Researching Alexander Ross

He was born in Dundee, Scotland, the son of Colin Ross and Elizabeth McLagan, and came to Upper Canada with his family in 1834. He served as a clerk in the Bank of Upper Canada and was manager for the Royal Canadian Bank and then the Canadian Bank of Commerce at Goderich. In 1852, he married Agnes Kydd. In 1858, he was named treasurer for the united counties of Huron and Bruce. He continued to serve as treasurer for Huron from 1866 to 1883 after the two counties were split. Ross also served as Commissioner of Agriculture for the province from 1883 to 1888. In 1890, he was named county clerk for York County. He was a lieutenant-colonel in the local militia and served during the Fenian raids.

Together with Robert Stephenson, son of the builder of the Rocket locomotive, he designed the famous Victoria Bridge at Montreal, Quebec, the first bridge to span the St. Lawrence River. The bridge, opened in 1859, remains in use to this day, carrying both road and rail traffic.

Ross was chief engineer for Canada's Grand Trunk Railway, including the Victoria Bridge over the St. Lawrence River.

He had been the former resident engineer on the Chester and Holyhead Railway, also working with Stephenson. They had worked on numerous challenging projects in the UK, together with Francis Thompson.

Ross died in Chiswick and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.

Category:1805 birthsCategory:1862 deathsCategory:British railway civil engineersCategory:Burials at Brompton Cemetery

Ross was born in Laggan, County of Inverness in Scotland on 20 April 1845. He was educated in Aberdeen and at Owen's College in Manchester, an institution now a part of the University of Manchester. Ross began his career in railway engineering with the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) before moving to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1871. In 1873 he went to work for the North Eastern Railway (NER) before returning to LNWR in the next year. He changed employer again in 1884 when he went to work for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) before becoming the Chief Engineer of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) in 1890. During his time at MS&LR he was responsible for the design of many of the works involved with that company's London Extension.

In 1896 Ross became the Chief Engineer of the Great Northern Railway (GNR), a post he held until 1911 when he became an engineering consultant. During his time at GNR his advice was sought by the company's board on the locomotive design to be chosen for their no.1300 series of engines. Several designs were rejected as they were judged to be too long or heavy for the rail infrastructure. Despite several attempts at redesign by Nigel Gresley the series was scrapped in 1924. His works as an engineering consultant included the Hertford Loop Line and Breydon Viaduct, with Ross serving as the Engineer-in-Chief of the latter. On 16 June 1897 he was appointed Major in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, an unpaid unit of the Volunteer Force which provided technical advice to the British Army. He was a Lieutenant-Colonel in that corps at the time it joined the Territorial Force on 1 April 1908. He had been a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers since before 16 June 1897 and from November 1915 to November 1916 he served as their president. Ross died in London on 3 February 1923.

Ross was born in Marylebone, the son of Charles Ross and Lady Mary Cornwallis daughter of Sir Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis and Lady Louisa Gordon.

Ross served as a major in the militia and as a J. P. and was living at Portland Place, London. In 1880 he was elected as one of the MPs for Maidstone. In 1885 representation was reduced to one member, but Ross retained the seat until his death three years later at the age of 59. Ross married Juliana Moseley of Bobbongton Staffs in 1859 and had a family. Mrs. Ross died in early 1902.

He was born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, the son of Rev. Hugh E. Ross, of Scottish descent. In 1869, he married Marian Peters. Ross was party to the founding of the Dominion Steel Corporation, which merged with the Nova Scotia Steel Company to form the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO), ultimately becoming the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO) in 1928. He was also president of the Sydney Cement Company.

As of 1891, he was Superintendent of the North Sydney Electric Light Co., which became part of the Cape Breton Electric Tramway & Power Co. in 1900, which was renamed the Cape Breton Electric Co. (CBE) in 1901. In the 20th century, his main occupation was listed in censuses as real estate, and he was once the largest owner of real estate in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Ross was a charter member of the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club, which was founded in 1899, and was an early Commodore of the club.

He was elected to the House of Commons in a 1906 by-election held after Daniel Duncan McKenzie was named a judge. On the day Ross first took his seat in the House of Commons in 1906, introduced by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, he was described in the Ottawa Journal thusly: "The New Member is at once one of the striking figures of the Commons; tall, straight and dignified his appearance is imposing. His hair and moustache are silver grey, and his complexion ruddy.”

Ross lost the Liberal nomination for his riding to Judge McKenzie in 1908, and hence did not run for re-election.

During his time in office, Ross disagreed with the Liberal Party position regarding Maritime Intercolonial Railway running rights (i.e. opening the federally-owned line for use by privately owned railway companies, which Laurier did not support). He broke with the Liberal party in 1914 due to the same issue, switching his support to Sir Robert Borden's Conservatives, who did support running rights. He also disagreed with Laurier's stance on the issue of Reciprocity (i.e. free trade with the U.S.A.), which Laurier was for and Borden was against.

He was born at Rutherglen in Lanarkshire to manufacturer Alexander Ross and Janet Forrest. He received a primary education and emigrated to South Australia with his family in 1854, settling near Gumeracha. In 1867 the family moved to Albury, where they acquired farm land. In 1898 he married Ada Smyles. In 1900 Ross was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council, where he served until his death at Randwick in 1912. At his death he held property around Inverell, Coleambally, Harden, Hay and Macquarie Fields.