William Ross (December 20, 1824 – March 17, 1912) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. Born on

Boularderie Island Boularderie Island (pronounced "bull-awn-dree") is an island separating the Cabot Strait from Bras d'Or Lake on the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It takes its name from Louis-Simon le Poupet de la Boularderie, who was g ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, the son of John Ross, a Scottish immigrant,''The Canadian parliamentary companion'', HJ Morgan (1869)
/ref> and Robina McKenzie, Ross was a merchant and shipbuilder. In 1855, he married Eliza Moore. He represented Victoria County in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1857 to 1867. He was elected to the

1st Canadian Parliament The 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867, until July 8, 1872. The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867. It was prorogued prior to the 1872 election. It was controlled by a ...

in 1867. From 1873 to 1874, he was the

Minister of Militia and Defence The Minister of Militia and Defence was the federal government minister in charge of the volunteer army units in Canada, the Canadian Militia. From 1855 to 1906, the minister was responsible for Canadian militia units only, as the British Army wa ...

. Ross resigned his seat in the House of Commons in 1874 after he was named customs collector for Halifax''The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1877''
CH Mackintosh and served until 1888. Ross also served as a

Lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in the

Cape Breton Militia A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. In 1905, he was summoned to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

representing the senatorial division of Victoria, Nova Scotia. A

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, he served until his death in 1912.

Electoral record

References

1824 births 1912 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Anti-Confederation Party MPs Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia {{NovaScotia-politician-stub Canadian Militia officers