Redheadkelly: Text replacement - "William Ross of Mecklenburg County" to "William Ross of English Buffalo Creek"

2026-08-23T20:33:43Z

Text replacement - "William Ross of Mecklenburg County" to "William Ross of English Buffalo Creek"

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{{SHORTDESC:Land owner of Montgomery and Stewart County, Tennessee}}
{{About||William of the Yellow Creek area of southwestern Montgomery County|William B. Ross of Palmyra}}
{{About||the William Ross Sr. of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, land grants|William Ross Sr. of Rocky River}}
{{About||an additional William Ross in Mecklenburg County|William Ross of English Buffalo Creek}}
{{Infobox Ross ancestor
| given_name = William
| middle_name = 
| surname = Ross
| surname_prefix = 
| pre-nominals = 
| post-nominals = Sr.
| title_type = 
| title_ordinal = 
| title_role = 
| title_particle = 
| title_object = 
| honorific_suffix = 
| date_format = mdy
| portrait = 
| landscape = 
| alt = 
| other_image = 
| birth_name = William Ross
| birth_date_range_end = 1758
| baptized = 
| death_date_range_end = 6 May 1811
| flourished_begin = 
| flourished_end = 
| burial_place = 
| gravestone = 
| residence = Montgomery County, Tennessee;Stewart County, Tennessee
| years_active_beg = 
| years_active_end = 
| organization = 
| title = 
| height = 
| weight = 
| father = 
| mother = 
| spouses = {{partner|Elizabeth Unknown}}
| children = {{plainlist|
* [[Isaac Ross (c1775-bef1835)|Isaac Ross]]
* [[Mary Ross (-aft1833)|Mary Ross]]
* [[William Ross, Jr (bef1784-aft1829)|William Ross Jr.]]
* [[Charles T. Ross (bef1791-aft1835)|Charles T. Ross]]
* [[Leah Ross (c1784-aft1866)|Leah Ross]]
* [[Joshua Ross (-aft1835)|Joshua Ross]]
* [[Eleanor Ross (-aft1834)|Eleanor Ross]]
* [[Sarah Ross (-aft1829)|Sarah Ross]]
}}
| family = Rosses of Montgomery County, Tennessee
| immigration_date = 
| immigration_place = 
| sex_chromosomes = XY
| y_matched_group = 
| familysearch = 
| wikitree = Ross-30035
| rin = 72828
}}

'''William Ross Sr.''' (before 1758 – c. 1811) was a landowner of Montgomery and Stewart County, Tennessee, documented in a substantial series of deeds, tax lists, and court records between 1805 and his death about 1811. He is the father of eight documented children, including [[William Ross, Jr (bef1784-aft1829)|William Ross Jr.]] and [[Charles T. Ross (bef1791-aft1835)|Charles T. Ross]].

== DNA evidence ==

=== Y-DNA ===
No documented direct male-line descendant of this William Ross Sr. has been identified for Y-DNA testing purposes as of this writing.

=== Autosomal DNA ===


== Biography ==

=== Early life ===
No birth record has been located for William Ross Sr.; his birth is estimated as before 1758 on the basis of his documented adult activity beginning by the mid-1800s.<ref name="tax">Jim Long, ''Stewart County, Tennessee Tax Lists, 1804–1840'' (Franklin, Tennessee, 2011), pp. 31, 40, 49, 70.</ref> He appears to have moved from Montgomery County to the newly formed Stewart County, Tennessee (organized in 1803 from Montgomery County) by about 1803.<ref name="tax" />

=== Montgomery and Stewart County land records, 1805–1811 ===
On 17 February 1805, William Ross Sr., of Montgomery County, Tennessee, granted to his son William Ross Jr., "for and in consideration of the love and regard he has for his son," a tract of land on the Little West Fork of the Red River, beginning at Joshua Ross's southeast corner; the deed was witnessed by Glidwell Killebrew and David Enloe.<ref name="1805deed">Montgomery County, Tennessee Deed Book D, pp. 187–188 (17 February 1805).</ref><ref name="mtgyco-deeds4">Don Simmons and Laura Willis, ''Montgomery County, Tennessee Deeds Volume 4, 1805–1809'' (Simmons Historical Publications, Melber, Kentucky, 1996), pp. 2, 16, 58, 67, 71, 85–86.</ref>

On 18 July 1806, Samuel Allen sold Glidwell Killebrew, both of Montgomery County, a 300-acre tract on the Little West Fork of the Red River adjoining land Allen had sold to David Dupuy, described in the deed as "son-in-law of William Ross Sr.," and part of three tracts originally granted to William Ross Sr. and William Whitehead.<ref name="1806deed">Montgomery County, Tennessee Deed Book D, pp. 262–263 (18 July 1806).</ref><ref name="mtgyco-deeds4" />

