George Ross: PA Signer of the Declaration of Independence

George Ross was born on May 10, 1730, to George and Catherine (van Gezel) Ross in New Castle, Delaware. He was the eldest of their twelve children, but had older half-siblings. His little sister, Gertrude, would marry George Read of New Castle, Delaware, who also signed the Declaration. His father was a minister who had been educated at Edinburgh University, and his family’s ancestry can be traced to England. His father teaches the children a classical education at home. Then, in 1748, Ross studied law in his older brother John’s office in Philadelphia. He would go on to establish his own practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1750, after passing the bar and developing a large practice.

            On August 17, 1751, he married Anne Lawler. Anne, the daughter of Andrew and May Lawler of Lancaster County, was considered a very beautiful woman. They had three children, with their first, George, born in 1752. George Jr. would marry Mary Bird on April 5, 1773, and have nine children. He served as Vice President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania and then, in 1801, was appointed Register and Recorder by the Pennsylvania governor. He held this office for 18 years. He passed away on November 13, 1832. Their next child, James, was born in 1753 and died on August 24, 1808, in Natchez, Mississippi. He was a Captain in Colonel Thomas’s Regiment from Lancaster, which marched to Cambridge. James would eventually become a Lt. Colonel in the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment, which fought at Long Island, Trenton, Germantown, and Brandywine, among other locations. He marries Sabina Kuhn and has three children. Some accounts say that he died in 1809 rather than 1808. The last child born was Mary in 1765. She was married three times: first to Joshua Scott, then to William Bird, and finally to E.H. Bell. She would have children with her second husband, but none with her other husbands. She passed away on December 20, 1838, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Ross’s wife, Anne, passed away in 1773.

            Not much is known about Ross’s early life. He was a vestryman and warden for St. James Parish in Lancaster from 1753 until 1771. In 1756, he was appointed the Crown Prosecutor to Carlisle and would hold this position until 1768. From 1768 to 1774, he served in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. It was here that he began to understand the rising conflict between the colonies and Great Britain. Ross supports the Assembly’s rights in its disputes with the Royal Governor and also shows an interest in Indian affairs.

            In 1774, he was elected to the Provincial conference and served on the Committee of Safety. He was then elected to the First Continental Congress, but at the time, he was viewed as a Tory. By 1775, he had become a Whig amid rising tensions with the British Parliament, but it is unknown which specific event prompted his conversion. He was tasked with writing a report of the delegate’s instructions by the Pennsylvania Assembly, and also signed the Olive Branch Petition. Once the Congress dissolves, he returns to his work in the Assembly.

            In the summer of 1775, he was assigned to a committee to determine measures to adopt to defend the City of Philadelphia and the colony. The report the committee produced included the collection of arms and ammunition, as well as Pennsylvania’s payment to the association to help repel any British attacks. A new committee would be formed from this to oversee the implementation of the report’s recommendations, and Ross was appointed to it.

            Ross was elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, and he took his seat after the July 2 vote. He was one of the men voted to replace the delegates who had voted against the Declaration. He takes his seat on August 2 and signs the Declaration that day. While serving as a delegate, he was still serving in the Provincial legislature and as a Colonel in the Continental Army. He was the Vice President of the State Constitution Convention, which drafted a new state constitution. He would be re-elected to Congress in 1777, but had to resign due to health reasons. After his retirement from Congress, his constituents decided to present him with a £150 gift, but he declined it. He states, “the duty of everyman, especially of a representative of the people, to contribute to the welfare of his country without expecting pecuniary rewards.”

 By 1779, his health had improved enough that he was appointed a Judge on the Pennsylvania Court of Admiralty. He would serve in this position until his death in July of 1779. He died from an attack of gout, a buildup of uric acid in the joints, which causes a painful form of arthritis. The best way to avoid gout is to shun protein and alcohol, but this was next to impossible to do in colonial times. He reportedly said on his deathbed, “Long journey to the cool place where there would be most excellent wines”[1]. He was buried at Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tidbits

Dr. Rush described him as having a good humor, wit, and eloquence.

He was an uncle of John Ross, who was the husband of Betsey Ross – the family would say she designed the U.S. Flag, but the designer of the flag has been credited as Francis Hopkinson.

He was the last Pennsylvania signer to sign the Declaration.

[1] Kiernan, Denise, and Joseph D’Agnese. Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of The Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence (Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009) 126