Biography of Elliot, Ralph William; Orleans Parish; now Lafayette Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Mike Miller April 1998 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Elliott, Ralph William, city judge of Lafayette, parish of Lafayette, La., was born November 25, 1857, in New Orleans. His father, Benjamin Christopher Elliott, the son of Benjamin Christopher Elliott, who was a native and lifelong resident of Columbia, S. C., and engaged in the planting business, was reared and educated in that state. In early manhood he removed to New Orleans, where he practiced law and married Miss Melinda Shaw, born in Avoyelles parish, whose great grandfather, Campte, served on the staff of Gen. Lafayette during the Revolutionary war. The maternal grandfather, Capt. Z. Shaw, served under Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. His commission is now in the possession of his descendants, together with other historic documents of early times. Benjamin Christopher Elliott was prominent in the legal profession and in politics in New Orleans. Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, when there existed a number of municipalities that were later on consolidated into the city of New Orleans, Mr. Elliott was judge of Lafayette municipality, now the Fourth district of New Orleans. He was an incumbent of that office until a short time before his death, in the year 1858. Mrs. Elliott died in 1865. Ralph William Elliott, who was 18 months old when his father died, and 8 years of age at the time of his mother's demise, was 1 of a family of 11 children, 4 sons and 7 daughters. The sons were: Thornley H, Benjamin C., Thomas H., and Ralph William Elliott. Thornley H. enlisted in the Confederate army during the Civil war, served in Dreux 's cavalry until taken prisoner and sent to military prison at Johnston's island, and later was paroled. Benjamin C. Elliott also was a soldier in the army of the South, from the beginning of the Civil war in 1861, until paroled at Atlanta, when he was a trooper in Dreux 's cavalry, to which corps he had been transferred from his original company, the Crescent Rifles. After the war Mr. Elliott engaged for a short time in clerical pursuits in New Orleans, and then began the practice of law, having several years previously graduated, but not having had occasion to exercise his profession on account of his military service. He was actively identified with politics in Louisiana; was district attorney for the parish of Jefferson; member of the state legislature for 2 terms, and candidate for congress on the Democratic ticket against H. Dudley Coleman, who defeated him with the Republican votes. He died in 1891. Thomas H. Elliott, the third of the Elliott family to offer his services to the South during the Civil war, enlisted at the age of 16 years, and was with Dreux's cavalry until the end of the great struggle. He is a resident of New Orleans, at present connected with the mercantile firm of W. G. Coyle & Co. Ralph William Elliott, the subject of this sketch, was educated in private schools, and at St. Vincent's academy of the Christian Brothers; later studying law in the office of his brother, Benjamin C. Elliott, and admitted to practice in July, 1891, after having passed an examination before the justices of the Louisiana state supreme court. He established himself in Lafayette, and has been a resident of that city ever since. In 1910 he was appointed city judge by Gov. J. Y. Sanders, and in 1912 was elected, without any opposition, for a 4 years' term. Judge Elliott's official position does not stand in the way of his continuing the practice of law in the district court. Although deeply interested in the political affairs of Louisiana, Judge Elliott never sought office, but often has declined to be put forward as a candidate for a public position. In fraternal orders he is affiliated with the Elks, the Woodmen of the World, the Benevolent Knights of America, and the Loyal order of Moose lodge. Source: Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 149-150. Edited by Alcee Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.