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Note: N93 Served 3 years in the Civil War including Sherman’s March. Worked for Charles Tryon Brewster from 1850 when he was 12 years old until C.T.Brewster’s death after which he worked for Melvina and later became her husband.
“ALEXANDER K. ROSS. As long as memory remains to the American people the history of the veterans of the Civil war will be a matter of interest ; and the country owes to the veterans of that long and sanguinary struggle a debt of gratitude which can never be fully repaid. Mr. Ross was one of the boys in blue who went forth as an Illinois soldier to fight for the Union. He is now accounted one of the leading and enterprising agriculturists of Pike county, holding large landed interests. His farm, which is pleasantly located two and a half miles south of New Canton, comprises three hundred and twenty-five acres of rich and productive land.”
“Mr. Ross was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1839, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (McDaniels) Ross, who were early settlers of Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather was born in Scotland, and the grandmother in Ireland. They crossed the Atlantic to America prior to 1800, John Ross following the occupation of farming in the Keystone state, where he owned one hundred and sixty acres of good land and made his home, carefully conducting his business interests and rearing there a large family of ten children. Only three of the number are now living, however: William, a resident of Hand county, South Dakota ; John, who makes his home in Pike county; and Alexander K., who was the youngest of the family. The parents were members of the Presbyterian church. The father died at the age of sixty years, and a life of use- fulness and activity was thus ended.”
“Alexander K. Ross acquired his education in the public schools of Pennsylvania, and spent his boyhood days upon his father's farm, becoming familiar with the practical methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. When twenty years of age he started out upon an independent business career as a farm hand, and in 1860 he came to Pike county, where he arrived without a cent of money: He possessed, however, strong de- termination and laudable ambition, and these served him in place of capital. He at once sought and secured employment, working by the month as a farm hand until 1862. His earnings during that period were carefully saved and when two years had passed, he purchased a farm of forty acres.”
“About the same time he enlisted in the army, joining the Union forces in August, 1862. as a member of Company E, Seventy-eighth Illinois Infantry. He enlisted at Quincy for three years, or until the close of the war, and participated in a number of important campaigns, including the Atlanta campaign and the celebrated march under Sherman to the sea, after which he was honorably discharged. Several times he was slightly wounded but his injuries were never of a very, serious nature, and he remained at his post of duty, never faltering in the thickest of the fight nor hesitating when assigned to the lonely picket line.”
“When the war was ended he was discharged in June, 1865, at New York city, after which he returned to Pike county. Here Mr. Ross took up the active work of improving his land, returning to take charge of a little tract of forty acres. That he has prospered is indicated by his splendidly improved property of three hundred and twenty-five acres pleasantly and conveniently located about a mile and a half south of New Canton. In the midst of this lie has erected a fine brick residence, built in modern and pleasing style of architecture. He also has good barns and sheds upon his place and the farm is well fenced. He also raises considerable stock, making a specialty of hogs. In all his business affairs he is practical and enterprising and his success is the merited reward of his earnest labor.”
On the 27th of January, 1878, Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Mrs. Melvina Brewster, nee Purcell, a daughter of Aaron and Maria (Clement) Purcell, who removed from Canada to Indiana, where Mrs. Ross was born. The parents also took up their abode in Pike county at an early day, locating here when the country was largely an unbroken wilderness. Deer were frequently seen and venison was no unusual dish upon the table of the early settlers. Other wild game could be had in abundance and there was every evi- dence of frontier life in uncut tracts of timber land and the stretches of unimproved prairie. The father died in Memphis, Tennessee, while the mother's death occurred in Pike county in 1863. In their family were six children but Mrs. Ross is the only one now living. She was brought to this county when but four years of age and was reared here, obtaining her early education in one of the primitive log schoolhouses with slab benches, crude writing desks and a huge fireplace in one end of the room to heat the building. Often in those days she saw wild deer and frequently wolves and other wild animals.
