Welcome to
Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
|
|
|
|
Charles
Fremont Ross Mr. Charles Fremont Ross was born in Van Buren County,
Iowa, on July 10, 1856. He is the son of Elisha and Eliza Ann (Shanklin) Ross,
the father born in Seville, Ohio, September 11, 1818, and the mother in Onondago
County, New York, on November 24, 1824. The
mother moved to Ohio with John Cams, who was her foster parent, her mother
having died when Mrs. Eliza A. Ross was six years old.
The parents of the subject grew up in Ohio and were married there.
From Seville, that state, they moved to Lee County, Iowa, in 1854, and
bought a farm there. After living
there a short time they moved to Van Buren County and bought forty acres. In
1862 he left his family on the farm and went to Idaho where he remained three
years, working out, and in 1865 he returned to Iowa and brought his family to
Jasper County. He traded for
sixty-five acres in Elk Creek Township on which he lived until his death, on
February 25, 1868. Politically, he
was a Republican and he and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
His widow survived many years, dying on September 5, 1906, outliving her
husband nearly forty years. There were three
sons born to Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Ross, namely: Robert. H. Craig and Charles
Fremont, of this sketch, the subject being the second in order of birth. Charles F. Ross
helped with the work on the home farm and he attended school at Pleasant View
and Galesburg. When sixteen years
of age he left his parental rooftree and began working out by the month, which
he continued to do until he was twenty years old.
Then he rented a farm two years, after which he bought forty acres of the
home place, to which he later added twenty-five acres, now owning a valuable
little place of sixty-five acres, which he has placed under excellent
improvements, having put most of the buildings on the same.
Politically, he is a Republican and he belongs to the Evangelical Church. Mr. Ross was
married on September 28, 1876, to Almeda Lucretia Smith, who was born in Palo
Alto Township, Jasper County, Iowa, on October 20, 1857, and here she grew up
and attended the common schools in her district. She is the daughter of William
J. Smith, a very early settler in this County. He was born in 1834, in Knox
County, Ohio, and he came to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1856, settling in Palo Alto
Township in a log-house and there he spent several years, later moving to Elk
Creek Township where he became the owner of eighty acres.
His death occurred on August 28, 1911, after a fairly successful and
well-spent life, having reached an advanced age and died knowing that he left
behind a host of friends and no enemies. He
had outlived his wife about forty-five years, she having passed away on February
21, 1866. He was justice of the peace for many years, giving eminent
satisfaction in this office. He
belonged to the Methodist Church. Twelve children,
seven of whom are living, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ross, namely: William Albert, Frank, Zel, Harry, Robert Lee, Ruth and Edith
and five who died young. Politically, Mr. Ross is a staunch Republican, and he belongs to the Evangelical Church. Personally, he is a genial, neighborly man, who delights in a good joke and likes to see others happy. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, B.F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912, p. 944. |
|
|
