George M. Ross

ROSS, MCCOWEN, PRICE

Posted By: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs (email)
Date: 5/13/2009 at 16:01:50

1889 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
SHELBY AND AUDUBON COUNTIES, IOWA
W. S. DUNBAR & CO., PUBLISHERS
113 ADAMS STREET, CHICAGO

pages 785-786

GEORGE M. ROSS, a successful agri-
culturist and stock-raiser, of Cameron
Township, has been a resident of Andu-
bon County since 1878. He was born in
Indiana County, near the town of Marion,
Pennsylvania, May 4, 1851, and is the fifth
of a family of eight children of Samuel and
Elizabeth (McCowen) Ross. The parents
were born in Ireland, and emigrated to the
United States in their early married life, and
settled in Pennsylvania; they are still
living on the old homestead in Indiana
County where they first settled. Seven of
the eight children are living, five sons and
two daughters. George M. was reared to the
life of a farmer, and obtained his education
in the common school. He remained under
the parental roof until his eighteenth year,
when he took up the responsibilities of life for
himself. He went to Louisville, Kentucky,
and engaged in retailing manufactured to-
baccos, cigars and smoker's articles, in which
he made money rapidly. He sold out the
business and removed to Page County, Iowa,
where he engaged in farming two years. In
the spring of 1878 he came to Audubon
County, Iowa, and bought a half section of
choice land, which at that time was wild
prairie land. He went to work with a will,
and as time has passed he has added many
valuable improvements. Mr. Ross has here-
tofore been engaged in general farming, but
in the past two years he has given more at-
tention to the feeding of live-stock, and has
been quite successful; he has, however, suf-
fered heavy losses from cholera at times.
Mr. Ross was married in the spring of 1878
to Miss Alice C. Price, a daughter of Fred
Price, Esq., of Page County, Iowa. Four
children have been born of this union --
David Cameron, Bessie, George and Samuel.
Mr. Ross has been politically identified with
his township as trustee, having been elected
in the fall of 1888. He affiliates with the
Republican party. His landed estate num-
bers 760 acres, 440 in Audubon County, and
320 in Woodbury County, Iowa. Mr. Ross
was entirely without means when he began
his business career, but he has not remained
at the bottom of the ladder; he has exerted
all his energies, and to no small purpose, as
can be seen from the valuable property he
has accumulated.