George Ross (abt. 1629 - 1705)

Born about 1629 in Scotland [uncertain]

Husband of Constance (Little) Ross — married 7 Dec 1658 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 1 Jan 1705 at about age 76 in Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jersey

Problems/Questions Profile managers: T Stanton [send private message], David Higgs [send private message], Carol DiFlauro [send private message], and Jane Lanterman [send private message]

Disputed Parentage There is no documentation of any kind that George Ross is the son of Andrew of Balblair and Mary Fraser. These have been detached as parents and should not be reattached without primary source documentation and discussion with profile managers. There is only one known son of Andrew of Balblair who is David.

Biography

This profile is part of the Ross Name Study.

GEORGE ROSS was born about 1629, possibly in Scotland, as he gave his age as 35 in 1664. Little is known of his early life. Undocumented family tradition is that he was a Scots soldier captured by Cromwell's forces at either the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, or the Battle of Worcester in 1651, and deported to the American Colonies. There were at least two boatloads of prisoners sent to New England. His name is not among the legible names on the passenger list of the ship John and Sarah coming in November 1651, although there were nine other Rosses aboard. The ship Unity came earlier in 1650, but there is no record of the 150 Scots aboard. (See Research Notes below)

It is further theorized that he worked with the other Scots soldiers at the Saugus Iron Works, under the supervision of Jonathan Wintrop jr, and thus followed Winthrop to New Haven, Connecticut when he became the Governor there.^{[citation needed]} Alternatively, the Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey states that he was a carpenter by trade and arrived New Haven prior to 1658 when he was made a freeman and then corroborates a move to Elizabethtown in about 1670.^[1]

At New Haven he was married "by Ye Governor" 7 Dec 1658^[2][3][4] to Constance Little and there is record there of the births of four of his children; John, Daniel, Elizabeth and Hannah. He supposedly joined the church 1655/56. He purchased land from Mrs. Goodyear I658/9. Jn 1662 he was chosen fence viewer and in 1667 he was chosen corporal of the Trayne Band. He was by occupation a carpenter.

George and Constance went to Elizabethtown, New Jersey by 1670, where they were among the earliest settlers. In 1676 as a Select Men he sat on the Monthly Court in Elizabeth town for what would be small claims cases under 40 shillings.^[5] In 1682/3 he was one of the six Essex County Tax Assessors. On 1-1-1703 he deeded 1/3rd of his 2nd lot right in Elizabethtown to the widow and children of his deceased son John. This may well indicate 3 sons (heirs). There is no record of his death, will or burial.

The Founders and Patriots of America Index gives his death as 1702 but without documentation and this would appear to be contradicted by a 1703 deed.^[6]

Arrival

Arrival; Date: 1651-1652; Place: Boston, Massachusetts^[7] NOTE: See citation below. It is not documented that this is the same George Ross.

Residence

1685 Elizabethtown, Essex County, NJ^[8]
1692 Elizabethtown, New Jersey^[9]

DNA Evidence

Several male descendants of George Ross have tested & are participants in the Ross Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA.

These descendants of George Ross are part of a large group of matches that includes descendants of Isaac Ross & Israel Ezra Ross of New Jersey and Kinchen Ross and James Ross of Martin County, North Carolina.

Other matches include descendants of Dugald Mathieson of Lochalsh.

There is an MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) chart available for the project that shows the estimated number of generations between each of the participants in the project.

This group is a branch of Haplogroup R-M420 or R1a. They came to the Highlands through Scandanavia, not Normandy.

There is no genetic evidence that this group of Rosses is descended from the Rosses of Balblair or the original Earls of Ross. No Participants in the Ross Project at FamilyTreeDNA have been confirmed as descendants of that family.

Research Notes

The Scottish Prisoners of War Society Promoting knowledge of the Scottish prisoners from the Battles of Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651):

IMPORTANT UPDATE! (July 2018) According to Christopher Gerrard, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell in Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018), on page 254, George is categorized as:

Possible [that he is a Dunbar prisoner transported on the Unity] Ross, George. Residences: New Haven CT, Elizabeth NJ. Appears: 1658. B.c.1629. [DR; SPOWS] For explanations of the category, abbreviations and references see List of Dunbar prisoners from Lost Lives, New Voices.^[10]

George Ross is the most senior ancestor listed in the Family Tree YDNA Ross Surname project for individuals within the same R1a haplogroup. Most of the members of this group are not descendants of George Ross, but share the same the surname and can trace their descendants to the Scottish Highlands. The most recent common ancestor is circa 1300 and ultimately of Norse Origin. More detailed YDNA testing is in progress.

These men are related to, but not descended from the Loch Alsh Matheson's or another group of R1a men from the Isle of Man.

Sources

1. ↑ Lee, Francis Basley, compiler, Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, III:1089, New York, Lewis, 1919
2. ↑ Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. p 638. Note that Torrey does not identify his source. See below.
3. ↑ Torrey, Clarence A., New England Marriages prior to 1700 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society: 2011), Complete with sources, 2:1303; AmericanAncestors.org; Key to sources.
4. ↑ "Geo: Rawse & Constance little were married by ye Gouvernor, December 7, 1658"; Vital Records of New Haven, 1649-1850 (Hartford: The Connecticut society of the Order of the founders and patriots of America, 1917), 1:16; Archive.org.
5. ↑ Documents Relating to the Colonial History of NJ, Vol XXII, Press Printing & Pub Co, Patterson, 1899, East Jersey Deeds, Liber No. 3, p 39
6. ↑ National Society of Daughters of Founders and Patriots, The Founders and Patriots of America Index, Reprint Genealogical Pub Co, Baltimore, 1989, p 189
7. ↑ U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc APID: 1,7486::0 NOTE: this reference is WHYTE, DONALD. A Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the USA. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Magna Carta Book Co., 1972. 504p. 2nd pr., 1981, which lists an arrival in Boston of a George Ross in 1651-1652. It is not documented that this is the same George Ross.
8. ↑ Source: #S-479830313 APID: 1,3562::18383758
9. ↑ Dobson, David, The Original Scots Colonists of America: Supplement 1607-1707, Genealogical Pub Co, Baltimore, 1998, p 162, citing EJ Deeds, Liner B, fo.363, Resident Elizabethtown, NJ 23 Dec 1692.
10. ↑ Christopher Gerrard, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell in Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018), on page 254

• The Ross family of New Jersey : a record of the descendants of George and Constance (Little) Ross and other New Jersey Ross families; Authors: Ross, Robert Leonard, 1930- (Main Author); Publication: Baltimore, Maryland : Gateway Press, c1990 <https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/258297-the-ross-family-of-new-jersey-a-record-of-the-descendants-of-george-and-constance-little-ross-and-other-new-jersey-ross-families>
• Source: S-479830313 New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc
• Source: S-482873324< U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 'NOTE: this reference is WHYTE, DONALD. A Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the USA. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Magna Carta Book Co., 1972. 504p. 2nd pr., 1981, which lists an arrival in Boston of a George Ross in 1651-1652. It is not documented that this is the same George Ross.
• Source: S119271052 New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc
• "ROSS DNA PROJECT." Family Tree DNA. n.d. Web. <https://www.familytreedna.com/public/RossDNAProject?iframe=ycolorized>
• "Ross Surname Project MRCA Chart." thefryingpan.net. n.d. Web. <http://thefryingpan.net/charts/ross-mrca-chart-reorganized.html#18>