Daily AncestorEll
An ell was an old measure of cloth; the English ell was 45 inches, while the Dutch or Flemish ell was only 27 inches.
The ell began as the length of the forearm, and its name is related to elbow. Later ells were longer, and the length depended on the country: Webster's 1913 dictionary gives 45 inches for England, 27 for the Dutch or Flemish ell and about 37 for Scotland.
Cloth was sometimes measured in ells rather than yards. English importers bought Dutch cloth by the Flemish ell but sold linen by the English ell, so check which ell is meant, especially in records from New Netherland and early New York.
As seen in a recordEstate inventory, 1600s
12 ells of Holland linen at 3s. per ell
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Daily Ancestor. "Ell." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/money-measures/ell. Last checked 2026-10-03.