She can remember the county when it was but sparsely settled and the work of improvement and progress seemed scarcely begun. She is a worthy representative of one of the honored pioneer families of this part of the state and she owns here about nine hundred acres of land. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Ross is most attractively situated, standing back about three hundred feet from the road, the walk thereto being lined on each side by evergreen trees. There is a beautiful and well kept lawn which presents a splendid setting for their residence and the home is one which would be a credit to any city. There were three children by Mrs. Ross' first marriage: Charles E., a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Annie B., who is the widow of Elmer West and resides with Mr. and Mrs. Ross ; and Minnie M., also at home. Mr. Ross votes with the republican party but has never been an aspirant for office, preferring to leave the discharge of official duties to others, yet as a private citizen he is never remiss in his support of measures which are calculated to benefit the community. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at New Canton, which he joined upon its organization, and he also belongs to Amos Moore post, No 617, G. A. R., of New Canton. He has based his principles and actions upon strict adherence to the rules which govern industry, economy and unswerving integrity and thus he has become an important factor in agri- cultural circles and his prosperity is well deserved. (from “Past and Present of Pike County Illinois” P. 548 - 550)
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Alexander K. Ross, farmer, sec. 22; P.O., New Canton; was born in Pennsylvania in 1838, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (McDaniel) Ross, natives of Pennsylvania and of Scotch ancestry; obtained his education in the public schools of his native State; emigrated to this county in 1860; in 1862 he enlisted in Co. E, 78th Ill. Inf., and was discharged in July, 1865, having been in all the battles of the Regiment but one; was 3d Sergeant. In 1878 he married Malvina Brewster. He owns 100 acres of land. In politics is a Republican. (from 1880 History of Pike County ILL by Chas. M. Chapman » Page 849)
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Ross, Alexander K.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois, 1891; Page 432 – 433
ALEXANDER K. ROSS. The citizen-soldier element that saved the country during the late rebellion has been a conspicuous factor in advancing the interests of the Prairie State within the last quarter of a century. Our subject was one of the volunteers of the late war, in which he fought bravely and suffered much for the sake of the old flag. Since that time he has been extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising in Pike County, and has become the proprietor of a large and well-managed farm on section 22, Pleasant Vale Township.
A native of Washington County, Pa., Mr. Ross was born October 6, 1839, and is a son of John Ross who was also of Pennsylvania birth. The latter married Elizabeth McDaniel a native of the Keystone State, their marriage taking place at Philadelphia. They reared a family of ten children, of whom only three are now living: William, who resides in Dakota; John, a resident of Pleasant Vale Township, and our subject.
A. K. Ross is the youngest son of the family and his early life was passed in Washington County, Pa., where he received his education in the district schools. At the age of twenty years he started out in life for himself as a farm hand. He came to Pike County in 1860, and worked by the month until after the breaking out of the war. He watched its course with patriotic enthusiasm and in 1862 enlisted in Company E., Seventy-eighth Illinois Infantry. He took part in the principal battles in Sherman's campaign through Georgia, marched with him to the sea and was with that general until the war closed, showing himself to possess excellent soldierly qualities and discharging his duties faithfully and promptly. He was mustered out in New York City, received his honorable discharge at the New England Home, and then returned to Pike County.
After leaving the army, Mr. Ross bought a team and did some farming on his own account. He only received $250 in money for his first year's work in Illinois. He contracted a disease in the war from which he is still suffering, but this has not prevented his laboring with characteristic vigor and enterprise, and he has become very prosperous. After his marriage he settled at once on the farm where he now lives and has here four hundred and twelve acres of as good farming land as can be found in the county; on which he has placed a great many improvements, including neat fences and substantial buildings. He gives his attention to general farming, raises a good deal of grain and has his farm well stocked.
Mr. Ross wooed and won for his wife Melvina Purcell, who was born in Indiana August 28, 1834. Her parents Aaron and Maria (Clement) Purcell, natives of Virginia, were early settlers of Pike County, coming here when the country was a wilderness and deer and other wild game were common. Her father died in Memphis, Tenn., and her mother in Pike County in 1863. Mrs. Ross was four years old when she came to Pike County, and she was here reared and obtained her education in the primitive log schoolhouse of early times. Often in those days she used to see deer, turkey and other wild animals, and can remember the country when it was sparsely settled. She is the youngest of seven children, two sons and five daughters. Two of her brothers and one sister are now living. Her brother Benjamin lives in Kinderhook Township, Pike County; her brother Mahlon is a resident of Texas, and her sister Aberilla, Mrs. McKibban, is also a resident of Texas. Mr. Ross has a well-balanced mind, is thrifty and far-sighted in the management of his affairs and has a good name in the financial circles of Pike County. In politics he is a follower of the Republican party.
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Ross, Alexander
Brewster - Ross Cemetery in Pleasant Vale Township
Alexander K. Ross
Birth Date: 1838
Death Date: July 13 1909
Tombstone Inscription: Member AMOS Morey Post #6107 G.A.R. with the Brewsters Co. E. 78 Ill.
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Birth: Oct. 6, 1838 Pennsylvania, USA Death: Jul. 13, 1909 Pike County Illinois, USA
Family links: Spouse: Melvina Purcell Ross (1834 - 1912)* *Calculated relationship Burial: Brewster Cemetery New Canton Pike County Illinois, USA Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?] Created by: Kathy Robinson Record added: Apr 27, 2013 Find A Grave Memorial# 109617905
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