John Adam Ellsler Jr. was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and later moved with his family to Baltimore, Maryland. He first became acquainted with the theatre as a delivery boy for a firm that printed theatrical programs and posters.John A. Ellsler - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History accessed 5.26.13 He later returned to Philadelphia where by 1846 Ellsler was employed as assistant treasurer, property man and bit player at Peale's Museum. The next year he joined William E. Burton's company at the Arch Street Opera House. In 1849 he was one of the seven founding board members of the Actors' Order of Friendship, a benevolent society established in Philadelphia. After three seasons with William E. Burton's company he moved on to New York City to play leading roles at Chatham Theatre. After an engagement at Charleston,. South Carolina, Ellsler became co- manager with Joseph Jefferson on a two-year road tour of the Southern American States. For two seasons in the early 1850s Ellsler managed the Utica Museum, Utica, New York.Orth, Peter Samuel - A History of Cleveland, Ohio, 1910, pp. 438-443 accessed 5.24.13Comley, William J., D'Eggville, W.- Ohio, The Future Great State, 1875 pp. 279-280] accessed September 25, 2012John Ellsler. The New York Times, August 22, 1903 p. 9Cookinham, Henry J., History of Oneida County, New York : From 1700 to the Present Time 1912; p. 546thumb|195px|Academy of Music, Cleveland c.1875
