Isaac Ross Papers

Isaac Ross, son of Isaac Ross and Jane Brown Ross, was born on January 5, 1760, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He married Jane Alison, and together they had Jane Brown Ross; Martha B. Ross, Isaac Ross Jr.; Margaret Alison Ross and Arthur Alison Ross.

Isaac Ross was commissioned a captain in the Revolutionary War and served under Sumter. He took part in the campaigns of Camden, King's Mountain, and Cowpens. Ross was a member of the Continental Association, and was a supporter of the Whig Party. He migrated to Mississippi Territory in 1808, bringing his enslaved persons with him. Ross settled Prospect Hill Plantation, Jefferson County, Mississippi.

In 1830, Ross cofouned the Mississippi Colonization Society, which was devoted to relocating enslaved persons from Mississippi to West Africa.

Isaac Ross Died on January 19, 1836, in Jefferson County, MS. In his will, he stated that a group of slaves who had elected to be transported to Liberia would be freed to do so on the occasion of the death of his youngest daughter, and dictated that the plantation be sold to fund their passage..

Isaac Ross Wade, Ross’ grandson and heir, contested the will in court. The court finally ruled in support of Ross’ wishes, upholding the will, in 1845. That same year plantation house burned down. The slaves suspected of burning the house were lynched. The plantation was eventually sold, and about 300 enslaved persons transported to Liberia. The property was later re-acqired by the Ross family and occupiedby them until 1956, and then by others until 1968. The Archaeological Conservancy acquired the property in 2014.

Sources: Publications of Miss. Historical Society, Vol. IX, 1906. Captain Isaac Ross and Some of His Descendants. Journal of Mississippi History. 9:166. T. M. Wade Clarion Ledger – Jackson Daily News, Sunday, January 28, 1968, Section F. One Copy available in vert. file. Mississippi Reports 6 (Howard 5), pp. 305-362, and Smedes and Marshall 7, 663-698. https://www.archaeologicalconservancy.org/prospect-hill-plantation-mississippi/ https://deltamagazine.com/prospect-hill/