Jacob Hart Ela (July 18, 1820 – August 21, 1884) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.

At fourteen years of age he was apprenticed in a woolen manufactory and subsequently learned the printer's trade.

Ela served as member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1857 and 1858 and as United States marshal from July 1861 to October 1866.

On June 3, 1881, he was appointed Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department and served in that position until his death.

[3] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress