View source for William Ross Sr. of Martin County (-1760)

{{Short description|Planter who lived in the the islands section of Tyrrell County}}
{{Use mdy dates|cs1-dates=s|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox Ross ancestor
| given_name             = William 
| middle_name            = 
| surname_prefix         = 
| surname                = Ross 
| post-nominals          = Sr.
| title_type             = informal
| title_ordinal          = 
| title_role             = 
| title_particle         = of 
| title_object           = Martin County
| honorific_suffix       = 
| date_format            = mdy 
| rin                    = 919
| portrait          = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| alt               = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption           = 
| birth_date_range_end       = 1719
| birth_place       = 
| death_date_range_begin  = 25 Feb 1760
| death_place       = 
| flourished_begin  = 
| flourished_end         = 
| burial_date            = 
| burial_place      = <!-- cemetery name as entered in Find A Grave -->
| findagrave   = 
| era               = Colonial America
| sex_chromosomes            = XY
| y_matched_group       = 
| y_match       = 
| ethnicity         = Scottish
| hometown          = 
| residence         = the islands section, Tyrrell County, North Carolina
| occupation        = planter
| spouses           = Elizabeth Smithwick (1705-1765)
| no_of_children    = 
| children          = {{plainlist|
* [[John Ross Sr. of Martin County (1720-1790s)|John Ross Sr.]]
* [[William Ross Jr. of Martin County (1731-1801)|William Ross Jr.]]
}}
| mother            = 
| father            = 
| progenitor        = Rosses of Martin County
| wikitree          = Ross-3169
| familysearch      = M7ZT-ZLJ
| geni              = William-Ross-Sr/6000000016716877762
}}

'''William Ross''' ( &ndash; 1760s) was a [[planter]] who lived in what was then [[Tyrrell County, North Carolina]], in the mid to late 1700s. By the time of William's death, this area had become part of Martin County. Much of what we know of his family is found in the family history written by his great-grandson, the ''[[Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross]]'', which was published in 1882.

==DNA Evidence==
=== Y-DNA ===
No Y-DNA test kits have been identified as descendants of William Ross. Several participants in the {{Ross Surname Project}} descend from men once thought to have all been related to this William Ross or his assumed ancestors, but these participants are not a match to each other, so more research is needed to determine which test results represent William's line.

Descendants of [[James Ross Jr. of Guilford County (-1809)|James Ross Jr.]] and [[Henry Ross of Guilford County (-1827)|Henry Ross]] of Guilford County fall into a very small [[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 11|subgroup]] in the {{Ross Surname Project}}. These Rosses of Guilford are thought to be descended from [[James Ross Sr. of Rowan County (-1789)|James Ross Sr. of Rowan County]].

Several participants are also descended from another Guilford County Ross, [[John Ross of Guilford County ( -1791)|John Ross]] who left a will there dated {{date|19 Apr 1791|mdy}}. They are not a match to the descendants of James Jr. and Henry. They match instead the [[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 01|Rose of Kilravock group]].

Lastly, one descendant of [[James Ross of Anson County (1761-1849)|James Ross]] who died in Anson county in 1849 falls into the [[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 02|Norse-Gaelic]] group.

Therefore, we have:

'''[[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 11]]'''

Descendants of these 4 grandsons of [[James Ross Sr. of Rowan County (-1789)|James Ross Sr. of Rowan County]] have matching Y-DNA results.

 1-James Ross Sr. will 1 Nov 1788, Rowan County, NC d. bet. 1 Nov 1788 & 4 May 1789, Rowan County, NC
   + 1st wife 
 ...2-James Ross Jr. b. Ireland d. Oct 1809, Giles County, TN
      + Mary Mitchell b. England, dau. of Robert & Margaret Mitchell 
 ......3-Henry Ross b. abt 1780, NC, d. 11 Nov 1845, near Rock Springs, IL
        + Martha Dickey b. 9 Dec 1776, South Carolina, m. 3 Jul 1800, d. 1828, Rock Springs, IL, dau. of Robert Dickey and Margaret Hillhouse
 ......3-Robert Ross Sr. b. 1775-1780, NC, d. 30 Apr 1849, Pope County, AR
         + Mary Dickey dau. of Robert Dickey and Mary Henry 
 ......3-Samuel Ross b. abt 1776, Guilford County, NC, d. 1826, Todd County, KY
         + Judith Acock b. 1783, Warren County, NC, d. bef 1850, Polk County, MO
 ...2-Henry Ross  b. abt 1744 d. 1827, Wilson County, TN
      + Ann Anderson, m. 26 Oct 1786, Guilford County, NC, dau. of Elder John Anderson 
 ......3-John Ross b. 1787, Guilford County, NC, d. 1839, Wilson County, TN
         + Lucinda Barnes 

'''[[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 01]]'''

Descendants of these 2 grandsons of [[John Ross of Guilford County ( -1791)|John Ross of Guilford County]] have matching Y-DNA results.

 1-John Ross b. circa 1738, d. May 1791, Guilford County, NC
  + Mary d. 1794, Guilford, NC
 ...2-Andrew Jackson Ross b. 12 Aug 1784, Guilford County, NC, d. 29 Dec 1836, Gibson, TN
     + Mary Ann Cummins b. 21 Aug 1777, Guilford County, NC, d. 1832, Gibson, Gibson County, TN
 ......3-Melvin Ross b. 12 Oct 1810, Guilford County, NC, d. 19 Nov 1896, Arcadia, Crawford, KS
        + Rebecca Smith b. 6 Dec 1818, Smith, Gibson County, TN, d. 5 Aug 1895, Arcadia, Crawford County, KS
 ......3-Thomas Washington Ross b. 15 Sep 1814, Guilford County, NC, d. 12 Oct 1898, Joseph, Sevier, UT
        + Margret Maria Meacham b. 24 Feb 1840, Springfield, Sangamon, IL, d. 9 Feb 1909, Coyote, Garfield County, UT

'''[[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 02]]'''

One descendant of [[James Ross of Anson County (1761-1849)|James Ross of Anson County]] falls into R Haplogroup - Family 02.

 1-Pvt. James Ross b. 8 Jun 1761, Tyrrell County, NC, d. 1 Feb 1849, Union County, NC
  + Lydia Coburn b. 22 Apr 1766, NC, m. cal 1781, Martin County, NC, d. 18 Aug 1858, Marshville, Union, NC
 ...2-Dugal Ross b. between 1780 and 1790, d. between 6 Oct 1843 and Oct 1845
     + Jemima Brewer b. 1790, NC, m. 1808, Anson County, NC, d. bef 25 Jan 1881, New Salem, Union, NC
 ......3-Dugal W. Ross b. 4 Mar 1821, Anson County, NC, d. 15 Nov 1900, Henderson County, TN
        + Nancy Jane Johnson b. 4 Feb 1851, TN, m. 9 Jul 1879, Henderson County, TN, d. 7 Mar 1913

Test results from confirmed descendants of several different sons of this William Ross are needed to confirm his line and to determine if any of these other Ross lines are, in fact, descended from, or related to, him. Test results from confirmed descendants of Hugh Ross and Francis Ross, sons of [[Hugh Ross the Immigrant (bef1674-bef1708)|Hugh Ross of Elizabeth City County]], would also be very helpful here.

=== Autosomal DNA ===

We do have autosomal test results for multiple descendants of William Ross in the [[Ross Ancestor Project at GEDmatch]], but no lines have been confirmed by overlapping segments yet. Unfortunately, William lived long enough ago that we would not expect living descendants to carry [[DNA segments]] large enough to be useful in [[genetic genealogy]]. Additionally, the chances of locating several descendants who carry the same [[overlapping segments]] would be very low. It would, therefore, be difficult to confirm his descendant lines using autosomal DNA alone. It will probably require [[Y-DNA]] and [[mtDNA]] testing.

It may be possible to confirm descendant lines 
If you are a descendant of William who has done DNA testing, please request to join the project, upload a tree that includes William, and let us know if you have already been able to confirm your line through autosomal matches.

==Biography==
<div class="leafletmap">{{#display_map: center=35.846609,-77.013817 |geojson=WilliamSrTyrrell |layers=Thunderforest.Pioneer |service=leaflet}}</div> 

In the ''[[Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross]]'', [[James Ross of Clarksville (1801-1879)|James Ross]] tells his daughter, "Your grandfather's family was originally from Scotland."<ref name="Life and times p. 22">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =22 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/22/mode/1up }}</ref> He goes on to say, "His grandfather, William Ross, a descendant of these supposed traditional ancestors, emigrated from Virginia to Martin County, North Carolina; date unknown." 

"His grandfather, William", would refer to William Ross Sr. In telling the story of his family to his daughter, James states only that his ancestors came from the state of Virginia, not a specific location in Virginia. 

''Life and Times'' also tells us that William Sr.'s son William was born in 1731.<ref name="Life and times pp. 22-23">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |pages =22-23 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/22/mode/1up }}</ref> This means that William Sr. was an adult by 1731.

[[Martin County, North Carolina|Martin County]] was not created until 1774. During William Sr.'s lifetime, the area in which he lived was part of [[Tyrrell County, North Carolina|Tyrrell County]].

=== Roanoke ===
It is in the Introduction that [[Wikipedia:James Madison Pendleton|James Madison Pendleton]], an associate of James's father Reuben, states that William settled "in an early day" specifically at Roanoke, Virginia.<ref name="Life and times pp. 11-12">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |first= James |last2=Pendleton |first2= James Madison |year = 1882 |publisher = Printed by Grant, Faires & Rodgers |location = Philadelphia |pages =11-12 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/11/mode/1up }}</ref>

James Ross, in writing about his recent ancestors, is very clear that they came to North Carolina from Virginia. It is J. M. Pendleton who claims that their location in Virginia was Roanoke. When he made this statement in 1882, long after these original ancestors were gone, was he referring to the area of Virginia that had only been known as Roanoke for about 10 years? Was he referring to the area near the Albemarle Sound which was originally part of Virginia, but had become part of North Carolina by the time William Sr. would've lived there? Or was he making a statement that was not based in fact?

=== Tyrrell  County ===
William first appears in extant Tyrrell County records in 1749, when he purchases 147 acres from Edmund Smithwick.<ref name="Tyrrell County Deeds, v. 2 1748-1755 p. 53" /> He is described in the deed as William Ross planter of Tyrrell County, indicating that he was already a resident and acting as a plantation owner. The deed describes the property as lying on Baylies Creek and a swamp. One of his neighbors listed is Smithwick, assuming the Edmund Smithwick who is selling him the property. By 1749, Edmund Smithwick owned several parcels on Smithwick Creek.<ref name="Edm Smithwick grants">{{cite web |title = Edmond Smithwick grants in Tyrrell County |url = https://www.nclandgrants.com/q/?name=Smithwick,%20Edm&cyid=96&sty=P |publisher = North Carolina Land Grant Images and Data |access-date= 8 Sep 2022 }}</ref> Today, there is a creek south of Williamston called Smithwick Creek.

In 1759, William sold 47 acres on Baylies Creek to William Hyman.<ref name="Martin County Deeds v. A pp. 72" />

[[File:Map of Martin County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels.PNG|thumb|300px|Map of Martin County, North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels]]
In February of 1760, William Ross Sr. planter, and Elizabeth his wife, sold the remaining 100 acres, dividing it between John Ross and William Ross Jr.<ref name="Tyrrell County Deeds v. 4 pp. 16-17" /><ref name="Tyrrell County Deeds v. 4 pp. 11-12" /> The second deed, that to William Jr., is dated specifically {{date|25 Feb 1760|mdy}} and includes "my house and plantation where the aforesaid William Ross Jr. now lives". This is the last we see of William Sr. in records, leading many family trees to cite this as William Sr.'s death date.

In ''Life and Times'', James notes that his father Reuben, son of William Jr., was born in 1776, a little to the east of the town of Williamston, in a locality known as the "Islands".<ref name="Life and times p. 21" /> It is assumed that this is the same land that had been owned by William Sr. since 1749 and transferred to William Jr. in 1760. According to the ''Martin County History'', written in 1977, William Sr. settled in "the islands section of what is now known as Williams Township".<ref name="Martin County History p. 223">{{cite book |title= Martin County History |volume =1 |page = 223 |url=https://archive.org/details/martincountyhist01mann/page/223/mode/1up |year=1977 |publisher=Enterprise Publishing Company |location=Williamston, N.C. |last=Manning |first= Francis M. |last2 = Booker |first2 = W.H. }}</ref><ref name="Life and times p. 21">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =21 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/21/mode/1up }}</ref> 

North Carolina was divided into townships in 1868 and they appear to be unchanged since that time.<ref name="NCpedia Towns and Cities">{{cite web | title=Towns and Cities | website=NCpedia | date=Nov 20, 2012 | url=https://www.ncpedia.org/towns-and-cities | access-date=Oct 5, 2022}}</ref> Williams Township encompasses the area just east of Williamston. This agrees with James's statement that their home was "a little to the east of the town of Williamston".

=== Ancestors ===
{{Ancestors & descendants chart
|1=[[William Ross Sr. of Martin County ( -1760)]]
|2=possibly William Ross
|3=
|4=
|5=
|6=
|7=
|descendants=
*[[William Ross Sr. of Martin County ( -1760)]]
**m. 9 Aug 1731(?) [[Elizabeth Smithwick (1705-1765)]]
***[[Martin Ross]]
***[[John Ross Sr. of Martin County (1720-1790s)]]
****m. [[Elizabeth Bennett (1760-1790s)]]
*****[[William Ross (bef 1771-bef 1792)]]
*****[[John Ross (bef 1771-bef 1792)]]
*****[[James Ross ]]
*****[[Thomas Ross ]]
*****[[Henry Ross ]]
*****[[Luke Ross of Macon, GA (1775-1844)]]
*****[[Martha Ross ]]
*****[[Nancy Ross Price]]
*****[[Rachel Ross Whitfield]]
*****[[Sarah Ross Cockburn]]
***[[William Ross Jr. of Martin County (1731-1801)]]
****m. 1756 [[Mary Griffin Ross (1738-c1802)]]
*****Pvt. [[John Ross of Stewart County (1757-1840s)]]
*****[[William Ross of Cape Giradeau (1760-1820)]]
*****Rev. [[Martin Ross of Martin County (1762-1828)]]
*****[[Winifred Ross Rogers (1765-)]]
*****[[Nancy Ross Reddick of Stewart County (1767-1830)]]
*****Rev. [[James Ross of Bertie County (1769-1853)]]
*****[[Mary Ross (1771-1773)]]
*****Capt. [[Nathan Ross Sr. of Stewart County (1773-1834)]]
*****Rev. [[Reuben Ross of Clarksville (1776-1860)]]
******[[James Ross of Clarksville (1801-1879)|James Ross]], author of ''[[Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross|Life & Times]]''
*****[[Elizabeth Ross Reddick (1779-)]]
***[[Nathan Ross]]
}}

An excerpt from an an "old family record that was brought from North Carolina in 1833" is included as a footnote in ''Life & Times'' . This seems to mean it was brought to Reuben or his son James in Tennessee by one of his family members. It states, 
<blockquote>William Ross, Senior, of Martin County, was the son of William Ross, formerly of the State of Virginia, who came to this State, namely North Carolina, and settled in the above-named county. His son, the father of the children whose names are under-written, was born on the 9th of August, 1731, 0. S., and departed this life the 25th of December, 1801.<ref name="Life and times pp. 22-23" /></blockquote>

If we construct a family tree from this, we get:
<pre style="margin-left:40px;">1-William Ross formerly of the State of Virginia
...2-William Ross Sr. 
......3-William Ross Jr. b. 9 Aug 1731, d. 25 Dec 1801</pre>

Nowhere else in the text of the book is William Sr.'s father named. Was his father's name actually William or this an issue with the old style of writing being confusing and making it sound as if they are speaking of 3 generations of Williams when they were actually speaking only of William Sr. and William Jr.?

In ''Life & Times'', James Ross tells his daughter, 
<blockquote>Your grandfather's family was originally from Scotland. The name is identified there with many places, and is also borne by many persons. There was, as he used to say, a tradition that in early times several persons of this name left Scotland together, crossed the Atlantic, and settled in Virginia; that their descendants — many of them — emigrated into Maryland and Pennsylvania; that their complexions were generally dark (Ross Dhu); and that almost every family had a John, William, or James in it.<ref name="Life and times p. 22" /></blockquote>

We should be able, then, to find William Sr.'s ancestors in Virginia and connect them to Ross families in Maryland and Pennsylvania. [[Y-DNA]] testing would be helpful in doing this.

We see in ''Ancestry''’s [[U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s|U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index]] many Rosses who came to Virginia before 1700. Potentially 50 or 60, depending on how many of these entries are duplicates. As we determine the fates of these early Virginia immigrants, we may be able to identify within them the ancestors of William Sr.

In speaking of William Sr.'s grandson [[Luke Ross of Macon, GA (1775-1844)|Luke Ross]] in ''[[House of Plant]]'', [[George Sherwood Dickerman (1843-1937)|George Dickerman]] says,
<blockquote>Mr. Luke Ross' mother was a Bennett, his wife a Grimes and her mother a Llewellyn, all of families which were originally from the vicinity of Norfolk where the names are found in early records.{{sfn|Dickerman|1900|p=[https://archive.org/details/houseplantmacon00unkngoog/page/n98/mode/1up 54]}}</blockquote>

In the 'Historical Notes' section at the back of the book, Dickerman lists several Virginia families that he things might be the progenitors of William Sr.
* [[William Ross Sr. of Pasquotank County]]

==== William of Pasquotank County ====
Dickerman points out that the last mention of a William Ross in Pasquotank County was in 1742.{{sfn|Dickerman|1900|p=[https://archive.org/details/houseplantmacon00unkngoog/page/n278/mode/1up 204]}} This was 7 years before William Sr. appears in Tyrrell County. This makes it possible, but not proven, that these are the same Williams.

==== Hugh Ross of Elizabeth City County ====

William Sr. is often said to be the son William, or the son of the son William, mentioned in the will of Margaret Cheeley Ross Priest of Elizabeth City County, Virginia.<ref name="Margaret Cheeley will">{{cite book |title=Elizabeth City County Virginia Deeds, Wills, Court Orders 1715 - 1721 |last=Neal |first= Rosemary Corley, comp. |location=Bowie, MD |publisher= Heritage |year= 1988 |access-date=20 Oct 2022 |page=46 |url=https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000070738276448&}}</ref>

This is based partly on the fact that William Sr. came to North Carolina from Roanoke, Virginia, as stated in the biography of his grandson, Elder Reuben Ross.

Current-day Roanoke, however, is about 200 miles from Hampton in Elizabeth City County, which is where Hugh & Margaret settled. Around the time that William Sr. would've been born, Roanoke existed outside the western boundary of Virginia. However, the Roanoke River, or connecting branches, do run from Roanoke to near William's land in North Carolina. So maybe this is where the idea of Roanoke could've come from? Without further information, it seems like just this idea that William Sr. came from Virginia is not enough to connect him to Hugh & Margaret Cheeley Ross of Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

In his book House of Plant, George Dickerman makes an argument that William Ross of Martin County was 'of this Norfolk family', meaning brothers [[John Ross Jr. of Edenton|John]] & [[Alexander Ross of Edenton|Alexander Ross]] who were landowners at Edenton, North Carolina.

Norfolk would be just across the river from Hugh & Margaret Ross, but it is unknown how these brothers, John & Alexander, could be related to Hugh & Margaret.

=== Timeline ===
{{show timeline|person}}

== Common Discrepancies ==

=== Roanoke, Virginia ===
In the Introduction to the ''[[Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross]]'', written in 1882, [[Wikipedia:James Madison Pendleton|James Madison Pendleton]], an associate of Reuben's, says,
<blockquote>The Ross family is of Scotch descent, and the grandfather of Reuben settled in an early day at Roanoke, Virginia.<ref name="Life and times pp. 11-12">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |first= James |last2=Pendleton |first2= James Madison |year = 1882 |publisher = Printed by Grant, Faires & Rodgers |location = Philadelphia |pages =11-12 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/11/mode/1up }}</ref></blockquote>

Pendleton claims that William Sr. moved from some place else to a place called Roanoke, Virginia. This appears to be a paraphrasing of what is said in the text of the book. There is, however, no additional information that supports this idea that William Sr. moved to a place named Roanoke, Virginia. In fact, it seems to be improbable that he did so.

It's important, first, to note that the city we now know as [[Wikipedia:Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]] did not exist in William's day. Today's city of Roanoke began as the settlement called Gainsborough in 1834, over 100 years after William Sr. would've been in Virginia.<ref name="History of Roanoke 2015">{{cite web | title=Roanoke VA History - Virginia - Blue Ridge Mountains | website=History of Roanoke | date=Apr 13, 2015 | url=https://www.visitroanokeva.com/region/cities-and-counties/roanoke/history/ | access-date=Oct 3, 2022}}</ref> Soon after it's establishment, it came to be called Big Lick. Roanoke County was formed out of Botetourt County in 1838, and, in 1871, Big Lick was renamed Roanoke for the river and the county. 

