Representative Tazewell Ellett

Tazewell Ellett (January 1, 1856 – May 19, 1914) was a Virginia lawyer, Democratic Party leader, and one-term United States Representative from Virginia who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1895 to 1897. His congressional service took place during a significant period in American history, and as a member of the House of Representatives he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents in Virginia’s Third District. A member of the Democratic Party, Ellett contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office.

Ellett was born on January 1, 1856, in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Andrew L. Ellett, a member of the dry goods firm Ellett, Waller, Drewry & Co. He was educated in private schools in Richmond, including Strother’s school, which prepared him for advanced study. Growing up in the capital of Virginia during the post–Civil War era, he came of age in a state undergoing political and economic reconstruction, a context that would later shape his legal and political career.

Ellett pursued higher education at two of Virginia’s leading institutions. He attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia, and graduated in 1876. He then studied law at the University of Virginia Law School, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1878. This combination of military and legal training provided him with both organizational discipline and professional expertise, which he carried into his subsequent legal practice and public service.

After completing his legal education, Ellett returned to Richmond to practice law. Following six months of solo practice, he formed a partnership with Francis Howe McGuire under the firm name McGuire & Ellett, a collaboration that lasted for twelve years and established him as a prominent attorney in the city. He also maintained close ties to his alma mater, serving as a member of the board of visitors of the Virginia Military Institute. In addition to his legal and educational activities, Ellett served in the First Virginia Regiment, initially as adjutant, later being elected captain of Company F, and ultimately attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel, reflecting his continued engagement with military and civic affairs.

Ellett became active in Democratic Party politics early in his career. In 1880 he joined the Democratic committee in Richmond and later served as its chairman for three years. From 1883 to 1888 he was chairman of the Congressional Democratic Committee of the Third District, playing a key role in organizing and directing party efforts in his region. He served for two years as an advisor to U.S. Senator John S. Barbour Jr., and from 1884 to 1886 he was the Democratic canvasser-at-large for Virginia, traveling and working on behalf of the party statewide. In the presidential election of 1888 he served as a presidential elector for Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland, further solidifying his standing within the party.

In 1894, Ellett was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fourth Congress, representing Virginia’s Third Congressional District. He served from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1897. In that election he received 63.31 percent of the vote, defeating Republican J. W. Southward, Independents James M. Gregory and Martin Meredith Lipscomb, and Progressive candidate George M. Smithdeal. During his term in Congress, Ellett served as a Representative from Virginia in the United States Congress from 1895 to 1897, taking part in the legislative deliberations of the era and contributing to the work of the House of Representatives as a Democratic member. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress, bringing his congressional service to a close after one term.

Following his departure from Congress, Ellett resumed the practice of law in Richmond and later extended his professional activities to New York City. Over time he became involved in promotion enterprises and mining prospects, working out of New York City and traveling to South America in connection with these ventures. His post-congressional career thus combined legal practice with business and investment activities that reflected the expanding economic interests of the period.

Ellett married Josephine Lyons Scott, daughter of Robert Eden Scott of Fauquier County, Virginia. The couple had three children: two daughters, Josephine and Heningham (who became Mrs. Pringle Smith), and a son, Tazewell. His son later married the daughter of Ellett’s former law partner, Francis Howe McGuire, further linking the family to Ellett’s early professional associations. Tazewell Ellett died on May 19, 1914, at the home of his daughter in Summerville, South Carolina. He was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, closing the life of a lawyer, soldier, party leader, and one-term congressman who had been active in Virginia’s legal and political circles at the close of the nineteenth century.