He was the son of the only daughter of Mr. Joseph Hodgson of Holme Hall and her husband, the resident physician, John Eimeo Ellis.
Following his education in Toronto, he went to London, England and obtained a position on the house staff of St. Thomas' Hospital, securing his L.R.C.P.
He settled down to practice his profession, but was immediately offered the position of lecturer in chemistry in Trinity College, and shortly afterwards he undertook similar duties in the newly-founded School of Technology.
For more than 30 years he was retained by the Attorney-General of Ontario as analyst and expert toxicologist in connection with criminal cases.
Ellis died on 23 August 1920 while enjoying a holiday with his friend Dr. Rudolf on Lake Joseph in the Muskoka District.
Their son, the prominent British Canadian physician, pathologist, and Regius Professor of Medicine, Arthur William Mickle Ellis,[2] was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 4 May 1883.