The original owner of the house and property was Harvey Lee Ross. He was born in Seneca County, New York, on October 10, 1817, the second son (third child) of Ossian M. and Mary (Winans) Ross. In 1821, Harvey Ross traveled with his family to Fulton County, Illinois and settled in the area that became Lewistown. The town was founded by Ossian Ross and named for his oldest son, Lewis. After a brief education in the local log schoolhouse, Harvey Ross was employed at age 15 as a mail carrier, Abraham Lincoln
attended Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois,[1] Ross left college after the death of his father in order to manage his late father's business interests in Havana, Illinois. He kept the Havana Hotel, managed the ferry across the Illinois River, and was appointed postmaster at Havana by President Martin Van Buren.[2]
Ross married Jane R. Kirkpatrick (1819-1896) on January 1, 1840, in Fulton County, Illinois. [3] The couple had six children: Ossian (who died at age 18 months), Harriet S., Frank W., Mary F., George C., and Joseph L.
The Ross family moved to Vermont, Illinois, in 1844, where Ross was a farmer and stock raiser.[2] Railroad, business interests. In 1873, Ross moved to Macomb, Illinois, where he continued farming. He then moved to Oakland, California, in 1882, real estate dealer and farmer. Lived there until his death on January 27, 1907.[4]
Ross is the author of a first-hand account of life in the early pioneering years of Illinois, particularly of Fulton and Sangamon counties.[2] His book includes personal recollections of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, and Peter Cartwright, together with his own autobiography, and has been of considerable interest to Lincoln collectors.[5]
It has been suggested that Harvey Lee Ross was the basis for the character of Thomas Ross, Jr., in Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology.[6] However, there is some uncertainty regarding this proposal.
References
edit- ^ Illinois College and Edward Capps. 1929. Book of memorial memberships. Jacksonville, Ill.: The Illinois College Alumni Fund Association
- ^ a b c Ross, Harvey Lee. 1899. The early pioneers and pioneer events of the state of Illinois including personal recollections of the writer, of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson and Peter Cartwright, together with a brief autobiography of the writer. Chicago: Eastman Bros.
- ^ Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
- ^ California, Death Index, 1905-1939. Provo, Utah.
- ^ "Gold in Your Attic". The Evening Star (Washington, D. C.). June 5, 1962.
- ^ Masters, Edgar Lee, and John E. Hallwas. 1992. Spoon River Anthology: an annotated edition. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.