[[File:Roanoke-Staunton-River.jpg|thumb|left|200px|link=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3880.ct000370/?r=0.195,0.394,0.238,0.101,0|Roanoke area of Fry-Jefferson Map, 1755.]]
Today, the Roanoke River runs through the city of Roanoke, southeast past William's home near Williamston, into the Albemarle Sound, and out into the Atlantic. If we look at the city of Roanoke area on a map of Virginia published in 1755, however, we find that the river this far north was called the Staunton.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica Roanoke River">{{cite web | title=Roanoke River - river, United States | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=Nov 20, 2014 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Roanoke-River | access-date=Oct 3, 2022}}</ref> There was nothing in this area by the name of Roanoke.

[[File:Roanoke-Island.jpg|thumb|right|200px|link=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3880.ct000370/?r=0.608,0.538,0.238,0.102,0|Roanoke Island area of Fry-Jefferson Map, 1755.]]On this 1755 map, we find near the coast, at the mouth of Albemarle Sound, Roanoke Inlet, along with Roanoke Island. Flowing into the other end of the Sound, we find what was called the Roanoke or Moratuc River. It continues to be called this until it splits into the Staunton and Dan Rivers. This would've been just north of the state line in Virginia. The area on the 1755 map is labeled Occoneachey Islands. Today, it is Kerr Reservoir.

<div class="leafletmapsmall">{{#display_map: geojson=Roanok |layers=Thunderforest.Pioneer |service=leaflet}}</div> 
It is this area between Roanoke Inlet and the Roanoke River that, during William Sr.'s time, would've been considered "Roanok".<ref name="The North End of Roanoke Island p. 8">{{cite web |first=Phillip |last=Evans |title=The North End of Roanoke Island in the 17th Century |website=First Colony Foundation |date=18 Jun 2009 |format=PDF |url=https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/roanoke_island_late_17th_century.pdf#page=8 |page=8 }}</ref> In the earliest of Colonial times, it also would've been considered part of Virginia.

Roanoke Island was the location of the [[Wikipedia:Roanoke Colony|Roanoke Colony]] established in 1585. This was the first attempt by the English to establish a permanent settlement in North America. A map drawn at the time by several men associated with the colonization attempt shows Roanoke Island labeled as Croatoan and depicts it as part of Virginia.<ref name="Virginia map 1585">{{cite map |author =White, John, Active, Theodor De Bry, and Thomas Harriot |title =Americæ pars, nunc Virginia dicta: primum ab Anglis inuenta, sumtibus Dn. Walteri Raleigh, Equestris ordinis Viri, Anno Dn̄i. MDLXXXV regni Vero Sereniss. nostræ Reginæ Elisabethæ XXVII, hujus vero Historia peculiari Libro descripta est, additis etiam Indigenarum Iconibus |trans-title =Part of America, now called Virginia: first discovered by the English, when they took Dr. Walter Raleigh, Knight of the Order of Men, in the Year of the Lord. 1585 of the reign of Vero Sereniss. of our Queen Elizabeth the 27th, the history of which is described in a special book, with the addition of indigenous icons |year =1590 |url  =https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3880.ct000777/?r=-0.048,0.109,0.986,0.458,0 |scale =1:1,700,000 |publisher =De Brÿ |location =Francofurtum ad Mænum |language =Latin |access-date = 3 Oct 2022}}</ref> Again, in 1640, we find Roanoke Island on a map of Virginia.<ref name="Virginia map 1640">{{cite map |author=William P. Cumming |title = The Southeast in Early Maps |map=Virginia partis australis, et Floridae partis orientalis, interjacentiumque regionum Nova Descriptio |map-url = https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ncmaps/id/1108/rec/10 |date =1998 |scale =1:2,280,960 |cartography =Willem Janszoon Blaeu |publisher =University of North Carolina Press |page =41|edition =Third  |location =Chapel Hill |website =North Carolina Maps |access-date =3 Oct 2022}}</ref>

When King Charles II granted the Carolina charters of 1663 and 1665 to the original [[Wikipedia:Lord Proprietor|Lord Proprietors]], this area around Albemarle Sound that would've been considered Roanoke was just within the 36°30′ northern boundary.<ref name="NCpedia Original boundaries">{{cite web | title=Original boundaries of Carolina (1663/1665) | website=NCpedia | url=https://www.ncpedia.org/media/map/original-boundaries | access-date=Oct 4, 2022}}</ref> Although, there were several border disputes and attempts at surveying before an actual boundary was agreed upon, the area around Albemarle Sound known at the time as "Roanok" would've been within the [[Province of Carolina]] and then the [[Province of North Carolina]]. Albemarle County originally encompassed the entire area around Albemarle Sound and the east past the Roanoke River. When it was divided up in 1684, the Albemarle Sound area was in 3 different Precincts, Shaftesbury, Berkeley, and Carteret.<ref name="digital.newberry.org North Carolina" /> 

By the time William Sr. was old enough to "settle" anywhere, the "Roanok" area was firmly within North Carolina. On a map drawn in 1709, we see the North Carolina boundary much as it is now, with the Roanoke area around the Albemarle Sound falling completely within North Carolina.<ref name="North Carolina map 1709">{{cite map |author=William P. Cumming |title = The Southeast in Early Maps |map=To His Excellency William Lord Palatine; The most Noble Henry Duke of Beaufort; The Right Honoble. Iohn, Lord Carteret; The Honoble Maurice Ashley, Esq., Sr. John Colleton Baronet; Iohn Danson, Esq; And the rest of the True and Absolute Lords Proprietors of Carolina in America This Map is Humbly Dedicated by Ion. Lawson Surveyor General of North Carolina |map-url = https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/ncmaps/id/2641/rec/6 |date =1998 |scale =1:2,090,880 |cartography =John Lawson |publisher =University of North Carolina Press |page =150 |edition =Third  |location =Chapel Hill |website =North Carolina Maps |access-date =3 Oct 2022}}</ref> The area was now divided between the Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, and Currituck Precincts.

