He was born as Ellis Cunliffe, the son of John Cunliffe of the ancient, wealthy mill-owning Cunliffe family of
Addingham. In 1809
his name was legally changed to Ellis Cunliffe-Lister under the will of his first wife's uncle, Samuel Lister. He built and leased four mills in Bradford, including Red Beck Mill at Shipley in 1817, and served as a
J.P. At the
1832 general election Lister was elected
Member of Parliament for
Bradford. He held the seat until 1841. By 1837 Lister had erected
Manningham Mill at
Manningham, Bradford for his two sons, John and
Samuel., In 1842 he changed his name again, this time to the
triple-barrelled Ellis Cunliffe-Lister-Kay, under the will of his second wife's father, William Kay. Lister married Ruth Myers Lister on 1 April 1795. In 1809, he married Mary Kay, daughter of William Kay, as his second wife. In 1844, he took Eliza Mellifont Talbot, daughter of Richard Talbot, as his third wife. ==References==