On 7 March 1807, William Ross Jr. signed a bond to his father in the sum of $2,000, conditioned on the understanding that if he ever made a claim against his father's estate, he would first pay $1,000 with interest before drawing his equal share as a child of William Ross Sr.<ref name="1807bond">Montgomery County, Tennessee Will Record Book A, p. 450 (7 March 1807).</ref><ref name="willis1805-1814">Laura Willis, ''Montgomery County, Tennessee Wills and Administrations Volume Two, 1805–1814'' (Simmons Historical Publications, Melber, Kentucky, 1995), p. 41.</ref>

On 2 September 1807, William Ross witnessed a deed of David Enloe to James Ross for 29 acres on the west fork of the Red River.<ref name="1807witness">Montgomery County, Tennessee Deed Book H, pp. 401–402 (2 September 1807).</ref><ref name="simmons1805d">Don Simmons and Laura Willis, ''Montgomery County, Tennessee Deeds Volume 4, 1805–1809'' (Simmons Historical Publications, Melber, Kentucky, 1996), pp. 29, 47.</ref> Later that month, on 18 September 1807, William Ross Sr. sold Thomas Blakeney 200 acres on the Little West Fork of Red River, part of a tract originally granted to the heirs of Clement Smith, witnessed by James Lockert and Lewis Elliott.<ref name="1807blakeney">Montgomery County, Tennessee Deed Book D, pp. 318–319 (18 September 1807).</ref><ref name="simmons1805d" />

On 29 February 1808, William Ross Sr. and Thomas Watson sold John Shelby 110 acres on Flat Lick Fork of the Little West Fork of Red River, part of a 640-acre tract the heirs of Clement Smith had granted them, witnessed by W. E. Williams, C. Clengen, and James Lockert.<ref name="1808shelby">Montgomery County, Tennessee Deed Book H, pp. 460–461 (29 February 1808).</ref> On 27 June 1808, Robert Nelson bonded himself to convey 274 acres on the east end of Green Tree Grove to William Ross once Nelson obtained his own grant entry, witnessed by William S. Bailey and James Hambleton and proven in court 13 June 1809.<ref name="1808nelson">Montgomery County, Tennessee Deed Book I, p. 20 (27 June 1808).</ref><ref name="willis1808-1812">Laura Willis, ''Montgomery County, Tennessee Deeds Volume 5, 1808–1812'' (Simmons Historical Publications, Melber, Kentucky, 1996), p. 11.</ref>

William Ross appears on the Stewart County, Tennessee tax lists from 1808 through 1811. In 1808 he is listed with 282 acres at Green Tree Grove and no poll tax; in 1809 he appears in Captain Warden's Company, still with 282 acres; the 1810 list places him in "Captain Ross' Company," alongside Reuben Ross, Charles Ross, Isaac Ross, Thomas Ross, Nathan Ross, and Hampton Ross.<ref name="tax" /> The 1811 list notes that his land was "received by order of Court, May Term 1812, for 1811, Alsey Bradford, Executor of William Ross, 100 acres and 1 white poll."<ref name="tax" />

On 28 September 1810, William Ross received a Tennessee land grant (No. 2557) for 140 acres in Stewart County, District 1, as assignee of Archibald McDonald's military service warrant No. 3843 (dated 16 March 1795), adjoining a 274-acre survey made for Robert Nelson south of Green Tree Grove; the tract was surveyed 17 January 1810 by D. Stewart and the grant was signed by Governor Willie Blount.<ref name="1810grant">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 9, pp. 1–2 (grant dated 28 September 1810, recorded 4 December 1829); "Stewart County, Tennessee Deeds, Indirect (Grantee Index)," online at USGenWeb.org (tngenweb.org/stewart/deed/TNStewartGranteeIndex.htm).</ref> On 28 November 1810, William Ross's property is mentioned as an abutting boundary in deeds of Henry Pugh to John and Thomas Haywood.<ref name="1810pugh">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book D, pp. 79–85 (28 November 1810); Mrs. John Trotwood Moore, ''Tennessee Records of Stewart County Deed Record Book Vol. 4, 1810–1813'' (Works Progress Administration, 1939), pp. 16–18, 71, 113.</ref>