It's difficult to say, then, where Pendleton may've been referring to when he said, "the grandfather of Reuben settled in an early day at Roanoke, Virginia." There was no place that would've been considered Roanoke, Virginia, between 1665 and 1871. And the place that would've been considered Roanoke, Virginia, before 1665 was far from the place that was called Roanoke, Virginia, in 1871.

James, in the telling of the story to his daughter, says, “Your grandfather's family was originally from Scotland. There was, as he used to say, a tradition that in early times several persons of this name left Scotland together, crossed the Atlantic, and settled in Virginia.”<ref name="Life and times p. 22">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =22 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/22/mode/1up }}</ref> 

In this passage, James says it is the ancestors of William Sr. who settled in Virginia. But it is not stated precisely where. 

He goes on to say, "His grandfather, William Ross, a descendant of these supposed traditional ancestors, emigrated from Virginia to Martin County, North Carolina; date unknown."

[[File:Virginia-map-1717.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Virginia in map published in 1717]]
He says that William Sr. was still in Virginia before coming to North Carolina, but, again, does not say specifically where in Virginia. What it is saying, though, is that wherever William Sr. was, it was north of the now-settled North Carolina-Virginia border. This would exclude the "Roanok" area around Albemarle Sound. 

Also included in ''Life & Times'' is an excerpt from an an old family record that was brought from North Carolina in 1833, meaning it was brought to Reuben in Tennessee by one of his family members. It states that, "William Ross, Senior, of Martin County, was the son of William Ross, formerly of the State of Virginia, who came to this State, namely North Carolina, and settled in the above-named county. His son, the father of the children whose names are under-written, was born on the 9th of August, 1731, 0. S., and departed this life the 25th of December, 1801."

This statement seems to be saying, too, that there was a move from somewhere in Virginia to North Carolina. It does not mention specifically where in Virginia and, again, the area known as Roanok at the time had technically been in North Carolina since 1665.

Unfortunately, this adds another layer of complexity because it also seems to be saying that it was William Sr.'s father, not William Sr. himself, who came to North Carolina from Virginia. Does this mean that, by the time the book was written in the 1880s, some of the details had been lost or confused?

This leads us again to Pendleton's statement that William Sr. "settled in an early day at Roanoke, Virginia". Where would Pendleton have gotten such an idea?

[[w:James Madison Pendleton|James Madison Pendleton]] was an associate of Reuben Ross, father of the James Ross who was the author of ''Life & Times''. Pendleton never met Reuben's father, William Jr., or his grandfather, William Sr. Both men were dead before Pendleton was born. In fact, even Reuben had been dead for 22 years by the time Pendleton wrote his Introduction to ''Life & Times''. 

Had Pendleton heard these stories directly from Reuben while he was still alive or was he relying on what was written by Reuben's son James had written in order to craft his Introduction?

James Ross mentions Roanoke many times in the text of the book, but, each time, he is referring to the Roanoke River, never a town called Roanoke. One of the sections of Chapter 2 is titled "The Roanoke River".<ref name="Life and times p. 5">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =5 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/n12/mode/1up }}</ref> In it, he speaks in general of the fishing on the Roanoke River and specifically of his father being a fisherman.<ref name="Life and times p. 27">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =27 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/27/mode/1up }}</ref> He also speaks earlier about William Sr.'s accumulation of property and how "the vast cane brakes on the rich alluvial lands along the Roanoke River afforded abundant food for cattle, summer and winter, and the mast that fell from the forest trees enabled him to raise hogs to good profit, but little corn being needed, and that only to keep them gentle.<ref name="Life and times p. 25">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =25 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/25/mode/1up }}</ref>

Every mention of Roanoke made by James in the text of the book refers to the Roanoke River and the life lived there by William Sr. and his descendants. He is speaking, then, of the area where William Sr. lived around Williamston, which was very near the shores of the Roanoke River, in North Carolina.

James Ross was born in September of 1801.<ref name="NCpedia Ross, James">{{cite web | title=Ross, James | website=NCpedia | date=2014-08-29 | url=https://dev.ncpedia.org/biography/ross-james | access-date=2022-10-20}}</ref> Just 3 months later, his grandfather, William Jr. died.<ref name="Life and times p. 23">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =23 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/23/mode/1up }}</ref> William Sr. had already been dead about 40 years. James, therefore, never heard any of these stories from William Jr. or William Sr. He heard them from his father, Reuben.

Reuben moved his family to Tennessee when James was only a small boy.<ref name="NCpedia Ross, James" /> James, therefore, never lived in the Roanoke River area when he was old enough to have real memories of it. 

