Introduction

George Ross was born on May 10, 1730, in New Castle, Delaware. Raised in a large family, he received a classical education before studying law in Philadelphia under his brother John. Admitted to the bar at 20, he established a successful practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He married Ann Lawler in 1751, and they had three children.

Ross began public service in the 1750s as King’s prosecutor in Pennsylvania. Elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1768, he initially leaned toward reconciliation but increasingly supported colonial rights. By 1774, he was a First Continental Congress delegate advocating unified colonial resistance.

Not present for the July 2 independence vote, Ross was selected to sign the Declaration on August 2. A staunch patriot, he served on Pennsylvania’s Committee of Safety and held the rank of colonel in the militia. In 1779, he was appointed to the Pennsylvania Court of Admiralty, but gout forced him to resign. He died later that year at age 49.

Contribution to Independence: Ross’s legal expertise helped draft petitions and resolutions in Congress. Though absent for the independence vote, his signature represented Pennsylvania’s legal community’s support for the cause.

A Brief Biography

George Ross was born in May of 1730 in New Castle, Delaware, into a very large family. His father was a minister, educated at Edinburgh, and the Ross children received a sound classical education at home. George read law at the office of his older brother, John. George attained the Bar in Philadelphia at the age of 20 and established his own practice in Lancaster, PA. As was typical of many gentlemen of the day, his politics were Tory. He served for twelve years as Crown Prosecutor (attorney general) to Carlisle, until elected to the provincial legislature of his state in 1768. There he came to understand firsthand the rising conflict between the colonial assemblies and the Parliament. He was an unabashed supporter of the powers of the former. In 1774, he was elected to the provincial conference that would select delegates to attend the General Congress and was selected as a representative of Pennsylvania that same year. Ross continued to serve his provincial legislature and was a member of the Committee of Safety for his colony in 1775. In 1776, he was again elected to the Continental Congress, while serving as a provincial legislator and a Colonel in the Continental Army. His strong stance for the Colonists’ freedom led to his greatest contribution by being one of nine signers of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania. He also undertook negotiations with the Northwestern Indian on behalf of his colony, and took a seat as vice-president of the first constitutional convention for Pennsylvania. He was re-elected to the Continental Congress once more in 1777, but resigned the seat before the close due to poor health. In March, 1779, he was appointed to a judgeship in the Pennsylvania Court of Admiralty. He died in that office in July 1779.

To the union of Ann Lawler and George Ross three children were born; George, James, and Mary. The eldest of Ann’s children, George Jr., was born on June 1, 1752. On April 5, 1773, he married Mary Bird (Byrd), daughter of Colonel William Bird, of Birdsboro, Berks County, Pennsylvania. They had nine children during their marriage. Both George Jr. and Mary Byrd Ross were members of the Saint James Episcopal Church. George Jr. was a devoted patriot during the Revolution, served as Vice-President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, and was commissioned by the Governor as the Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds in 1791. He served in that position for eighteen years. When he died at the age of eighty, on November 13, 1832, he was buried in the churchyard at the Saint James Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His grave is one of the two hundred in the cemetery which is no longer marked.

Their second child, James, was born on November 28, 1753. In 1775, James raised the first company of troops in Lancaster County under Colonel Thompson’s Regiment, and was later made captain. In the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment he was elevated to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and fought at Long Island, Trenton, Germantown, Brandywine, and in various other battles. The Ross family Bible, which was in the possession of George Ross Eshleman in 1907, stated James died without issue in Louisiana on August 20, 1809. His burial site is unknown, but thought possibly to be in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi or that his body may have been returned to Lancaster.

The third child of Ann and George Ross was a daughter, Mary, born on December 3, 1765, perhaps the namesake of Ann’s mother. Mary first married her cousin, William Byrd who died in 1812. Her second marriage was to Joshua Scott who was a well-known civil engineer who apparently died in 1839. It appears that Mary Ross Byrd Scott married a third time because the Ross Family Bible noted she married James Wilson. Mary died at the age of 92 on December 20, 1858, and is buried in the Saint James Episcopal churchyard among her other relatives in Lancaster.

George Ross studied law under his influential half-brother, John, in Philadelphia before opening his practice in Lancaster. John was the first husband of Betsy Griscom, who is the Betsy Ross celebrated for sewing the first flag for the new country, and therefore the niece of Ann Lawler Ross and George Ross.

Ann Lawler Ross passed away on May 28, 1773, more than three years prior to her husband’s signing of the Declaration of Independence. Because George Ross reportedly did not support independence until 1774, Ann may have never known about his change of heart. Her obituary appeared in The Pennsylvania Packet in Philadelphia on June 14, 1773, seen below. Ann is buried in Saint James Episcopal Church Cemetery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania in a grave that is no longer marked. Two of her children, George Jr. and Mary also rest in the same churchyard.

George only lived another six years after his wife’s death. At the age of 49, George died on July 14, 1779, afflicted with a severe case of gout. He is buried at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Neither Ann nor George saw the birth of the new nation they helped found, but their many contributions to the cause of independence were nonetheless an important part of the story of America. His three children played major roles in the establishment of the country. The family contributed immeasurable amounts of courage, bravery, and intellect, which laid the foundations of the new United States.

Biography credit here.

Final Thoughts

George Ross’s journey from Crown prosecutor to revolutionary patriot exemplifies the profound transformation many colonists underwent in the years leading to independence. His evolution from Tory politics to ardent supporter of colonial rights wasn’t instantaneous but developed through years of witnessing Parliament’s overreach and experiencing firsthand the tensions between colonial assemblies and British authority. This gradual awakening, combined with his legal expertise and commitment to Pennsylvania’s interests, made him an invaluable voice in the Continental Congress, even though illness prevented him from being present for the historic July 2nd vote.

The Ross family’s sacrifices extended far beyond George’s signature on the Declaration. His wife Ann died before seeing her husband’s historic act, never knowing of his transformation from loyal subject to revolutionary. Their children carried forward the family’s patriotic legacy—George Jr. serving in Pennsylvania’s government for decades, James fighting in major Revolutionary battles from Long Island to Germantown, and Mary living to see the young nation mature into the mid-19th century. The family’s connection to Betsy Ross through George’s half-brother John adds another layer to their revolutionary story, intertwining them with one of America’s most enduring symbols.

Though gout cut short George Ross’s life at just 49, preventing him from witnessing the birth of the nation he helped create, his contributions resonated through multiple spheres of the independence movement. As lawyer, legislator, militia colonel, and signer, Ross embodied the multifaceted commitment required of the Founding generation. His legal acumen helped draft the petitions and resolutions that articulated colonial grievances, while his signature on the Declaration represented not just personal conviction but the support of Pennsylvania’s legal community for the cause of independence. In Ross, we see how individual transformation—from Crown servant to revolutionary—reflected and helped drive the larger transformation of thirteen colonies into a new nation.

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