Merran Ross (abt. 1759 - 1788)

Born about 1759 in Durness, Sutherland, Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 29 Jul 1788 at about age 29 in Achigorn, Scotland

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Merran Ross is a member of Clan Ross.

Biography of Merran Ross

Birth

Merran Ross was born in about 1759. She was the second child of Hugh Ross and Jean Manson, residents of Borley in Durness Parish, Sutherland, Scotland. ^{[1] [2]}

FIG. 1 - insert close up photo of dedication to Merran Ross on Janet Ross MacLeod's gravestone.

Life

Ross Family in Borley, 1759 - 1781

Merran's father Hugh Ross was a tenant farmer in Borley, a pre-clearance settlement of a few families on a knoll overlooking Loch Borralie, then known as Loch Borley. The settlement of Borley sat admidst fertile limestone grassland west of Loch Borralie, south of Loch Croispol, and about a mile south of the parish church at Balnakeil.

FIG. 2 - insert map of Balnakeil neighborhood

Little is known of Merran's life beyond the dedication on her sister Janet Ross MacLeod's gravestone. Merran Ross was born before the start of Durness Parish baptism records (1764) and she died before the start of civil death registrations in Durness Parish (1855).

Merran was born in about 1759. Her older brother John Ross, the first child of Hugh Ross and Jean Manson, was about 1 year old when Merran was born.

In 1763 Merran was about 4 years old when her younger brother William Ross was born. ^[3]

In 1766 Merran was about 7 years old when her short-lived younger brother Donald Ross was born. ^[4] Five years later Hugh Ross brught a second infant to be baptized as Donald.

In 1768 Merran was about 9 years old when her younger sister Barbara Ross was born. ^[5]

In 1771 Merran was about 12 years old when her younger brother Donald Ross was born. ^[6]

In 1775 Merran was about 16 years old when her yougest brother John Ross was born. ^[7]

Merran was a teenager when her older brother John Ross left to join the British Army. John's retirement records state that he was 19 years old when he enlisted in the British Army. ^[8] The exact year is not known, but it may have been early in 1778 when Merran was 18 years old.

In 1778 Merran was about 19 years old when her youngest sister Janet Ross was born. ^[9]

In 1780 Merran was about 21 years old when her younger brother William fathered a child with a single woman named Janet in Borley. The baby was Merran's nephew, and was baptised as Donald Ross. ^[10]

In 1781 Merran was about 22 years old when her youngest sibling William Ross was born. ^[11] This ominous baptism of a second child named William may indicate that Merran's brother the first William Ross had died.

Death and Legacy

An extra dedication is engraved on the table stone over the grave of Angus MacLeod and Janet Ross MacLeod: "Sacred to the memory of Merran Ross who died at Achigorn on the 29th July 1788 aged 29 years."^[12] This reference on the grave stone for Janet Ross is the only primary evidence at present for the life of Merran Ross. Janet Ross was 10 years old when her sister Marren died.

In 1791, three years after Merran's death, Merran's younger sister Barbara Ross MacCulloch named her second child and first daughter Marion MacCulloch.

In 1803, fifteen years after Merran's death, Merran's youngest sister Janet Ross MacLeod named her third child Merran MacLeod.

In 1814, twenty-six years after Merran's death, Merran's nephew Donald Hugh Ross, who was 8 years old when Merran died, named his third child Merran Ross.

Research Notes

About the Durness Parish Birth Registry - The birth registry for Durness parish begins in late 1764, becomes erratic in 1811, and ends in early 1815. "Births carefully kept prior to 1811. Marriages not regularly kept after 1810." ^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ See Research Note' - About the Durness Parish Birth Registry
2. ↑ Her birth is six years before the start of the Durness parish birth registry. The secondary source that supports her estimated birth year is the memorial inscription about Merran on the table stone over the grave of Angus MacLeod and Janet (Ross) MacLeod in Balnakeil Churchyard.
3. ↑ See Donald Ross birth in 1780.
4. ↑ Donald Ross baptism, 23 November 1766, Parish Register of Durness, 1764-1814, page 2, entry #12, Scottish Record Society, James Skinner & Co., Edinburgh, Scotland, 1911. ["Hugh Ross in Borley, Donald, 23 November 1766"]
5. ↑ Barbara Ross baptism, 25 September 1768, Parish Register of Durness, 1764-1814, page 3, entry #24, Scottish Record Society, James Skinner & Co., Edinburgh, Scotland, 1911. ["Hugh Ross in Borley, Barbara, 25 September 1768"]
6. ↑ Donald Ross baptism, 7 April 1771, Parish Register of Durness, 1764-1814, page 5, entry #13, Scottish Record Society, James Skinner & Co., Edinburgh, Scotland, 1911. ["Hugh Ross in Borley, Donald, 7 April 1771"]
7. ↑ John Ross baptism, 16 May 1775, Parish Register of Durness, 1764-1814, page 7, entry #8, Scottish Record Society, James Skinner & Co., Edinburgh, Scotland, 1911. ["Hugh Ross in Borley, John, 16 May 1775"]
8. ↑ Quartermaster John Ross, War Office Circular Letter 22 October 1828, National Archives, images 00640-00641, WO 25/772, www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, accessed 7 December 2019.
9. ↑ Janet Ross baptism, 17 May 1778, Borley, Durness Parish, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, National Records of Scotland, Old Parish Registers Births, 048/ 10 28 Durness, page 28 of 184, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, accessed 3 July 2019. ["1778 - Hugh Ross alias MacEnicoun Tenent in Borly had a child baptized called Janet 17th May"]
10. ↑ Donald Ross baptism, 18 October 1780, parents William Ross and Janet "alias nin Iye roy," Scottish Record Society, Parish Register of Durness, 1764-1814, page 15, entry #36. Edinburgh, Scotland: James Skinner & Co., 1911. ["William Ross, alias machustian mac Eunicoun, a very young lad, unmarried, in Borley, and Janet . . . alias nin lye roy, a single woman in Borley, Donald, 18th October 1780."]
11. ↑ William Ross baptism, 12 July 1781, parents Hugh Ross and Jean Manson, Parish Register of Durness, 1764-1814, page 16, entry #20, Scottish Record Society, James Skinner & Co., Edinburgh, Scotland, 1911. ["Hugh Ross, alias MacEanmbicoun, tenant in Borley, and his wife Jean Manson, William, 13 July 1781"]
12. ↑ Angus MacLeod and Janet Ross MacLeod grave, Balnakeil Church Ruins, Durness Parish, Sutherland, Scotland, image ID "Durness-Balnakeil-DU-C022" accessed on 5 May 2019 at https://public.fotki.com/rhemusaig/burial_grounds/durness_parish/durness_balnakeil/bk022.html
13. ↑ Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, Registrar-General of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, Murray and Gibb, Edinburgh, 1872.