Daniel Webster Ellis was born on June 9, 1842, in Ohio to Daniel and Sarah Ellis. His father was a shoemaker who owned $800 of real estate in 1850. Ellis grew up and attended school in Bethel, Ohio. He enlisted in the Union army on December 2, 1861, and mustered in as a corporal in Company I of the 71st Ohio Infantry later that day. The regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh, the Second Battle of Franklin, and the Battle of Nashville. Ellis was promoted to sergeant on March 15, 1863, and he mustered out in San Antonio, Texas, on November 30, 1865. Ellis returned to Miami County after the war, and he married Mary Jane Miller there on January 9, 1867. Their daughter Daisy was born in 1871. They lived in Mary’s parents’ household in Springcreek, Ohio, and Ellis worked as a farm laborer. In 1870, they owned $1,000 of personal property. He died on May 1, 1872, reportedly from malaria.