M Ross

Ancestors

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Cemeteries Project Member

Personal Motto "We are measured not only by our triumphs, but by our persistence".

Biography

M Ross was born in England.

Born at Horsham St Faith Air Force Base, Norfolk, England
The family moved in 1955 to Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England and moved again in 1956 to the Maypole, Birmingham, England. In 1966 the family emigrated to Ontario, Canada.
I have 6 siblings, years of birth, oldest in 1953, youngest in 1969, all but the youngest born in England.

I became interested in family history because of my paternal grandmother Marguerite Richards Ross.
Her family are descendants of Charles Richards 1839-1905, he founded one of Britain's largest steel manufacturing companies. Charles Richards and sons operated in Darlaston, Staffordshire, England until 1976.
For the centennial of the founding of the business, a family tree was researched and created by DeBretts of London, England.
A copy of that tree was given to all of the many of his known and traceable descendants. As a 2 x grt grandaughter of Charles I now have a copy of that tree.
After many years research by me and several other cousins only 1 error has been found on that tree, the children of one great uncle are listed as the children of another great uncle, this was most likely a mistake made by the draftsmen who created the large paper tree for the company centennial.

My paternal grandfather and family were also from south Staffordshire. Their history was documented by the family back to my 3 XGGF Joseph Ross born 1820, but became infinitely more complicated before that date.
After approximately 7 years of searching I found records for George Ross born 1797, my 4XGGF, father of Joseph, plus for his parents, siblings and very limited information for his grandparents.
Research further back seems at this time to be unlikely.

Much of my maternal family history also took place in Staffordshire, England, but in the northern part of the county.
My mother's paternal family includes my 2 X GGF Patrick Shaughnessy who was born in County Galway, Ireland in 1846, he moved to England about 1860 and before his 1867 marriage to Mary Kennedy.
His daughter Mary Ann Shaughnessy married into the Rodgers family who were from County Roscommon, Ireland, and arrived in Staffordshire, England before 1851.
My mother's maternal family history has been traced back to Edward the 3, as one family member refers to him or the III as he is probably better known.
I joined Ancestry in 2011 and WikiTree in 2019. I belong to several family history groups that research our combined family history. I am committed to creating accurate family profiles on WikiTree however it is time consuming and my family history is always a work in progress.

The genealogical puzzle can never be complete as new information becomes available each year.

I am fascinated by early Ontario history , my husband is descended from several pre 1830 settlers including a 5 x GGF (UEL) who settled in the Niagara area in the 1780s. All but one branch of the family were in Ontario before 1850.

My husband's direct ancestors include two of the first families to settle in Alton, Peel County, Ontario. He is related to almost everyone buried in the Alton Cemetery.

I attended the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and did my undergrad work in Clinical Psychology, graduating in 1977.
Since that time I worked in sales management for many years before taking early retirement to pursue my passion for horticulture. I am a Master Gardener and have other qualifications in Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Horticulture, Theraputic Horticulture, Organic Gardening and Ecological Design.

Virtual Vacation

I started uploading photos from previous vacations in October 2020.
I was very frustrated by being unable to travel due to Covid, looking at vacation pictures was a somewhat satisfactory substitute.
I thought that other WikiTreers might like to escape if only virtually. I usually participate in the Weekend Chat and post Virtual Vacation photos every week.
All the virtual vacation photos can be seen at this free space. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Virtual_Vacation

Current Projects

Summer 2021: I am working on a cemetery project for the Alton, Caledon Township Cemetery.
My goal is identify the interelationships and connections between the approximately 1400 people buried in the cemetery.
With a total of 1437 memorials in summer 2021 which has increased to 1472 memorials by summer 2023.
Alton had about 400 people in the late 19th century and the population remained about the same number until the 1990s.
There were about 15-20 founding families in the 1830s, their descendants and other newcomers after the 1850s intermarried for about 70 years.
These intermingled families comprise about 90% of those interred in the cemetery.
There are many families who are connected to each other in several ways. For example 2 brothers married 2 sisters, one sister died, the widowed brother married a third sister. A fourth sister married the brother in law of another older sister.
The burials will all be added to the Alton, Ontario Cemetery category.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Alton_Cemetery%2C_Alton%2C_Ontario
As of June 23, 2021, 193 profiles have been added to the category.
August 6, 2021 there are now 238 profiles in the Alton Cemetery category.
September 22, 2021 there are now 294 profiles in the Alton Cemetery category.
November 1, 2021 there are now 324 profiles in the Alton Cemetery category
December 18, 2021 there are now 345 profiles in the Alton Cemetery category.
February 13, 2022 there are now 360 profiles in the Alton Cemetery category.
September 24, 2022, there are now 392 profiles in the Alton Cemetery category.
October 13, 2022, there are now 420 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category.
November 14, 2022, there are now 447 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category.
December 25, 2022, there are now 469 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category.
January 27, 2023, there are now 475 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
March 29, 2023, there are now 520 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
July 19, 2023 there are now 524 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
August 14, 2023 there are now 546 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
October 2, 2023, there are now 564 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
November 2, 2023, there are now 592 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
December 18, 2023, there are now 605 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
February 12, 2024, there are now 632 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category
May 3, 2024 there are now 638 profiles in the Alton Cemetery Category

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by M Ross at registration.