William H. Ellis

William Henry Ellis (also known as Guillermo Enrique Eliseo; June 15, 1864 – September 24, 1923) was an American businessman.

Early life Ellis was born on June 15, 1864, in Victoria, Texas, to Charles Ellis and Margaret Nelson Ellis, former slaves. While living in San Antonio, Ellis became known as an advocate for Black representation in Texas politics.

After this he became involved in an attempt to create a colony of Black people from the southern United States in Mexico.

In 1904, Ellis sought to become the king of the Ethiopian Empire, in what was later known as the "Abyssinia affair". He worked with the United States Department of State, specifically Robert Peet Skinner, to make a treaty between Menelik II and the United States. After Frederick Kent Loomis, one of Ellis's collaborators, disappeared, Ellis took the treaty to Menelik and was made a duke in the kingdom. The treaty itself was described by the Handbook of Texas as creating "an impetus for forging an official relationship between the two countries."