David Ross (1770-1837)

He was born at his father's house near Palace Gate, Quebec City. His father, John Ross (b.c.1737), of Tain in Ross-shire, volunteered as a private with the 78th Fraser Highlanders and fought at the Battle of Quebec in 1759. Settling there, he entered into business and later received a commission as a Captain in the Militia that repelled the American invasion of 1775 led by Richard Montgomery. David pursued a legal career and went to Montreal where in 1803 he married Jane, daughter of Judge Arthur Davidson. His father-in-law died just four years later and Ross took over his legal practice as well as inheriting his Seigneury at St. Gilles de Beaurivage. Not before long, he was appointed a K.C. before taking office as Attorney-General for the Province in 1820.

Ross was appointed a Commissioner of the Lachine Canal and by the mid 1820s he had become the fifth largest private property owner in Montreal. His impressive Neo-classical mansion, the David Ross House, overlooked the Champ de Mars and stood from 1813 until 1952. Ross was a Freemason, an Anglican, and during the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-38, he was commissioned as a Colonel on organising the first Artillery Corps in Montreal. He and his wife, Jane, were the parents of eleven children of whom five survived to adulthood including: Arthur Ross; Mrs John Samuel McCord; Mrs Henry Cotton; and, Lt.-Colonel Thomas Ross, Commanding Officer of the Governor-General's Foot Guards.