When William Daniel Ellis was born on 15 February 1883, in Texas, United States, his father, Robert Page Ellis, was 33 and his mother, Jennie Lynn Grubb, was 25. He married Edna Pearl Wright on 27 November 1904, in Wise, Texas, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Stratford, Sherman, Texas, United States in 1930 and Justice Precinct 3, Sherman, Texas, United States in 1940. He died on 3 August 1948, in Hartley, Texas, United States, at the age of 65, and was buried in Texhoma, Sherman, Texas, United States.