Who is Dr. Jules Ellis from Stern Men and what is their importance?

The original patriarch of the Ellis family of Concord, NH, Jules founds the Ellis Granite Company to exploit the wealth of Fort Niles and Courne Haven islands and builds for his family a great house at the summit of Fort Niles as a summer escape from the unhealthful city. It also serves to oversee his investments. Jules is more a captain of industry than a physician. In 1894 he adopts a ten-year-old orphan named Mary Smith to be his only daughter Vera's twin and companion.