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Subject: George Ross of Galston, b. after 1634 - d. after 1703: Did he live long in Ulster?
Date: 25 Jul 2005 15:33:58 -0600

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Surnames: Ross, Long
Classification: Lookup

Message Board URL:

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ok.2ADE/3905.2.1

Message Board Post:

James: For almost two months I have been looking for information which I could use to substantiate the family tradition related to me by my grandmother on that hot summer day in 1940.

I had already looked up (1) the Highland Ross's: (They have a well researched geneaology, published in Scotland's version of "Notes and Queries".) That was like reading about an unknown family. (2) The Ross family who lived in County Perth: My grandmother had told me that religion was an important part in the life of our Ross family - and - it certainly was amongst Ross of Craigie. BUT, Ross of Craigie had a poor eye for the family finances which just didn't fit what my grandmother had indicated in the way of money - savviness in our Ross's: (3). The Ross family of Hawkhead in County Renfrew: I just did not feel comfortable when trying to find some common points between them and my Ross's.

Then in a last ditch effort, I turned to Ross of Hanyng from County Ayr. IT HAS BEEN A SLOW PROCESS. Nothing much has been written about them, and once you find a Ross from Hanyng, they just seem to disappear from the radar screen. But, they did hold land - which is the backbone in the make-up of a kingdom - and it took time for me to realize it was GOOD that they would put on a disappearing act. THAT MEANS their disappearance did require leaving a paper trail: In other words, they did not die - BUT MOVED. When a person in a kingdom moves to another country, they have the same rights as a dead person - which is NONE. The Ross's of Ayrshire disposed of their property, pocketed the money and invested in plantations which were not being sponsored by the government. County Tyrone, County Londonderry, the United States (at first) were "ferm lands" in the eyes of the peerage of England.

This is not the case for County Down. Men from Ayrshire, it seems, could immigrate across the Irish Sea into County Down without any necessity of "planting". After studying the Thornton - Portavo Ross's, and finding the Galston - Quintin Ross's; after reading about the support that Galston parish gave John Knox; after reconstructing a part of the picture for the barony of Hanyng; after realizing why they just "disappeared" (Paterson, the historian for Ayrshire remarked several times that he was unable to write about such-and-such family because there were no trails); after getting the first grip on their time-line -- WELL, the traditions which my grandmother outlined in 1940 started to look as if they were scoring a perfect hit!

Curiously, even the songs my Ross's in Fremont county sang during the opening years of the 19 hundreds fitted in. I posted several and was told they were NOT Irish in origin. They were classified as being those cheap, sentimental songs sung by the pseudo - Irish to envoke Scotch Irish loyalty in this country.--James, I do not think our Ross family had lived long enough in Ulster to really aborb much of that way of life! My dad's "Irish songs" certainly were not about the "wee people".

Oh, yes, didn't John Knox actually marry a Ross?

I don't have anything on the tradition of the Long's.--Walter

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