John G. Ross was born in Caldwell County, Missouri on January 22, 1843. He was the second son of Charles R. Ross and France D. Potts Prince. In 1850, John was living with his parents and three siblings in District 11, Caldwell Co., Missouri. A brother was born in 1852, and another brother arrived in 1854.
The 1860 census showed John was living with his parents, one sister and three brothers in Davis Township, Caldwell Co. All the children had attended school within the year. His father’s Real Estate was valued at $6,000.
John mustered into service in Co. E, 6th Missouri State Militia Cavalry on March 28, 1862 in Cameron, Missouri. He had previously joined for duty and enrolled on January 7, 1862. John had blue eyes, dark hair, a fair complexion and was 5 feet 9 inches tall. He listed his occupation as a farmer. He enlisted in the unit with his father, Charles.
John was in the Battle of Lone Jack, he was not wounded nor did he lose his horse. On August 23, 1862, John served as a volunteer nurse in the U.S.A. Post Hospital in Lexington, Missouri where he attended the wounded soldiers. He left the hospital on September 30. 1862.
John was discharged on a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability issued in Jefferson City, Missouri on May 27, 1863. He had Phthisis Pulmonalis (pulmonary tuberculosis) that had existed for seven months. The doctor indicated that John was not fit to serve as a soldier and he was unfit to serve in the Invalid Corps.
On December 17, 1863 John married Permelia Albina Phares. She was born on June 16, 1845 in Butler County, Ohio. The couple had one child in 1865, another in 1866 and one in 1868.
According to the 1870 census, John, Permelia and their three sons lived in Fairview Township in Caldwell Co., along with a fourteen-year-old boy, listed as a farm laborer. In 1873 a daughter was born to the family, and another daughter came along in 1875. This latter child died in 1878.
On the 1880 census the family, including their four sons and one daughter, are still in Fairview Township. On February 17, 1882 another son was born into the family and on March 7 a son was lost. In 1885, John’s mother passed away.
The 1900 census indicates that John and his family lived in Jackson Township, Sumner Co., Kansas. A son, two daughters and three grandchildren were living with John and Permelia. John owned the farm where they lived. On July 8, 1908, the family lost both a son and a daughter.
In 1910, a daughter and two grandchildren lived with John and Permelia in Wellington City, Kansas. Shortly thereafter, John and Permelia moved to California. On December 22, 1918 Permelia died. John passed away on September 19, 1919. John and Permelia are buried in the Turlock Memorial Park cemetery in Turlock, California.