James Leveson Ross (1848 - 1913)

Born 1848 in Cromarty, Cromartyshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Died 20 Sep 1913 at about age 65 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Biography

James Ross is Notable.

Col. James Leveson Ross was born in 1848 ^[1] in Cromarty, Scotland to Capt. John Ross and Mary McKeddie; ^[2] died at Montreal, Quebec, 20 Sep 1913. ^[2]

In 1868, James emigrated to North America, and held a number of influential positions in the construction of a number of North American railways.

James Ross settled in the United States and held the positions of Resident Engineer and Chief Engineer for the U.S.A. railways until 1873. When James Ross traveled to Canada, he settled in Lindsay, Ontario with his wife, Annie, and their son, John K. L. Ross. James Ross attained the titles of Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Victoria Railway, which later became known as the Haliburton branch of the Canadian National Railway.

In the late 1800s, Ross' parents also moved to Canada and settled in Lindsay.

The thriving railway enterprise led to many other opportunities for Ross, who was already well-respected within the industry. Ross directed the development of the Credit Valley Railway, and later became the General Manager. His career began to build and his work eventually drew him away from Lindsay, however, family ties were strong for Ross and he would later return to contribute to his community.

Ross later became the consulting engineer of the Ontario and Quebec railways and in 1883, directed the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Ontario and west of Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1885, Ross assisted with the Canadian Pacific line over the Rocky Mountains, Selkirks and Gold Range. He can be seen in the famous photograph of "The Last Spike".

Aside from his business success, Ross' interests included yachting and collecting masterpieces. As such, he was the Commodore of the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club and later, helped to create the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

In the early 1900s, James Ross' attention was turned to his former hometown of Lindsay. At this time, legend has it that Judge G. H. Hopkins, who had a law practice in the small town, came upon a man lying ill on the sidewalk of William Street South one evening. Hopkins arranged for a room for the sick man in Mauder House Hotel and saw that the man received proper medical attention. Eventually, the news got around to Mrs. Grace, Ross' sister, who shared the story with her brother.

James Ross, in consultation with the town council, decided that he would fund the entire cost of establishing a community hospital, in memory of his parents. His condition: that the County maintain the facility as it would not only be a memorial to his parents, but also a gift to the community he had once called home.

On November 20, 1902, Ross Memorial Hospital officially opened. It was one of the finest and best-equipped hospitals in Canada. Leading medical personalities and hospital experts attended the opening ceremony. Some traveled great distances by train, on the tracks that were built by the very man who donated the $80,000 hospital that they were en route to celebrate. The day was deemed "a red letter day in the history of the County of Victoria."

"The spirit which dedicated this building as a memorial of the past, and a blessing for the future, will outlive even its solid walls."^[3]

Even upon his death in 1913, Ross remembered Ross Memorial in his will, leaving a legacy of $25,000 to the Hospital.

Obituary, with photo: ^[4]

JAMES ROSS DIED TODAY
He Built Much of the Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
Dominion Coal Co.'s President
Interested in Toronto and Birmingham Roads

MONTREAL, Sept 20 -- James Ross, financier and railroad builder, and president of the Dominion Coal Company, died here today of heart disease after a two weeks' Illness. He was 65 years old.

Col. Ross was one of the dwindling group of railroad builders whose names were linked with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. He was born in Cromarty, Scotland, son of the late Capt. John R. Ross of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and came to America when he was 20 years old, in 1868. He was Identified in his early career with the Wisconsin Central Railroad, and on coming to Canada, was appointed first chief engineer and afterwards manager of the Victoria railroad. In 1878 he built the Credit Valley railway, and later was made its general manager.

At the age of 35, Col. Ross was entrusted with the difficult task of building the Canadian Pacific west of Winnipeg through the Canadian, wilderness. Two years later he had completed the line over the Rocky Mountains, Selkirk and the Gold Range. Thereafter he undertook the settlement of the uninhabited stretches along the road east of Montreal. On completion of this task he was given the contract for the remaining portion of the line, and built it. During the last 20 years Col Ross was Interested primarily in traction, power and mining operations. He acquired the tramway systems of Birmingham, Eng. in 1896, and formed the City of Birmingham Tramways Company. Ltd. He was associated with Sir William McKenzie in the purchase and electrification of the Toronto Railway. He electrified the Montreal, London, Ont, and Winnipeg, Man, lines.

He was president of the Dominion Bridge Company and St John Railway and a director of the Bank of Montreal, the Canadian Electric Company and the Laurentide Paper Company.

He made many contributions to Canadian institutions, including $50,000 in 1910 to the Montreal Art Association. He was a governor of McGill University. Montreal, to which he contributed $50,000 in 1911.

He became largely Interested in the coal Industry of Nova Scotia, and reorganized the Dominion Coal Company, of which he was president at the time of his death. In November, 1909, he owned Dominion Coal Company stock of a par value of $5,000,000. In 1900, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars.

Col. Ross was identified with many philanthropic institutions, and was a member of a large number of clubs. Among these was the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, of which he was commodore from 1896 to 1899. It was Col. Ross who owned the Glencacin, winner of the Seawanhaka-Corinthian cup for half-raters in American waters in 1896. He was part owner of the Canada, that defeated the Vencedor.

Sources

1. ↑ Or 1845, according to the 1901 census of Montreal: "Canada Census, 1901," database with images, FamilySearch (https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1901&op=img&id=z000154459 : 23 February 2021), household of James Ross, Montréal (city/cité), Quebec, Canada; citing p. 5, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Wikipedia contributors, "James Ross (Canadian businessman)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, James Leveson Ross (accessed July 7, 2021).
3. ↑ County of Victoria Warden John Austin in an address at the 1902 opening of Ross Memorial Hospital.
4. ↑ The Boston Globe, Saturday, September 20, 1913, p. 2

See also:

• Ross Memorial Hospital, James Ross Memorial.
• Wikiwand, James Ross.