George Ross, 11th

Lord Ross The title of Lord Ross was a Lordship of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1499 for Sir John Ross, of Halkhead. The second Lord died at the Battle of Flodden. The 12th Lord was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Renfrew in 17 ...

of Halkhead (died April 1682), was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.

Origins

Ross was the son and heir of

William Ross, 10th Lord Ross William Ross, 10th Lord Ross of Halkhead (died 1656), was a Scottish nobleman. Origins Ross was the second son of James Ross, 4th Lord Ross, who died on 2 April 1581, by Jean, daughter of Robert, 3rd Lord Sempill. He succeeded to the peerage foll ...

, who died in 1656, by Margaret, daughter of Sir James Forrester of Torwoodhead. The Rosses of Halkhead, or Hawkhead, in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, were a

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of ...

family, not apparently related to the

Earls of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12 ...

or the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

family of

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

Balnagown Balnagown Castle is beside the village of Kildary in Easter Ross, part of the Highland area of Scotland. There has been a castle on the site since the 14th century, although the present building was remodelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. It i ...

. Sir James Balfour Paul, ''The Scots Peerage'', Volume VII

Career

Ross was present at the first

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of Charles II, which passed the

Rescissory Act 1661 The Rescissory Act, 1661 or Act rescinding and annulling the pretended parliaments in the years 1640, 1641 etc. was added to the Scottish Parliamentary register on the 28 March 1661. At one stroke, it annulled the legislation of 1640–1648 (and i ...

(banning

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

), and thereafter attended Parliament regularly. He was appointed a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

and Renfrewshire on 9 October 1663, a Commissioner for the Collection of the

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

on 23 January 1667 and a Commissioner of Militia for Ayrshire and Renfrewshire on 3 September 1668. In 1674, together with the

Marquess of Douglas A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

and the

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

, Ross raised three troops of horse, which were subsequently disbanded in 1676. On 1 November 1677, he was lieutenant-colonel of the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. He was in command at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

during the Battle of Drumclog on 1 June 1679, when

Claverhouse Claverhouse (also known as Barns of Claverhouse) is a residential area located on the northern outskirts of Dundee, Scotland with the city centre located 2 miles (3.2 km) from the area. Overview Claverhouse is primarily an affluent resid ...

was defeated by the Covenanters. He provided support to him in the aftermath of that battle. Shortly afterwards, he succeeded in beating off a determined attack by the Covenanters on Glasgow itself.Sir Herbert Maxwell, ''The Lowland Scots Regiments'' (James Maclehose & Sons, Glasgow, 1918), at page 69 He died at Halkhead in April 1682.

Family

Lord Ross married first (contract dated October 1653) Grizel Cochrane, daughter of William Cochrane (later the first

Earl of Dundonald Earl of Dundonald is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1669 for the Scottish soldier and politician William Cochrane, 1st Lord Cochrane of Dundonald, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Cochrane of Paisley and Ochiltre ...

) and Euphemia Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald. By her he had: *

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who succeeded him, and *Grizel (who married Sir Alexander Gilmour of Craigmillar and died on 10 June 1732). Lord Ross's first wife died in 1665 and he soon after married, secondly, Jean Ramsay, eldest daughter of George Ramsay, 2nd

Earl of Dalhousie Earl of Dalhousie, in the County of Midlothian, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, held by the Chief of Clan Ramsay. History The family descends from Sir George Ramsay, who represented Kincardineshire in the Scottish Parliament in 1617. ...

. She survived him and married Robert Makgill, 2nd

Viscount of Oxfuird Viscount of Oxfuird is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1651 for Sir James Makgill, 1st Baronet, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Makgill of Cousland, also in the Peerage of Scotland, with remainder to his "heirs mal ...

, before dying in November 1696. By her, Lord Ross had: * Charles Ross of

, who inherited that estate on the death of David Ross of Balnagown (although no relation of his) *Anna *Jean, who married William Ramsay, 6th

* Euphame *Margaret

References

{{Reflist {{s-start {{s-reg, sct {{succession box , title=

, years=1656–1682 , before= William Ross , after= William Ross {{s-end {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, George Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Scots Guards officers History of Renfrewshire People from Renfrewshire 1682 deaths Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1665 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682 Year of birth unknown