Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/357

Rh ada with his parents in infancy, and was edu- cated at the district school, Brockville. He then studied law. was admitted to the bar in 1839, and soon attained reputation as a practitioner and as a supporter (if the Liberals. In 1848 Mr. Ross be- came a member of the legislative council. He de- clined an executive office in the government, but in 1851 accepted that of solicitor-general. In 1*52 he went to England to superintend the com]ilrti..n of the contracts for the construction of the Grand Trunk railway, and he was afterward president of this road for ten years. On his return to Canada he was attorney-general till 1854. and then speaker of the legislative council till April, 1856 ; and in the be- ginning of 1858 he was appointed receiver-general in the administration of John A. Macdonald, re- taining office until his colleagues were out of power in August of the same year. He resumed office a few days later as president of the executive coun- cil in Cartier's administration. At the time of the confederation he became a member of the Do- minion senate. He was engaged in journalism at one time, and established a newspaper that advo- cated his favorite political reforms.

ROSS, Sir John, British soldier, b. at Stone- house, Cumberland, England, 18 March, 1829. He entered the army in 1846 as 2d lieutenant in the rifle brigade. He was present at the battles of the Alma and Inkerman in 1854, as adjutant of the 2d battalion, and received a brevet majority, with three medals, for his services in the Crimea. He served during the Indian mutiny, took part in the action of Cawnpore and the capture of Lucknow, and afterward raised a camel corps, which he success- fully commanded in the Central Indian campaign under Sir Hugh Rose. For these services he re- ceived a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy and a medal, and was made a companion of the bath. He com- manded the Bengal troops in the Perak expedition of 1875-'6, and in 1878 was chosen to lead the brigade of Indian troops that was sent to Malta during the Eastern crisis. On his return to India he commanded the Calcutta district brigade, until he was given charge of the reserve division of the Af- ghanistan field force, under Sir Frederick Roberts, with whom, in 1880, he marched from Cabul to Gandahar, in command of the Indian brigades. For his services on this occasion he received the Afghan medal and star and was made a knight- commander of the bath, and received the thanks of parliament. In 1881 he was appointed to the com- mand of the Poonah division of the Bombay army, which he relinquished in 1886, when he was pro- moted lieutenant-general. In the spring of 1888 Sir John was appointed general officer commanding the forces in Canada, and in May of the same year he was sworn in as administrator of the government of Canada, pending the arrival of the newly ap- pointed governor-general. Lord Stanley, of Preston.

ROSS, John Jones, Canadian senator, b. in St. Anne de la Perade, 16 Aug.. 1832. He was edu- cated at Quebec college and became a physician. Dr. Ross represented Champlain in the Canada as- sembly from 1861 till the union, when he was re- turned for that constituency to the Dominion par- liament and the legislative assembly. In 1867 he resigned his seat in the latter on his appointment to the legislative council of Quebec. He continued to represent Champlain in the Dominion parlia- ment till 1874. when he retired. Dr. Ross was a member of the executive council of Quebec and speaker of the legislative council from 27 Feb., 1873, till August, 1874. He was reappointed on 27 Jan., 1876, and held office till March, 1878, when the ministry was dismissed by the lieutenant- governor. He again became a member of the ex- ecutive council and speaker of the legislative coun- cil. :!1 Oct.. 1*7H. and was commissioner of agri- culture and public works from July. 1881, till March. 1882. when he retired from the cabinet. After the resignation of the Mousseau ministry he formed an administration on 23 Jan., 1884, becom- ing premier and commissioner of agriculture and public works. He and the members of his admin- istration resigned in January, 1887, and in April of the same year he was appointed a member of the Canadian senate. Dr. Ross is also president of the Provincial college of physicians and sur- geons and a member of the Agricultural council of Quebec, and was elected vice-president of the North Shore railway company in 1875.

ROSS, Lawrence Sullivan, soldier, b. in Ben- tonsport, Iowa. 27 Sept., 1838. He was graduated at Florence Vesleyan university, Florence, Ala., commanded Texas frontier troops under Gen. Sam- uel Houston, and became colonel of the 6th Texas regiment of cavalry in the Confederate army on 24 May, 1862. He was made brigadier-general 21 Dec., 1863, and led a brigade in Wheeler's cavalry corps of the Army of Tennessee. In 1886 Gen. Ross became governor of Texas.

ROSS, Leonard Fulton, soldier, b. in Fulton county. 111., 18 July, 1823. He was educated in the common schools of Illinois and at Jacksonville college, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1845. In 1846 he joined the 4th Illinois volun- teers for the Mexican war, became 1st lieuten- ant, and was commended for services at Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. commanding the body-guard of Gen. James Shields while making a difficult re- connoissance. He also bore important despatches from Metamora to Gen. Zachary Taylor and to Gen. Robert Patterson in Victoria, Mexico. After the war he resumed his practice, and was probate judge for six years. He was chosen in May, 1861, colonel of the 17th Illinois regiment, which he had raised, and served with it in Missouri and Ken- tucky, bearing himself with great gallantry at Fredericktown, Mo., 21 Oct., 1861, where his horse was shot under him. In 1862 he was in command of Fort Girardeau, Mo. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 25 April, 1862, after commanding a brigade since the capture of Fort Donelson, Tenn., 16 Feb., 1862. After the evacuation of Corinth, 30 May, 1862, he was pro- moted to the command of a division and stationed at Bolivar, Tenn. In 1867 he was appointed by President Johnson collector of internal revenue for the 9th district of Illinois. He has been three times a delegate to National Republican conven- tions, and was twice a defeated candidate for con- gress. Since 1866 he has given his attention to farming and has been interested in various agri- cultural societies. He has imported fine stock into this country, and now (1898) has a large farm in Iowa. His brother, LEWIS W., was a repre- sentative in congress in 1863 '9.

ROSS, Robert, British soldier, b. in Ross Trevor, Devonshire. England, about 1766; d. in North Point. Md.. 12 Sept., 1814, He was graduated at Trinity college, Dublin, became an officer in the 20th foot, served in Holland, Egypt, and the peninsula, and was selected by the Duke of Wellington to command the corps that was sent to this country in 1814. He arrived in Chesapeake bay with :>.500 men from Wellington's army, and was re-enforced by 1,000 marines from Sir George Cockburn's blockading squadron. The entire force landed at Benedict, on the Patuxent, near Washington. Ross advanced with caution, and, joining