William Ross, 10th

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 1656), was a Scottish nobleman.

Origins

Ross was the second son of

James Ross, 4th Lord Ross James Ross, 4th Lord Ross of Halkhead (died 2 April 1581) was a Scottish nobleman and an adherent to the cause of Mary, Queen of Scots. Origins Ross was the second, but oldest surviving son of Ninian Ross, 3rd Lord Ross, who died in February 155 ...

, who died on 2 April 1581, by Jean, daughter of Robert, 3rd Lord Sempill. He succeeded to the peerage following the death of his great-nephew

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 ...

in August 1648, to whom he was served heir on 20 March 1649. After his succession, he became embroiled in a legal dispute with the Countess of Eglinton (the widow of his nephew

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

) in relation to the charter-chest of the House of Ross, which she apparently declined to produce. 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 knighted by

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

on 12 July 1633. Prior to his succession to the peerage, he was known generally as William Ross of Torphin, or Sir William Ross of Muriston, or Newriston. In 1643 and 1644 he was on the Committee of War for

and was appointed Sheriff of Renfrewshire in 1646. He was on the Committee of War and Colonel 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 in 1648 and 1649. In 1649 he was also a commissioner for the plantation of kirks (intended to provide for the regular and permanent endowment of the ministers of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

). In 1654, Ross was fined £3,000 under Cromwell's "Act of Grace", but the fine was subsequently reduced to £750.

Family

Ross married first Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Patrick Houston of Houston and widow of John Whitefoord. With her he received first a charter (11 June 1624) and then a sasine (25 June 1628) of Muriston. He married secondly Margaret, the eldest daughter of Sir James Forrester of Torwoodhead. By her he had at least one son,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, by whom he was succeeded on his death in 1656.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, William History of Renfrewshire People from Renfrewshire 1656 deaths Year of birth unknown Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1648–1651 Lords of Parliament (pre-1707)