Lewis W. Ross
Colonel Lewis Winans Ross | |
---|---|
9th district | |
In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869 | |
Preceded by | William J. Allen |
Succeeded by | Thompson W. McNeely |
Personal details | |
Born | Dutchess County, New York, US | December 8, 1812
Died | October 29, 1895 Lewistown, Illinois, US | (aged 82)
Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery Lewistown, Illinois |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Frances Mildred Simms (1822–1902) |
Children | 12 |
Residence(s) | Lewistown, Illinois |
Alma mater | Illinois College |
Occupation | Attorney, merchant, banker |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Rank | Sergeant, Captain |
Battles/wars | Black Hawk War Mexican–American War |
Lewis Winans Ross (December 8, 1812 – October 29, 1895) was an Illinois attorney, merchant, and U.S. Representative from Illinois's 9th congressional district. He was widely known as an antiwar Peace Democrat or Copperhead during the American Civil War.
Early life
Born near
Marriage and children
Lewis Ross married Frances Mildred Simms (1822–1902) in Lewistown, Illinois, on June 13, 1839.[3] Lewis and Frances Ross had 12 children:[4] John Wesley Ross (1841–1902), a distinguished attorney who served as president of the Washington, D. C., Board of Commissioners; Mary Frances Ross (1843–1844); Ossian Reuben Ross (1845–1863), who committed suicide while a student at the University of Michigan;[5] Ellen Caroline Ross (1846–1880); Lewis Cass "Lute" Ross (1848–1916); Frank Rutledge Ross (1851–1886); Henry Lee Ross (1852–1856); Alice Ross (1854–1855); Pike Clinton Ross (1855–1917); Frances Walker Ross (1857–1885); Jennie L. Ross (1859–1941); and an unnamed daughter who died in infancy (her gravestone is marked "Babe").
Military service
Ross served in
Political service
Lewis Ross served as a member of the
While in Congress, Ross served as a member of the House Committees on Agriculture and Indian Affairs.
Political views
Ross' political views during the Civil War generally corresponded to those of the antiwar Peace Democrats or Copperheads.
During the
Later life
Although he was considered by some individuals as a possible candidate for the office of Vice President of the United States in 1868,[20] Ross retired from politics after his service as a congressman in order to manage his considerable real estate holdings in Lewistown and Havana and to pursue his business interests. In 1878, Ross was involved in the incorporation of the Fulton County Narrow-Gauge Railroad Company,[21] which ultimately built a line between Galesburg and West Havana, Illinois.[22] In 1893, Ross was elected President of the Lewistown National Bank, and he took an active role in the bank's affairs until his death.[23]
Death and legacy
Lewis Ross died in Lewistown, Illinois, on October 29, 1895, as a consequence of a burst blood vessel in his head.[10] He was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in an area devoted to several members of the Ross family, including his grandmother (Abigail Lee Ross), his father, mother, wife, and 9 of his 12 children.
Original correspondence and other documents related to Lewis Ross are housed in the
Ross was the basis for the character of Washington McNeely in Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology.[24] Two of Ross' sons provided the basis for other characters in that work. The suicide of Ross' son Ossian Reuben Ross is alluded to in Masters' depiction of the character of Harry McNeely, Washington McNeely's son; Lewis Cass Ross was the basis for the character of Lucious Atherton in another part of the work. However, none of Ross' other children bear any obvious relationship to the offspring of the Washington McNeely character. The "great mansion-house" mentioned in the verse refers to the Ross Mansion, a New England style building modeled after a mansion on the Hudson River that Ross admired.[17] The mansion was demolished in 1962, and the land was designated by the City of Lewistown as Ross Mansion Park, which is located at the corner of Broadway Street and Milton Avenue.[25]
Notes
- ^ Several newspaper accounts of Lewis Ross' death stated that he had participated in both the Battle of Veracruz and the Battle of Cerro Gordo. However, a letter from Ross to his wife, dated April 8, 1847, and written while he was on board the General Worth on his way to New Orleans, states that Vera Cruz had already been taken by that time.[9]
References
- ^ a b Bateman, Newton; Selby, Paul; Heylin, Jesse (1908). Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Fulton County. Chicago: Munsell Pub. Co. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Illinois College; Capps, Edward (1929). Book of memorial memberships. Jacksonville, Ill.: The Illinois College Alumni Fund Association. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ "Illinois Statewide Marriage Index". Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Death of Mrs. F. M. Ross". The Fulton Democrat. October 29, 1902.
- ^ "A Student of the Michigan State University Commits Suicide". Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield, Ill.). October 23, 1863.
- ^ United States. Adjutant General's Office (1988). "Compiled Service Records of Michigan and Illinois Volunteer who Served During the Winnebago Indian Disturbances of 1827". Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^ Illinois; Elliott, Isaac H. (1882). Record of the services of Illinois soldiers in the Black Hawk war, 1831-32, and in the Mexican war, 1846-8: containing a complete roster of commissioned officers and enlisted men of both wars, taken from the official rolls on file in the War department, Washington, D.C. With an appendix, giving a record of the services of the Illinois militia, rangers and riflemen, in protecting the frontier from the ravages of the Indians from 1810 to 1813. Springfield, Ill.: H.W. Rokker, State printer. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ Chas. C. Chapman & Co. (1879). History of Fulton county, Illinois. Peoria, Ill.: C. C. Chapman & Co. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ OCLC 54354834.
- ^ a b c d "Lewis W. Ross Dead". Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago, Ill.). October 30, 1895.
- ^ Pease, Theodore Calvin (1923). Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Ill.: Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ City Directories for Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.: Wm. H. Boyd. 1868. p. 63.
- ISBN 9780803236684.
- ^ Kraft, Louis (2011). Ned Wynkoop and the lonely road from Sand Creek. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press.
- ^ a b Anderson, William M. (1992). "The Fulton County war at home and in the field". Illinois Historical Journal. 85: 23–36.
- ^ "Speech of Hon. Lewis W. Ross, of Ill., delivered in the House of Representatives, June 15, 1864". 1864. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ a b Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Illinois (1939). Illinois; a descriptive and historical guide. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co. p. 576.
- ^ Ross, Lewis W. (1866). Restoration: speech of Hon. Lewis W. Ross, of Illinois; in the House of Representatives, May 19, 1866. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Globe Office.
- ^ Ross, Lewis W. (1868). Reconstruction: speech of Hon. Lewis W. Ross, of Illinois; delivered in the House of Representatives, January 17, 1868. Washington, D.C.: F. & J. Rives & Geo. A. Bailey.
- ^ "The Brothers Ross: Two Remarkable Pioneers of Fulton County, Illinois". The Chicago Tribune. December 16, 1894. p. 47.
- ^ "New Narrow-Gauge Road". Daily Illinois State Journal. September 26, 1878.
- ^ "Fulton County Narrow Gauge Railroad". Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Career of the Late Capt. Ross". Evening Star (Washington, D. C.). November 5, 1895.
- ^ Masters, Edgar Lee; Hallwas, John E. (1992). Spoon River Anthology: an annotated edition. Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois Press.
- ^ "City of Lewistown Illinois – Ross Mansion Park". Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- United States Congress. "Lewis W. Ross (id: R000451)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress