UNIVERSITY OF

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interviewee: Alpheus L. Ellis

Interviewer: Samuel Proctor

December 2, 1988 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interviewee: Alpheus L. Ellis Interviewer: Samuel Proctor December 2, 1988

Alpheus L. Ellis has had an enviable reputation as a banker in the state of Florida. During his illustrious career, he has been active with the Florida Bankers Association and the Federal Reserve Board. Ellis is listed in Who's Who in the South and Southwest and Who's Who in and Industry, as well as Forbes. He has retired as senior chairman of the board of NCNB.

Ellis was born in 1906 in Elba, Alabama. His father stressed hard work; Ellis and his siblings never received an allowance. Ellis began working in his father's , sweeping the floor and cleaning the spittoons--any change he found was his. Ellis attended the University of Alabama and Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). Before completing his degree program in finance and accounting, however, he left Alabama and came to Winter Park, Florida, in 1925, where his older brother Charles was already working in a bank.

The economic climate in Florida after the boom bubble burst in 1926 was difficult. Florida was hit by the Mediterranean fruit fly, and this was followed by the stock market crash that lead to the Great Depression. During these times, Ellis saw many changes occurring in Florida and in the banking industry. He came to know men who would rise to the top of the business world, men like J. Neil Greening of and then , Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., of the citrus industry, Jim Walter of the housing industry, Alfred du Pont and Ed Ball of Florida National Bank, and George Jenkins of Publix groceries. Congressman Claude Pepper also figured in Ellis's career, although Ellis generally preferred to stay out of politics because it was "too costly." In the interview, Ellis recounts his business relationships with these influential entrepreneurs.

In addition to his business dealings, Ellis discusses his philanthropic endeavors, especially his work with the hospital in Tarpon Springs, where he currently resides. He and his wife Helen have contributed a great deal of time and money to the hospital. To show its appreciation, the hospital board has chosen to name it the Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital. Also included on his list of causes are

1 Jack Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, the University of South Florida in Tampa, and the Children's Home of Florida.

In his free time, Ellis enjoys the outdoors. He likes to dove hunt, and he takes in Florida Gator and Tampa Bay Bucs football when he can. Ellis also enjoys reading and traveling.

2 P: I am conducting an interview this afternoon, December 2, 1988, with Mr. Alpheus L. Ellis in his office in Tarpon Springs. This interview is in the Florida Business Leaders Project of the University of Florida Oral History Program.

Mr. Ellis, I would like to ask you, if I may, your full name?

E: Alpheus Lee Ellis.

P: When you were born?

E: February 5, 1906.

P: Where?

E: Elba, Alabama.

P: Tell me where you got the name Alpheus; it is a little bit unusual.

E: Well, it is really a Greek name, but I am not Greek. My father's name, however, was Alpheus. His father had fourteen children. I guess he found it in the Bible.

P: Perhaps he ran out of names, with fourteen children.

E: I would think so.

P: Your mother, I understand, was a Lee. What was her full name?

E: Her full name was Lillie Alberta Lee.

P: Did she come from the Virginia Lees?

E: Yes, she was descended from the Virginia Lees.

P: How far back did her family go in this country?

E: It goes back