The Tipton Conservative, Tipton, Iowa, April 11, 1957
Transcribed by Sharon Elijah, May 17, 2019

JOHN ROSS ONE OF FEW VETERANS OF WAR OF 1812

The caption under a picture says “Obscured by a growth of scrub brush and nearly covered by vines, the grave of John Ross, a veteran of the War of 1812, is in what is commonly known as Ross cemetery in Center township. Remnants of an American flag, which had been attached to the stone by means of a barbed wire, are visible at the left of the marker.”

    A nearly complete roster of all Cedar county men who took part in the Civil War exists, reasonably enough, because troops were sent to the conflict from Cedar county.

     Names of those who served the Confederacy can be found in Cedar county histories and from the memory of living men.

     But the list of veterans of the War of 1812 is less readily available. Sometimes a notation in a family history or the fading words etched on a marble stone in a nearly forgotten burying ground tells the tale.

     The War of 1812 was fought more than 20 years before Cedar county was settled. The veterans of that war were no longer young men when they crossed the Mississippi. Their record of service now lies almost forgotten in semi-abandoned cemeteries.

     One of these men was John Ross, who came to Cedar county in 1853. His gravestone, overgrown with vines and sumac, marks the spot where he was interred in East Fork or Ross cemetery, in section 35 of Center township. It carries the simple inscription, “He was a Soldier of the War of 1812.”

     Ross was born in York county, Penn., Sept. 6, 1793. As a youth he learned the blacksmith trade. He lived in Pennsylvania and Maryland before coming to Iowa.

     One of his claims to fame was the fact that he was one of the few living hereabouts who had seen General George Washington. He had in fact, seen him three times, and even talked with him.

     Ten years after seeing service in the War of 1812, Ross was married to Jane Ayeres who came from the same locality as he in Pennsylvania. They were married more than 55 years and were the parents of 11 children, of which three died as infants.

     One of John Ross’ sons, Isaac N., fought in the Civil War, in the battle of Jackson and siege of Vicksburg where as a member of the company K, 35th Iowa volunteer infantry, he took part in the famous charge May 22, 1863.

     Upon his return from the war he attended Rush Medical college in Chicago, graduating in 1865. He practiced at Durant and Victor and later became a farmer.

     Another son, Eli, is also noted in county histories. He became a carpenter and helped to build most of the buildings on the prairie that existed at the time of the publication of the 1878 Cedar county history.