=== Death and estate, 1811–1839 ===
At the Stewart County, Tennessee Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions held at Dover on 6 May 1811, the last will and testament of William Ross was proved in open court on the oath of Charles Ross, Isaac Ross, and Timothy Taylor, and James Walker, the executor named in the will, qualified as such.<ref name="courtmin1811a">Stewart County, Tennessee Court Minutes, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, April 1808 – November 1812, pp. 54–55 (6 May 1811); also online at USGenWeb.org (tngenweb.org/stewart/minutes1808.htm).</ref> On 5 August 1811, James Walker, as executor, exhibited an inventory and list of sales of the estate to the court.<ref name="courtmin1811b">Stewart County, Tennessee Court Minutes, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, April 1808 – November 1812, p. 81 (5 August 1811).</ref> On 4 May 1812, the court granted James Walker leave to return two tracts of the estate (140 and 142 acres) for 1811 taxation, exonerated from double tax.<ref name="courtmin1812">Stewart County, Tennessee Court Minutes, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, April 1808 – November 1812, p. 124 (4 May 1812); Jim Long, ''Stewart County, Tennessee County Court Minutes 1804–1812'' (self-published, Franklin, Tennessee, undated), pp. 131, 144, 156.</ref> A settlement by the estate's administrators was filed 24 April 1813.<ref name="wills-a176">Stewart County, Tennessee Wills and Bonds Volume A (1812–1814), p. 176 (24 April 1813); Byron and Barbara Sistler, ''Index to Tennessee Wills and Administrations 1779–1861'' (self-published, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990), p. 317.</ref> On 4 May 1813, James Walker, as executor, conveyed a 50-acre parcel out of grant No. 2558 to Nathan Skinner in satisfaction of a bond of William Ross's, witnessed by Henry Pugh and Ezekiel Cox.<ref name="skinner1813">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book D, pp. 473–474 (4 May 1813).</ref>

On 5 May 1823, the Stewart County court appointed Nathan Ross, Robert Walker, and David Moore to settle with James Walker, administrator of the estate, and the settlement was returned 6 August 1823.<ref name="settlement1823a">Settlements, Wills and Bonds Volume A (May 1812 – May 1814), Stewart County, Tennessee, p. 209 (5 May 1823); Jim Long, ''Stewart County, Tennessee Abstracts of Settlements, Wills and Bonds, 1804–1896'' (2008), pp. 44–45, 67.</ref><ref name="settlement1823b">Settlements, Wills and Bonds Volume A (May 1812 – May 1814), Stewart County, Tennessee, p. 263 (6 August 1823).</ref> The 140-acre Green Tree Grove tract granted to William Ross remained listed in his heirs' names on Stewart County tax delinquency notices published in the ''Knoxville Register'' on 16 July 1824 (for 1823 taxes) and again on 4 April 1827 (for 1826 taxes), and on the 1830 Stewart County tax list.<ref name="knoxreg1824">''The Knoxville Register'', Knoxville, Tennessee, vol. VIII, no. 414, 16 July 1824, p. 4, col. 2.</ref><ref name="knoxreg1827">''Knoxville Register'', Knoxville, Tennessee, vol. XI, no. 551, 4 April 1827, p. 3, col. 4.</ref><ref name="tax" />

The Green Tree Grove tract, held as daughter Leah's dower and inheritance, was sold on 11 March 1830 by Leah's husband Stephen Howell, of Covington County, Mississippi, to James Walker of Christian County, Kentucky, for $9, quitclaiming Leah's one-ninth share; the deed was proven in court and registered 29 January 1831.<ref name="howell1830">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 9, pp. 165–166 (11 March 1830, registered 29 January 1831).</ref> On 9 January 1839, Young E. Watson of Christian County, Kentucky sold Samuel A. Tarry of Stewart County an 80-acre portion of the same 140-acre "Ross survey," describing it as six-ninths of the tract granted to William Ross and divided among his wife and heirs; the deed was proven in court 2 April 1850.<ref name="1839deed">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 16 (December 1847 – January 1851), pp. 579–580 (9 January 1839, proven 2 April 1850).</ref>

=== Map ===
<div class="leafletmap">{{#display_map: layers=Thunderforest.Pioneer|service=leaflet|
36.4870,-87.3595~Residence and land, Green Tree Grove, Stewart County, Tennessee;
36.5290,-87.3595~Land transactions, Montgomery County, Tennessee, 1805-1808
}}</div>

=== Ancestors ===
{{Ancestors & descendants chart
|descendants=
*'''William Ross Sr.'''
** m. [[Elizabeth Unknown]]
*** [[Isaac Ross (c1775-bef1835)|Isaac Ross]]
*** [[Mary Ross (-aft1833)|Mary Ross]]
*** [[William Ross, Jr (bef1784-aft1829)|William Ross Jr.]]
*** [[Charles T. Ross (bef1791-aft1835)|Charles T. Ross]]
*** [[Leah Ross (c1784-aft1866)|Leah Ross]]
**** m. [[Stephen Howell (c1782-bef1860)|Stephen Howell]]
*** [[Joshua Ross (-aft1835)|Joshua Ross]]
*** [[Eleanor Ross (-aft1834)|Eleanor Ross]]
**** m. [[David Dupuy (-aft1834)|David Dupuy]]
*** [[Sarah Ross (-aft1829)|Sarah Ross]]
}}
No source located for this article documents William Ross Sr.'s own parents.

