Rev. Charles Alexander Ross

Reverend Charles Alexander Ross is the great-grandfather of a good friend of mine. He was born on 12 Nov 1883 in Newburgh, New York, USA as the fifth child of George Monroe Ross and Carolyn Lawson. When he was 24, he married Nanny (Annie) Maclennan Merritt, daughter of John Merritt and Annie MacDonald, on 18 Sep 1908 in New York, New York, USA.  He died in Aug 1973 in Pleasant Valley, Dutchess, New York, USA. He was a minister in Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian churches throughout his career.

At the time of the 1940 Census he was living at 580 Westminster Avenue in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He rented his home for $85/month (about $1700 in 2022 dollars). His wife, Nanny M answered the census questions. Their daughters Elizabeth and Antoinette were still at home. He was 56 years old and Nanny, his wife was 51. Both Charles and Nanny had high school educations. Charles was born in New York while Nanny was born in Scotland. In 1935, the family was living in Rutherford, New Jersey. Charles' occupation was listed as Clergyman and Nanny reported that he worked 50 hours in the previous week. According to the 1930 Census, Charles served in a World War I. Below are a service record and draft registration card for Charles Ross.

This short summary is, obviously just a tiny bit about who he was. I found a great deal more information about him at Newspapers.com. He was apparently a very charismatic preacher. He showed up in Newspapers.com almost once a decade for his sermons. He had the entire text of one his farewell sermon in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on September 15, 1919.

1919 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Feb 11, 1922 - Poughkeepsie Eagle-News

Apr 13, 1938 Poughkeepsie Eagle-News

He preached for many years and ended up in the newspaper again in 1962, in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Apr 15, 1962 - Poughkeepsie Journal

Charles Ross and Annie (Nanny) Maclennan Merritt had 4 children: Jean, Ruth, Elizabeth and Antoinette. Ruth Ross is the grandmother of my friend. She married Merle Alden Reed and with him had 3 children: David Merle, Peter Charles and Carol Ann Reed.