Pendleton wrote Reuben's obituary. In it, he eludes to having seen Rueben preach as a child.<ref name="Baptist History Homepage Reuben Ross">{{cite web | title=Elder Reuben Ross |website=Baptist History Homepage, A Source for Original Baptist Documents | url=http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/ross.reuben.by.pendleton.html | access-date=2022-10-20}}</ref> Pendleton was ordained in 1833 by a by a council that included Reuben.<ref name="Burnett 1985 p. 403">{{cite book | last=Burnett | first=J.J. | title=Sketches of Tennessee's Pioneer Baptist Preachers: Being, Incidentally, a History of Baptist Beginnings in the Several Associations in the State ... | publisher=Overmountain Press |location=Johnson City, Tennessee |volume=1 |year=1985 | isbn=978-0-932807-11-3 | url=https://archive.org/details/sketchesoftennes0000burn/page/403/mode/1up | access-date=2022-10-20 | page=403}}</ref> This may have been when they became acquainted as adults. The point is, Pendleton was not personally familiar with the area of North Carolina where William Sr. lived. He did not know Rueben well until he was an adult and living in Tennessee.

Pendleton states in the Introduction that James spent 10 years writing these 'Recollections'.<ref name="Life and times p. 19">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =19 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/19/mode/1up }}</ref> This means that he started writing 9 years after Rueben died. Pendleton himself wrote the Introduction 3 years after James died.<ref name="Memorial ID 66235392">{{cite web |website=Find a Grave |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66235392/james-hunter-ross |access-date= 20 October 2022 |title=Prof James Hunter Ross Sr. (3 Sep 1801–14 Mar 1879) |at=Memorial ID 66235392, citing Meriwether Cemetery, Guthrie, Todd County, Kentucky,  |last=The Meriwether Society, Inc. (contributor 46827721) |date=27 Feb 2011}}</ref>

This means that Reuben wasn't available to proofread James's text and James wasn't available to proofread Pendleton's Introduction.

What appears to have happened is that, in paraphrasing James's text for his Introduction, Pendleton took the idea from the family tradition told to James by Reuben that their ancestors settled in Virginia. He also took this idea that William Sr. settled in the Roanoke River area and/or the area of North Carolina that would've, early on, just been called "Roanoke". He combined these into one sentence in which he stated that William Sr., "the grandfather of Reuben", "settled in an early day at Roanoke, Virginia." This is a convolution of facts that actually belong to several generations of ancestors, not just William Sr.

William Sr.'s ancestors settled in Virginia. William Sr. settled in the Roanoke area of North Carolina.

== Research Notes ==
=== ''Life and Times'' Virginia references ===
"Roanoke" and "Virginia" passages in the ''[[Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross]]''. In the old way of speaking, it is sometimes difficult to decipher exactly what is being said.

From an account of the family from an old family record that was brought from North Carolina in 1833, meaning it was brought to Reuben in Tennessee by one of his family members.
*"William Ross, Senior, of Martin County, was the son of William Ross, formerly of the State of Virginia, who came to this State, namely North Carolina, and settled in the above-named county. His son, the father of the children whose names are under-written, was born on the 9th of August, 1731, 0. S., and departed this life the 25th of December, 1801."<ref name="Life and times pp. 22-23" />
**This appears to be saying that this William Sr. was the son of another William. The tree described here possibly looks like the one below.
**It also appears to be saying that it was William Sr.'s father William who was in Virginia and then came to North Carolina.
**The "above-named" North Carolina county is not actually named in this excerpt.
<pre style="margin-left:40px;">1-William Ross formerly of the State of Virginia
...2-William Ross Sr. 
......3-William Ross Jr. b. 9 Aug 1731, d. 25 Dec 1801</pre>

In the Introduction, written by Reuben's associate, [[Wikipedia:James Madison Pendleton|J. M. Pendleton]].
*"The Ross family is of Scotch descent, and the grandfather of Reuben settled in an early day at Roanoke, Virginia. The year of his emigration from Scotland cannot now be given."<ref name="Life and times pp. 11-12" />
** The grandfather of Reuben was William Sr.
**This passage seems to be saying that William Sr. was in Scotland and then Virginia.
**[[#Biography|Today's town of Roanoke]] did not exist when William Sr. would've been in Virginia. That area would've been far west of the more populated coastal areas of Virginia. The Roanoke River did pass through the area, but was not, at that time, referred to as the Roanoke River. The village that became Roanoke wasn't settled until 1834. It was not actually called Roanoke until 1871, just a decade before this Introduction was written. Pendleton was the only one to refer to the specific place Roanoke. All other references made by William Sr.'s great-grandson James were to Virginia in general.

Written by [[James Ross of Clarksville (1801-1879)|James Ross]], son of Reuben and great-grandson of William Sr.

*"Your grandfather's family was originally from Scotland."
*"There was, as he used to say, a tradition that in early times several persons of this name left Scotland together, crossed the Atlantic, and settled in Virginia; that their descendants — many of them — emigrated into Maryland and Pennsylvania; that their complexions were generally dark (Ross Dhu); and that almost every family had a John, William, or James in it." 
*"His grandfather, William Ross, a descendant of these supposed traditional ancestors, emigrated from Virginia to Martin County, North Carolina; date unknown."<ref name="Life and times p. 22">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =22 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/22/mode/1up }}</ref>
**"Your grandfather" refers to Reuben. This section was written by James, speaking to his daughter.<ref name="Life and times p. 19">{{cite book |title=Life and times of Elder Reuben Ross |last =  Ross |year = 1882 |page =19 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofelder00ross/page/19/mode/1up }}</ref>
**"His grandfather", therefore, refers to William Sr.
**This seems to be saying that it is William Sr. who came to North Carolina from Virginia, not his father.
**Martin County didn't actually exist in North Carolina during the time that William Sr. or his father would've migrated there.<ref name="digital.newberry.org North Carolina">{{cite web | title=North Carolina
 | website=Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Project | url=https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/map/map.html#NC | access-date=Oct 3, 2022}}</ref> At that time, it would've been Tyrrell County. Martin was created from Tyrrell in 1774.

