James Ross

Who was James Ross?

James Ross was a lawyer and senator from Pennsylvania from 1794 to 1803.

Born near Delta, York County, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Joseph and Jane Ross. At eighteen, after having received a classical education, he moved to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and taught at what would become Washington and Jefferson College. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1784 focusing on land law. A Federalist, he was a member of the convention that drafted a new constitution for Pennsylvania in 1789-1790.

President George Washington appointed him to negotiate with the rebels of the Whiskey Rebellion, successfully defusing the situation without violence. On April 1, 1794, the Pennsylvania legislature elected him to the United States Senate. There, he authored a new law for the public lands and fought President Thomas Jefferson's administration.

He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1799, 1802, and 1808.

During the late 1810s he is listed as the Pittsburgh City Council President.

He died in Allegheny, which is now part of Pittsburgh. Ross Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh suburb of Ross Township, and Ross County, Ohio, are named in his honor.