When John Ellis was born in 1712, in Henrico, Virginia, United States, his father, John Clarn Ellis, was 27 and his mother, Elizabeth Smith Ware, was 16. He married Mary Magdalene Smith in 1730, in Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He registered for military service in 1779. He died in 1799, at the age of 87.