=== Currituck Precinct ===
<div class="leafletmapsmall">{{#display_map: geojson=CurrituckPrecinct |layers=Thunderforest.Pioneer |service=leaflet}}</div> 

In the early 1700s, Roanoke Island would've been part of the [[Currituck County, North Carolina|Currituck Precinct]] of North Carolina. There was a William Ross who was granted 134 acres of land there on {{date|09 Oct 1716|mdy}}.{{NC land grants full|title=Currituck Co. File No. 121, William Ross|call_number=12.14.52.121}}<ref name="William Ross 1716 grant">{{cite book |title=Currituck County Deeds |volume= 5 |publisher= FamilySearch |pages = 187-188 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L98M-83R1?i=469&cat=329200 |access-date=4 Oct 2022}}</ref>

It's impossible to tell from the grant where exactly in the precinct the land was located. However, it does tell us that he shared property lines with Luke White, Michael ONeal and Thomas Vince. In 1715, Luke White owned 2 tracts of land in Currituck totaling 279 acres.<ref name="Currituck Co. 1715 Tax List">{{cite web | title=Currituck Co., NC - 1715 Land Taxes | website=NCGenWeb Project  | url=http://www.ncgenweb.us/currituck/tax/1715land.html | date=11 Jul 2009 |access-date=Oct 4, 2022}}</ref> One hundred seventy five acres on the [[Poquoson River|River Pocoson]] at Thomas Taylor's corner were granted to him on {{date|02 Dec 1712|mdy}}.{{NC land grants full|title=Currituck Co. File No. 42, Luck White|call_number=12.14.52.42}} He purchased another 143 acres from Thomas Vince and his wife Margaret on {{date|Apr. 12, 1714|mdy}}.<ref name="Luke White deed 1714">{{cite book |title=Currituck County Deeds |volume= 3 |publisher= FamilySearch |page = 17 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9989-QSQ1?cat=329200 |access-date=4 Oct 2022}}</ref><ref name="Currituck County NC Deed Book 3" /> This parcel was near Poyners Point, part of a tract of land patented to Anne Baly on {{date|21 Feb. 1696|mdy}}.

Considering that William Ross shares a property line with both Luke White and Thomas Vince, it's likely that his property was next to Luke White's 143 acres near Poyners Point that was purchased from Thomas Vince. Unfortunately, Poyners Point is not found on any of the available maps of the day.

William Ross is not found on any tax lists after he was granted the land.<ref name="Currituck Co. Tax Lists">{{cite web | title=Currituck Co., NC Census, Tax & Voter's Lists | website=NCGenWeb Project | url=http://www.ncgenweb.us/currituck/census.html | access-date=Oct 4, 2022}}</ref> He seems to have owned the property, though, until he and his wife Hannah sold it on {{date|Sept. 27, 1735|mdy}}.<ref name="William Ross 1735 deed">{{cite book |title=Currituck County Deeds |volume= 3 |publisher= FamilySearch |page = 55 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9989-Q9PL?i=59&cat=329200 |access-date=4 Oct 2022}}</ref><ref name="Currituck County NC Deed Book 3">{{cite web | last=Sheppard | first=Kay Midgett | title=Currituck County NC Deed Book 3 | website=NCGenWeb Project |date=15 Jan 2016 | url=http://www.ncgenweb.us/currituck/deeds/db03.html | access-date=Oct 4, 2022}}</ref>

As of now, there is no known evidence of a connection between [[William Ross of Currituck County (fl1716-1735)]] and this William Ross Sr. of Martin County.

=== Disputed Origins ===

== Sources ==
<references />

* {{FamilySearch microfilm full|author=North Carolina County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Tyrrell County)|title=Deeds, 1736-1920; general index to deeds, 1729-1961|publisher=Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, North Carolina Dept. of Archives and History|publication-place=Salt Lake City, Utah, Raleigh, North Carolina|year=1950|oclc=865959163|film_number=19984|county=Tyrrell County|state=North Carolina|film_title=Deeds, v. 2 1748-1755|annotation=}}
* {{FamilySearch microfilm full|author=North Carolina County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Tyrrell County)|title=Deeds, 1736-1920; general index to deeds, 1729-1961|publisher=Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, North Carolina Dept. of Archives and History|publication-place=Salt Lake City, Utah, Raleigh, North Carolina|year=1950|oclc=865959163|film_number=19985|county=Tyrrell|state=North Carolina|film_title=Deeds, v. 4-4a 1761-1770|annotation=}}
* {{Plant full}}

== Acknowledgements ==
*Extending work by:
** [[Charles Ross Brashear]] posted on Ancestry.com's [https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/ross/13112/ message boards]. 
**[https://www.ancestry.com/account/profile/013f8dbe-0006-0000-0000-000000000000 Jennifer Ross-Chapman].
**[https://jimserver.net/article/the-white-family-of-norfolk-county.php Jim White].

==Further reading==
* [https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/encore/ncgre000/00000017/00016964/00016964.pdf History of Tyrrell County]
* [https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/roanoke_island_late_17th_century.pdf The North End of Roanoke Island in the 17th Century]

==External links==
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