Francis Ross (-c1830)
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Francis Ross | |
|---|---|
| Died | c. 1830 |
| Nickname | Frank |
| Residence | Long Acre, Beaufort County, North Carolina |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Jones |
| Family | Rosses of Beaufort County |
| Father | John Ross the Immigrant (c1727-) |
Francis "Frank" Ross was a son of John Ross the Immigrant, traditionally counted among the six sons who emigrated from Scotland in 1774, and the recipient of the earliest documented Ross land grant in Beaufort County, North Carolina.
DNA evidence
Y-DNA
No documented direct male-line descendant of Francis Ross has taken a Y-DNA test as of this writing. See John Ross the Immigrant for the status of Y-DNA testing within this family cluster generally.
Autosomal DNA
Biography
Early life
Francis Ross was born in Scotland; no specific birth date has been found for him. He married Mary "Ann" Jones in 1778 in North Carolina.
On August 19, 1779, one hundred acres on Long Acre Ridge, Beaufort County, North Carolina, were surveyed and commissioned to Francis Ross — the earliest documented land record for this Ross family in North Carolina, and issued just four years after John Ross the Immigrant's well-documented 1774 arrival at Wilmington.[1] The chain bearers on that survey were Elijah Ross and Benjamin Ross, evidence generally read within the family as supporting a brotherly relationship among the three men.[1] Francis and Elijah Ross both appear on the 1779 Beaufort County tax list.[2]
On December 5, 1785, Francis Ross sold 200 acres in Long Acre, Beaufort County, to his brother Elijah Ross; their brother Benjamin Ross witnessed the deed.[3] In a separate transaction, Francis Ross sold property in Long Acre to Alexander Redditt, again witnessed by his brothers Benjamin and Elijah Ross.[4]
1779 indictment and Misprision of Treason
Francis Ross was among the twenty-three men indicted at New Bern on November 10, 1779 alongside his brothers Elijah and Benjamin Ross and several members of the Van Daniel family, for freeing an accused militia deserter from custody and for resisting militia service and taxation; see Elijah Ross Sr. for the fuller account of the case. Francis Ross was convicted, along with his brothers, of the lesser charge of misprision of treason after being acquitted of high treason, and was sentenced to confinement and forfeiture of half his estate — a sentence with no evidence of having actually been carried out.[5]
Ancestors
| Angus Ross | |||||||||
| John Ross the Immigrant (c1727-) | |||||||||
| Francis Ross (-c1830) | |||||||||
| James McKenzie | |||||||||
| Isobel Unknown | |||||||||
- Francis Ross (-c1830)
- m. Mary Jones
Francis Ross is traditionally identified as a son of John Ross the Immigrant. See Disputed origins for the state of the evidence.
Marriage and children
Francis Ross married Mary "Ann" Jones in 1778 in North Carolina. Francis Ross is enumerated on the 1820 census, but on the 1830 census "Mrs. Francis Ross" is listed instead — possibly reflecting his death between the two enumerations. Only three persons are noted in the 1830 household: one male under 9, one female under 14, and a female under 39; the names of any children are not given in the sources reviewed for this article.[6]
Occupation
Military
Francis Ross's only documented militia-related record is his indictment and conviction described above; see Elijah Ross Sr. regarding the Beaufort County militia roll of April 1781 on which his brothers appear.
Death & burial
Francis Ross's death is dated to about 1830, on the basis of the 1830 census entry for "Mrs. Francis Ross" discussed above. No place of death or burial has been documented.
