Shasta-Humboldt-Trinity County CA Archives Biographies.....Ross, Herman Frederick 1823 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 30, 2006, 6:02 pm

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1891)

HERMAN FREDERICK ROSS is one of the early, reliable and worthy settlers of
Shasta County, and one who has had an eventful history. He was born in Sweden,
December 24, 1823. His parents, Erick and Catharine Elizabeth Ross, were also
natives of Sweden. His father's business was that of Swedish iron manufacture,
and had large estates. In religion they were Lutherans.

  Mr. Ross, the subject of this sketch, at the age of fifteen years started out
in life as a sailor. In his first voyage his ship was wrecked in the English
Channel, striking a bank in a heavy snow-storm, and went to pieces. The crew
took to the boats, saving nothing but what they had on their person, and were
twenty-four hours in frozen clothes, dashed about by an angry sea in small open
boats. When they were picked up they were nearly frozen to death, and had to be
lifted out of their boats. This "cooled" Mr. Ross' ardor for a seafaring life,
but did not stop him from seeing more of the world. He then went on an English
vessel to the coast of Africa, where he went on board of an English man-of-war
that was cruising there to do what she could in capturing slavers, then very
numerous, and thereby break up the slave trade. Their ship, the Ferret, was a
fast sailer, and they ran down many a slaver and rescued the poor men and women
who were packed like cattle in the holds, which they landed on Sierra Leone.
Many of the slavers were fast sailers and got away.

  Mr. Ross was afterward transferred to an English seventy-four three-decker,
and was sent to the coast of China during the China war, and participated in
some of the battles at the close of the war. The soldiers then returned to
England and were paid off. In 184-3 Mr. Ross took passage to America, landing in
New York city. Then he sailed with traders for gold dust and ivory on the coast
of Africa and returned to the United States. Next he shipped on the first iron
propeller made for the United States Government, the building of which was
superintended by Erickson, the great inventor, and named Lagaree. It was an
experiment, but she proved a success. They raced with the Great Western and beat
her so far that they steamed around her twice.

  He went on this vessel to Washington. She took President Tyler and his bride
on a pleasure trip to Richmond. Then they went with her to Florida and made
surveys there, and after this took out the first load of United States arms for
the Mexican war. Mr. Ross was in the employ of the Government in the
quartermaster's department during the war with Mexico. Soon after this he had
the yellow fever, and on his partial recovery went to the State of Maine to
fully recuperate.

  He remained there until 1849, when he came to California and landed at San
Francisco. From there he went up the American River and engaged in mining for
gold for a time. He was quite successful, and there with others made dams.
Everything had been high while they were working on the dams, and they soon got
rid of their money and also went in debt; and when they lost their work by the
high water they were heavily in debt. They went to work with rockers in the
bank, and in two weeks took out gold enough to pay their debts, and even more.

  At this time there was great excitement over rich discoveries at Gold Bluffs,
and there was a rush in that direction. He started there and landed at Trinidad,
when the winter set in hard and the bubble burst. He next mined on Salmon,
Scott, Klamath and Trinity rivers, and finally brought up at Shasta in 1852. It
was then a rushing place, with crowds of people. He mined awhile, went to Oak
Run and took up 160 acres of land and engaged in raising all kinds of farm
products. When he began high prices were paid for farm produce. He paid ten
cents per pound for seed barley and sold the crop for one and a half cents per
pound.

  While he mined on the Trinity the Indians were quite troublesome. Frequently
some one was killed. They had to keep a man on guard to prevent the savages from
stealing up and killing them. The reds killed four men, and then about fifteen
of the miners agreed to pursue them. When they came up with them they succeeded
in killing three, the rest escaping.

  Mr. Ross farmed on his ranch until 1865, and for a time he engaged in teaming
to Idaho, Nevada and Silver City. At this business he made some money. In 1865
he purchased a half interest in the mill at Millville, the other owner being Mr.
H. N. Wilkinson. This business for years proved a success. They handled a great
deal of grain, and supplied some counties with flour. When the railroad was
built in 1876 it to a great extent injured their business. They still own and
run the mill, but it has not the business it once had.

  When Mr. Ross settled in this county the Indians were numerous along the
banks, salmon was plenty in the streams and game on the bills and mountains,
deer, antelope and bear, so that the Indians had plenty to eat. After the
Americans settled in the county and the rush of miners in 1849 and the years
following, the Indians made frequent raids on them, stealing horses and cattle
and occasionally killing a man and sometimes a family. To punish the Indians and
for self-protection the whites had to retaliate, and often they did not know
that they had found the right Indians; but in these raids Mr. Ross never killed
a woman or a child. Even after he bought his mill in 1865 there were occasional
bands of Indians who raided the country and committed depredations on the
settlers; but as the game became scarce the Indians were starved out.

  In 1859 Mr. Ross married Miss Margaret Hunt, a native of Missouri, and they
have had two sons, born at Oak Run, namely: Albert F., now the county clerk of
Shasta County, whose history will be found in this work; and Harold, who is at
home with his father on their ranch. The relentless hand of death took from them
in 1864 the kind and loving wife and mother, and three years afterward Mr. Ross
was again married, to Miss Clarissa Powers, a native of Iowa, who has since been
his faithful wife.

  Since the great war of the Rebellion Mr. Ross has been a consistent and stanch
Republican, and for some years held the office of Justice of the Peace. He has
taken an active part with and has been prominent in several of the societies of
the county. When at Shasta he was one of the charter members of the Legion of
Honor. He is a chapter Mason and was one of the charter members and first Master
of the Northern Light Lodge at Millville.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California.

Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast
from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with
Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of
Prominent Citizens of To-day.

"A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendents." – Macauley.

CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1891.

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