Mary McKinley Daves Ellis

Mary McKinley Daves Ellis Nash (January 2, 1835 – January 23, 1916) was an American political hostess who, as the wife of Governor John Willis Ellis, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1859 to 1861. She was first lady when North Carolina seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

Biography Ellis was born Mary McKinley Daves on 2 January 1835 in New Bern, North Carolina to John P. Daves and Elizabeth Batchelor Graham.

On 11 August 1858, she married the widower John Willis Ellis, who six days earlier was elected governor of North Carolina. They had at least two daughters, Mary Daves and Jean Graham. During the American Civil War, within her husband's term, North Carolina seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. She was also first vice president of the Ladies' Memorial Association of New Bern.

She died on January 23, 1916 in Pensacola, Florida.