Poet, Humorist, columnist, raconteur and soldier,
James Tandy Ellis was born June 9, 1868 in the city
of Ghent, Carroll County, Kentucky. James was the
second son of Dr. Peter Clarkson and Drusilla
(Tandy) Ellis. In his early years he attended school
at the old Ghent College. He attended the
Agricultural and Mechanical College, now the
University of Kentucky, in Lexington, where he
received his initial military training while
attending the college. Ellis continued his education
at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Ohio.
On June 30, 1898 he married Harriet Bainbridge
Richardson of Lexington. To this union two children
were born; James Tandy Ellis Jr., who died in
infancy and Drusilla who died at age five. (Wedding
Announcement from the New York Times July
1, 1898, Wednesday)
While living in Owensboro, Kentucky, and
serving as vice-president of the local water
company, Ellis joined the local Guard unit, Company
C, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Kentucky State
Guard. On November 27, 1900, he was elected its
Captain. On July 7, 1902, Ellis was elected Major of
the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, Kentucky State
Guard.
Ellis
resigned from the Kentucky State Guard on June 30,
1904, taking up newspaper work in Washington D.C.,
going there as secretary to Kentucky Congressman
A.O. Stanley. It is not clear when he returned to
Kentucky and the Guard, however on January 9, 1912,
he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General, with
the rank of Colonel by Governor James B. McCreary, a
position he held until his appointment as the 26th
Adjutant General on September 2, 1914. Ellis served
in the position of Adjutant General during the war
years of the First World War, under Kentucky
Governors James B. McCreary, A.O. Stanley and James
A. Black, he was replaced when Governor Edwin P.
Morrow took office in 1919.
Ellis was a popular lecturer, he was in demand
across the country with his inexhaustible supply of
humorous stories, often interspersed by his singing
folks songs, accompanying himself on the banjo. He
was a prolific writer, he authored nearly a dozen
books of short sketches and poetry. He was a
columnist for the Louisville Times, under the
heading "Tang of the South" and "Savor of the Soil".
An avid reader his home contained one of the largest
private libraries in the state, including a rare
collection of Kentuckiana. Ellis was a collector of
antique dulcimers, harps and accordions.
James
Tandy Ellis died following a long illness at the age
of 74, on December 9, 1942 at his home in Ghent. He
is buried in the Ghent Cemetery. His home in Ghent
is listed on the Kentucky and National register of
historic homes and is now a Bed and Breakfast called
Poet's House.