=== Marriage and children ===
William Ross Sr. married a woman named Elizabeth, surname undocumented; a deed of 18 July 1806 identifies David Dupuy as his son-in-law, indicating a daughter's marriage by that date.<ref name="1806deed" /> His eight documented children are:
* [[Isaac Ross (c1775-bef1835)|Isaac Ross]]<ref name="isaacdeed">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 12, pp. 398–400.</ref>
* [[Mary Ross (-aft1833)|Mary Ross]]<ref name="marydeed">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 13, p. 21 (18 March 1833).</ref>
* [[William Ross, Jr (bef1784-aft1829)|William Ross Jr.]]<ref name="wmjr">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 9, p. 239 (2 September 1829).</ref>
* [[Charles T. Ross (bef1791-aft1835)|Charles T. Ross]]<ref name="joshuadeed">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book I, pp. 23–24; this citation is given for both Charles T. Ross and Joshua Ross in the source material reviewed for this article.</ref>
* [[Leah Ross (c1784-aft1866)|Leah Ross]], born about 1784 in North Carolina, married Stephen Howell.<ref name="howell1830" />
* [[Joshua Ross (-aft1835)|Joshua Ross]]<ref name="joshuadeed" />
* [[Eleanor Ross (-aft1834)|Eleanor Ross]], married David Dupuy.<ref name="eleanordeed">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 18 (December 1852 – October 1854), pp. 485–487 (3 November 1834).</ref><ref name="long1834">Jim Long, ''Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Abstracts 1834–1854'' (2023), pp. 65, 72, 298, 381, 382.</ref>
* [[Sarah Ross (-aft1829)|Sarah Ross]]<ref name="sarahdeed">Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 9, pp. 11–12 (4 August 1829).</ref>

A source consulted for this article separately reports "9" as the total number of children, one more than the eight documented above; this discrepancy is unresolved.<ref name="ydna-email">Jana Killebrew, "Re: Ross Surname Project Y-DNA results," email to Kelly Moores and others, July 8, 2026.</ref>

=== Occupation ===


=== Military ===


=== Death & burial ===
William Ross Sr. died about 1811 in Stewart County, Tennessee; his will was proved in open court on 6 May 1811.<ref name="courtmin1811a" /> No burial location has been documented for this article.

=== Timeline ===
{{Show timeline|person}}

== Research notes ==

=== Disputed origins ===
Whether this William Ross Sr. of Montgomery/Stewart County, Tennessee, is the same man as [[William Ross Sr. of Rocky River|William Ross Sr.]] of the Rocky River land grants, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, is an open, unresolved question. Project research initially treated the two as a single individual, and this article's birth date, death date, death place, and wife's name were originally recorded under the Rocky River article instead of here. No primary source confirming the identification — placing the Rocky River grantee in Tennessee, for instance — has yet been located, so the two are currently treated in this wiki as separate, unconfirmed individuals. The identification remains plausible — the Rocky River William Ross Sr.'s North Carolina land-grant activity (1786–1789) ends in the record at roughly the point this individual is first documented moving to Stewart County, Tennessee (about 1803) — and should be revisited if primary evidence linking the two comes to light. See also [[William Ross Sr. of Rocky River#Disputed origins|William Ross Sr. of Rocky River]].

== Common discrepancies ==
* The Stewart County tax list for 1811 names Alsey Bradford as "Executor of William Ross," while the Stewart County Court Minutes for 6 May 1811 record James Walker as the executor named in the will who qualified in open court, and James Walker continues to appear as executor/administrator of the estate through the 1820s settlements.<ref name="tax" /><ref name="courtmin1811a" /><ref name="settlement1823a" /> This discrepancy between the two records is unresolved.
* A 9 January 1839 deed involving the Green Tree Grove tract is recorded in Stewart County, Tennessee Deed Book 16, a book otherwise spanning December 1847 to January 1851; the reason for this apparent gap between the deed's date and its recording book has not been established for this article.<ref name="1839deed" />

== Sources ==
<references />

== Further reading ==


== External links ==


{{Disclaimer}}

William Ross Sr. (-c1811) - Revision history

Redheadkelly: Text replacement - "William Ross of Mecklenburg County" to "William Ross of English Buffalo Creek"