Eight Children Left Without a Father — John Ross

B. 5 Feb 1764 in (probably) Middlebrook, New Jersey
M. 7 Sep 1788 in (probably) Somerset County, New Jersey
Wife: Martha Van Tuyl
D. 2 Mar 1808 in (probably) Boundbrook, New Jersey

When disease or injury took the life of a person during the prime of life, it often caught their surviving family off guard. Such was the case of John Ross and his family during the first decade of the 19th century

John was born February 5, 1764 in New Jersey to John Ross and Martha Anderson, one of five children. The family is believed to have lived in Middlebrook, New Jersey. John came of age at about the end of the American Revolution (he was 17 when the fighting ended), so it's unlikely he served as a soldier. But John owned a dragoon’s sword, which indicated that he may have been in the military at some point, although the weapon could have belonged to someone else.

On September 7, 1788, John married Martha Van Tuyl. They settled in Somerset County, in the town of Boundbrook, and had ten children born between 1789 and 1806, two of whom died as infants. John was known to be a slaveholder by 1805, and by 1808, there was a family of four slaves in his household: a man, a woman, an 8 year-old girl and a 6 year-old boy. Slavery wasn't entirely phased out in New Jersey until the 1840s.

Detail from inventory of John's estate showing slaves.

John’s probate records tell the rest of his story. On February 26, 1808, he wrote his will, and he seemed to know that he was dying. John was only 44-years-old, and the head of a household with eight underaged children, so it was essential to make sure they’d be taken care of after he was gone. There was no indication of why John was on his deathbed, but it was likely some sort of illness. He passed away on March 2nd.

Years after his death, the land he left for his family was needed to build a railroad. In about 1840, one of the earliest lines built in New Jersey bought part of the land he had owned from his widow Martha; it was said that the stable and barn had to be destroyed, but she was paid $1,300 by the railroad company, a large sum of money at the time.

Children:
1. John Van Tuyl Ross — B. 3 Mar 1789, New Jersey; D. 23 May 1790, New Jersey

2. Sarah Ross — B. 12 Dec 1790, Piscataway, New Jersey; D. 19 Jan 1872, Jerseyville, Illinois; M. Jeremiah Reading Parsell, 31 May 1815, Raritan, New Jersey

3. John Ross — B. 25 Dec 1792, Boundbrook, New Jersey; D. 16 Nov 1881, Somerset County, New Jersey; M. Joanna Sebring (1792-1874), 1 Apr 1816, Somerset County, New Jersey

4. Martha Anderson Ross — B. 7 Sep 1794, New Jersey; D. 6 Nov 1838, New Jersey; M. Isaac Staats (1791-1869)

5. Esther Ross — B. 26 Sep 1796, New Jersey; D. 29 May 1864; M. David R. Runyon (1795-?), 28 Jan 1818, Somerset County, New Jersey

6. Joseph Ross — B. 5 Dec 1798, Piscataway, New Jersey; D. 29 Jun 1875, Somerset County, New Jersey; M. Phebe Talmage (1805-1881), 30 Oct 1823, Somerset County, New Jersey

7. Peter B. Ross — B. 16 Jan 1801, Boundbrook, New Jersey; D. 14 Sep 1878, New Jersey; M. Sarah B. Smith (1802-1898), 13 Nov 1828, Somerset County, New Jersey

8. James S. Ross — B. 4 Mar 1803, Boundbrook, New Jersey; D. 14 Jul 1878, Jersey County, Illinois; M. Alletta Van Arsdalen (1803-1886), 29 Mar 1826, Boundbrook, New Jersey

9. William Ross — B. 5 Dec 1804, New Jersey; D. 15 Oct 1805, New Jersey

10. William Ross — B. 26 Jul 1806, New Jersey; D. 6 May 1882; M. Elizabeth Winsor (1810-?), 13 May 1835, Somerset County, New Jersey

Sources:
The Ross Family of New Jersey, Bob Ross, 1990
Will of John Ross, Middlebrook, New Jersey, 26 Feb 1808
Somerset County (New Jersey) Historical Quarterly, 1912-1919
New Jersey deaths and burials, 1720-1988
New Jersey births and christenings, 1660-1980
New Jersey county marriages, 1682-1956
Death certificate of James S. Ross, 27 Jul 1878, Jerseyville, Illinois
Death certificate of Alletta Ross, 13 May 1886, South Branch, New Jersey
New Jersey Equity Reports, Volume 2, 1842