82 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



to Newtown, later went to Trenton, New 

 Jersey and finally settled in Milford, Pike 

 county, Pennsylvania. Samuel, the young- 

 est child of Thomas Ross (2) born 1779, 

 ■married in 1815 Mary Helena Wirtz, and 

 settled in Philadelphia. He had six chil- 

 dren. Cephas Ross, another son of 

 Thomas (2) remained in Bucks county, 

 ■where he still has numerous descendants. 

 -He died in Plumstrad in 1840. 



Hon. John Ross, the grandfather of the 

 •"su"bect of this sketch, son of Thomas and 

 Jane (Chapman) Ross, was born on the 

 Solebury homestead. February 24, 1770. He 

 received a liberal education, but it appears 

 that his family were averse to his follow- 

 ing a professional career. From a number 

 'of letters written by him in 1790 to his 

 benefactor, Richard Backhouse, it would 

 seem that by reason of the difference with 

 his parents as to his future career he was 

 cast upon his own resources. These let- 

 ters are now in the possession of the Penn- 

 sylvania Historical Society. He commenced 

 life as a school teacher at Durham, where he 

 attracted the attention of Richard Back- 

 house, then proprietor of the furnace. To 

 Mr. Backhouse the youth confided his in- 

 tention of going South to seek his fortune. 

 Mr. Backhouse urged him to take up the 

 study of law, and generously offered to give 

 him sufficient financial aid to complete his 

 studies and start him in the practice of 

 law. Taking up with this generous offer, 

 the embryo judge began the study of law 

 with his cousin. Thomas Ross, of West 

 Chester, then in the same judicial dis- 

 trict as Bucks county, and he was admitted 

 to the bar of the district in 1792. He set- 

 tled at Easton. Northampton county and 

 began the practice of law. and at once 

 sprang into prominence. Hon. Henry P. 

 Ross, his grandson, once said : "No 

 member of the family approached him in 

 ability," and his brilliant professional ca- 

 reer warrants the assertion, superlative 

 though it be. A born politician, he early 

 launched into the , arena of politics. He 

 was elected to the state legislature in 1800. 

 In 1804 he was a candidate for congress, 

 but the jealousies aroused by the rival 

 claims of the three counties of Northamp- 

 ton, Bucks and Montgomery, then compos- 

 ing the district, caused his defeat. He re- 

 newed the fight in 1808 and was then 

 elected. At the expiration of his term he 

 was appointed prothonotary of Northamp- 

 ton county. Was elected to congress again 

 in 1814. and re-elected in 1816 and resigned 

 to accept the appointment of judge of the 

 seventh judicial district, comprising the 

 counties of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester 

 and Delaware. January 25. 1818. He had 

 married November 19. 1795. Mary Jenkins, 

 whose family resided at Jenkintown, and 

 on taking up the duties of his office he 

 located there. The act of March. 1821, 

 placed Montgomery and Bucks in one ju- 

 dicial district and Judge Ross removed to 

 Doylestown, then the county seat of Bucks. 



He purchased the old tavern stand where 

 the National Bank now stands, and con- 

 verted it into a residence, and it remained 

 the home of his descendants until 1896. 

 Judge Ross was appointed justice of the 

 supreme cgurt April 16, 1830, after which 

 much of his time was spent in Jenkintown. 

 He died of apoplexy in Philadelphia Jan- 

 uary 31, 1834, in his sixty-fourth year. 

 While in Northampton county he had pur- 

 chased a tract of 348 acres near the Wind 

 Gap in what is now INIonroe county, and 

 named it Ross Common. He set apart 

 upon this tract a family burying ground. 

 Here his favorite brother Thomas was bur- 

 ied, and here the famous jurist and states- 

 man himself lies buried. 



The children of Judge John Ross were : 

 George, a graduate of Princeton, who stud- 

 ied law with his father and was admitted 

 to the bar in i8r8; (he became involved in 

 a quarrel which resulted in a duel on the 

 Delaware river, and he was never after- 

 wards heard from) Charles J.; Lord; Cam- 

 illa, who married General Peter Thrie, of 

 Easton ; Serena ; John, an invalid, though 

 he lived until 1886; Thomas; Jesse Jen- 

 kins, who was at one time consul to Sicilv ; 

 Adelaide, who married Dr. Samuel R. 

 Dubbs. and Mary. Of these, George, 

 Thomas, William and Jenkins all were col- 

 lege graduates and all lawyers, though 

 Thomas was the only one who continued 

 to practice. William became a teacher. 

 ]\Iary Jenkins Ross died in December. 1845. 



Thomas Ross, the father of the subject 

 of this sketch, was born in Easton. Decem- 

 ber I,. 1806. He graduated at Princeton 

 in 1825. studied law, and was admitted to 

 the bar February 9. 1829. Inheriting the 

 abilities of his distinguished ancestors, he 

 was a fine pleader and a logical thinker 

 and became one of the eminent lawyers 

 of his day. He was elected to consress 

 from the tenth district comprising Bucks 

 and Lehigh in 1848. and re-elected in 1851, 

 and the district was never more ably repre- 

 sented. As an orator he obtained a na- 

 ional reputation. He died July 7. 1865. 

 His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Levi 

 Pawling of IMontgomery county, a member 

 of the fiftieth congress, and £rrandauQ:hter 

 of Governor Heister. The children of this 

 marriage were Henry P., George and Mary. 



Henry P. Ross, born December 16. 1836, 

 who became president judge of the seventh 

 judicial district, graduated at Princeton 

 in 1857. studied law with bis father and 

 was admitted to the bar in December. 1859. 

 He nracticed law with his father imtil the 

 death of the latter in 1865. when he took 

 his brother George into the firm. He w'as 

 elected district attorney in 1862. He was 

 a brilliant lawyer and an accomplished 

 speaker. He was a leader of his party, and 

 twice its candidate for congress. He was 

 elected additional law^ judge in 1869. and 

 succeeded Judge Chapman as president 

 judge two years later. When the district 

 was divided in 1874 he chose Montgomery 



