John E. Ross moved with his father, Angus Ross, to
Fountain County, Indiana, when he was ten years old; and to
Cook County, Illinois, in 1833. In 1840, he married the daughter of Alexander Robinson, of Chicago. She died about eight months later. In 1847, Ross came to
Oregon as captain of a 40-
wagon train. When Lee and Magone were promoted, Ross was commissioned as Captain of the company, a position he held throughout the war. In 1848, after the Cayuse War, he returned to Oregon City. He was running a
threshing machine when he heard about the
California Gold Rush. He left his machine standing in the field, and went to the mines on
Feather River, where he engaged in mining until the fall of 1849. He then returned to Oregon but in the spring of 1850, he returned to the mines in California, which made him party to those who found gold on the
Scott River. In 1851, he came to
Yreka, California, before going on to Josephine Creek in Oregon; at the latter he was part of those people who found gold on Canyon Creek, in Josephine County, Oregon. He also found "several rich placers", including Yankee Jim's (
Placer County, California), Wambo Bar (
Yuba River), and
Jacksonville (now fully submerged under
Don Pedro Reservoir). Ross returned to the
Willamette Valley in the winter of 1851 and purchased a herd of cattle, driving the cattle to the
Rogue River Valley in January 1852, and opened a butcher's shop at
Jacksonville, Oregon. In the fall of 1852, General Ross raised a company of thirty men and went to rescue immigrants who were attacked at Bloody Point on
Tule Lake. They joined Benjamin Wright's company at Clear Lake, and with them met a party of immigrants between Clear and Goose Lakes, returning with them. On the road they buried about fourteen of the immigrants, who had been killed by Indians. Ross and his company paid their own expenses on this trip, and for pay they received the thanks of the
Oregon Legislature. In January 1853, he married Elizabeth Hopwood. This was the first marriage performed in Jacksonville. A Methodist preacher by the name of Gilbert officiated at the ceremony. Ross settled on a farm in December 1853. The couple had nine children, five girls and four boys. After a
hard-fought battle on the headwaters of Evans Creek, in which General Lane and Colonel Alden were wounded, and Pleasant Armstrong and several others killed, Colonel Ross was part of the group assisting General Lane in negotiating a treaty at the Council of Table Rock. The negotiations were held near
Lower Table Rock, with
Takelma leader
Apserkahar ("Chief Joe") and representatives of the
Shasta and
Dakubetede Indians of the Rogue River Valley. According to another source, Ross acted as interpreter, both at the preliminary arrangements for the treaty, and at the treaty itself, although
James W. Nesmith was the appointed interpreter by General Lane. The Indians, however, did not know Nesmith, and were acquainted with General Ross, and it was only through him that they would communicate what they had to say in relation to the treaty. A detailed description of Ross and his regiment at the October 31, 1855 defeat at the
Battle of Hungry Hill appeared in the
New York Herald. At a special election held December 15, 1855, Ross was elected to represent Jackson County in the
Oregon Territorial Council, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr.
E. H. Cleaveland. In the general election in June 1866, he was elected to the
Oregon Legislative Assembly. In 1866-7 the
California and Oregon Railroad Company was formed. Colonel Ross was elected one of its directors, and the directors transferred the franchise to
Ben Holladay. Ross was appointed Brigadier-General of the First Brigade of the Oregon Militia by Governor
La Fayette Grover on December 2, 1872, as the
Modoc War began. Ross took the field, commanding throughout the war. He participated in the principal engagements of the Modoc War, including the
First Battle of the Stronghold. In 1878, he represented Jackson County in the State Senate, and was honored by being appointed Chairman of the Military Committee. He was appointed one of the investigating committee to report upon the acts of the preceding administration.
Hubert Howe Bancroft, in his Oregon Biographical Sketches, remarked: One whole night I spent with Ross at Jacksonville, writing down his experiences; and when at early dawn my driver summoned me, I resumed my journey under a sickening sensation from the tales of bloody butcheries in which the gallant colonel had so gloriously participated. == Selected works ==