James M. Ross, 1831-1908 [RG1343.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG1343.AM:  James M. Ross, 1831-1908

Correspondence:  1865-1868

Johnson County, Nebraska

Size:  One folder

BACKGROUND NOTE

Born in Macoupin County, Illinois, to Robert and Elizabeth Ross on September 8, 1831, James M. Ross married Elizabeth A. Sanders on February 9, 1853.  They continued to live in Macoupin County until the spring of 1865 when they moved to Johnson County, Nebraska.  James homesteaded a farm near Vesta.  James and Elizabeth had fourteen children, two dying in infancy.  James M. Ross died at his home in Tecumseh on October 20, 1908.  He is buried in Tecumseh Cemetery, Tecumseh, Nebraska.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection consists of one folder containing four letters.  Three of the letters are written by James M. Ross to his father, Robert Ross.  The letters were sent from Johnson County, Nebraska, to Robert Ross, who was living near Palmyra, Illinois.  The fourth letter is a response sent from Robert Ross to James.  The letters date from 1865 to 1868 and discuss such issues as breaking sod, crops raised, prices for crops sold, weather conditions, grasshoppers, family news, etc.  Also included are typed transcriptions of the letters.

INVENTORY

Item

1. 1. Letter, 1865, June 4, James to Robert

1. 1. Letter, 1866, April 2, James to Robert

1. 1. Letter, 1866, April 16, Robert to James

1. 1. Letter, 1868, March 2, James to Robert

1. 1. Transcripts of letters

Subject headings:

Agriculture

Farming

Frontier and pioneer life

Grasshoppers

Homesteading

Johnson County, Nebraska

Ross Family

Ross, James M., 1831-1908

Weather

Revised TMM        04-10-2018