Nov., 1822. He was graduated at Amherst college in 1844, and studied law, but was diverted from the profession by a taste for mechanics, and has occupied himself chiefly as an inventor. In 1845 he took out patents for a drawing or copying instrument, and for a device for making a siphon discharge a portion of its contents at the highest point. He then entered an extensive foundry. His first published poem, entitled “The Yankee,” appeared in 1849; his best and longest is “Ariadne,” originally printed in the “International Magazine” (1852); his most popular is “Tuloom.” Some of his fugitive pieces were collected and published (Hartford, 1855).
ELLSWORTH, Mary Wolcott, writer, b. in Exeter, N. H., in 1830; d. in Newton, Mass., 12 Aug., 1870. Her maiden name, under which she wrote, was Janvrin. She was educated at the Exeter female seminary, and began her literary career at eighteen years of age with a prize tale for a Boston journal. She afterward wrote both prose and verse for periodicals, and in 1858 began an engagement as a regular contributor to “Godey's Lady's Book.” Miss Janvrin edited and wrote biographical articles for “Cypress Leaves” (Boston, 1857); and published “Peace, or the Stolen Will” (Boston, 1857), and “An Hour with the Children” (Boston, 1860). She also compiled a series of books entitled “The Juvenile Miscellany” (Boston, 1858).
ELLSWORTH, Oliver, jurist, b. in Windsor, Conn., 29 April, 1745; d. there, 26 Nov., 1807. He entered Yale in 1762, but afterward went to Princeton, where he was graduated in 1766. with high rank as a scholar. After a year's study of theology he abandoned it for the law, and was admitted to the bar of Hartford county in 1771. He married in the following year*, and for three years divided his attention between farming and practice. Becoming states' attorney in 1775, he sold his farm, removed to Hartford, and soon acquired a larger and more remunerative practice than any other member of the Connecticut bar. As a Whig he was chosen, at the outbreak of the Revolution, to represent Windsor in the general assembly, was