Timeline
- August 14, 1778 - Francis Ross entered a grant for 300 acres on the N. side Pamplico river beginning at a pine in Beaufort County, North Carolina[7]
- August 19, 1778 - Francis Ross entered a grant for 100 acres on the N. side of Pamplico river high up the ridge in Beaufort County, North Carolina[8]
- circa 1779 - Survey No. 5 for Francis Ross's 100-acre tract on the N. side of Pamplico river high up the ridge, known by the name of Long Acre, beginning at a pine on Robert West's line, N. 45 E. 175 poles to a pine, W. 100 poles to a cypress in the [swamp?], S. 45 W. 175 poles to a pine near the piney savanna, E. 100 poles to the first station, chain-borne by Benjamin Ross and Elijah Ross, surveyed by Isaac Chauncey[8]
- circa 1779 - Survey No. 53 for Francis Ross's 300-acre tract on the N. side of Pamplico river and on the E. side of Long Acre, beginning at a pine on Robert West's line, S. [?] 320 poles to a [?], E. 160 poles to a pine in the pocosin, N. 32 E. 320 poles to Robert West's line, thence with that line to the first station, chain-borne by Benjamin Ross and Elisha (probably Elijah) Ross, surveyor [I.] Chauncey[7]
- April 21, 1779 - Francis Ross entered a grant for 300 acres on the North side of Pamplico river and on the East side of theridge of long acre in Beaufort County, North Carolina[9]
- April 12, 1780 - Francis Ross was granted the 100 acres on the N. side of Pamplico river high up the ridge, known by the name of Long Acre,[8]
- April 12, 1780 - Francis Ross was granted the 300 acres he entered in 1778[7]
- April 20, 1781 - Francis Ross is listed in Division No. 3 on the roll of Affective Men in the Beaufort Regiment of Militia, returned by Colonel William Brown.[10]
- September 3, 1781 - Deed from Francis Ross, Aurite Ross to John Jordan, per the Beaufort County General Index to Real Estate Conveyances. (Second given name printed 'Aurite' -- possibly 'Aurelia' (compare the bk. 5 p. 478 and bk. 6 p. 331 deeds naming a Francis & Aurelia Ross).)[11]
- October 28, 1782 - Francis Ross was granted the 300 acres he entered in 1779[9]
- December 1785 - Deed from Jacob Durden Jr to Francis Ross, per the Beaufort County General Index to Real Estate Conveyances.[12]
- December 1785 - Deed from Francis Ross, Aurelia Ross to Elijah Ross, per the Beaufort County General Index to Real Estate Conveyances.[13]
- March 1788 - Deed from Francis Ross, Aurelia Ross to Alexander Redditt, per the Beaufort County General Index to Real Estate Conveyances.[14]
- March 1798 - Bond of Sale from Francis Ross, Ann Ross to Luke Robason, witnesses Benjamin Ross and Jesse Robason[15]
Disputed origins
See John Ross the Immigrant for the discussion of which six men are traditionally counted as sons of the Immigrant. Francis Ross's identification as a brother is supported by the same body of Beaufort County land-deed, tax-list, and court evidence that ties Elijah and Benjamin Ross together — indeed, the 1779 land grant to Francis, surveyed with Elijah and Benjamin as chain bearers, is the earliest piece of that evidence.
Common discrepancies
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brewer 2022, p. [9].
- ↑ Brewer 2022, p. [21].
- ↑ "Index to Real Estate Conveyances, 1696–1959; Deeds & Mortgages, 1700–1960," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89DR-FKMJ), Francis Ross to Elijah Ross, December 5, 1785, Long Acre, Beaufort County, North Carolina, witnessed by Benjamin Ross.
- ↑ "Index to Real Estate Conveyances, 1696–1959; Deeds & Mortgages, 1700–1960," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9DR-FVNJ), Francis Ross to Alexander Redditt, Long Acre, Beaufort County, North Carolina, witnessed by Benjamin Ross and Elijah Ross.
- ↑ Brewer 2022, pp. [41-42].
- ↑ Brewer 2022, p. [8].
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Beaufort Co. File no. 909, Francis Ross". North Carolina Land Grant Images and Data. North Carolina Historical Records Online – via State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh NC, microfilm call # S.108.453.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Beaufort Co. File no. 905, Francis Ross". North Carolina Land Grant Images and Data. North Carolina Historical Records Online – via State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh NC, microfilm call # S.108.453.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Beaufort Co. File no. 1009, Francis Ross". North Carolina Land Grant Images and Data. North Carolina Historical Records Online – via State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh NC, microfilm call # S.108.453.
- ↑ Brown 1781, p. 1.
- ↑ Beaufort Co. bk. 5 p. 153
- ↑ Beaufort Co. bk. 5 p. 483
- ↑ Beaufort Co. bk. 5 p. 478
- ↑ Beaufort Co. bk. 6 p. 331
- ↑ Beaufort Co. bk. 7 p. 411
Bibliography
- Brewer, Cathy (2022). Granddaddy was a Patriot. Self-published family history.
Disclaimer
It is admittedly impossible that we have been able to evaluate every piece of evidence available for every person included on this site. What you often find on the internet, though, are trees with no sources attached at all. Many of these trees were created pre-internet & have been passed down, uploaded & copied to multiple sites without details of the original sources they were based on. Now, with the advent of DNA testing, we're finding that they don't always match up with what the DNA is telling us. In order to reevaluate these trees in conjunction with the DNA evidence, we need to have available the sources that they might've originally been based on. This site, then, is intended as a repository for these sources and an opportunity to share what the DNA is telling us so that we can work collectively to correct these trees. Over time, more of the old records will be able to be combed through, and the sources cited here will grow.