George Ross
Born: May 10, 1730
Died: July 14, 1779
Colony/State: Pennsylvania
Occupation / Public Role: Lawyer, legislator, delegate to the Continental Congress, judge
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of Pennsylvania’s revolutionary leadership, and later judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Admiralty.
George Ross was born in New Castle, Delaware, and later built his career in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1750, and became one of Pennsylvania’s established legal and political figures before independence. The U.S. House records that he served in the colonial assembly from 1768 to 1776, placing him squarely inside Pennsylvania’s public life during the years when tensions with Great Britain were boiling over.
As the imperial crisis deepened, Ross moved into Revolutionary service. He served as a delegate to the Pennsylvania state convention in 1774, then as a delegate to the First Continental Congress that same year. He later served in the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777 and signed the Declaration of Independence as one of Pennsylvania’s delegates. The National Archives lists him as 46 years old in 1776 and identifies his occupation as lawyer.
Ross’s role in the founding era did not end with his signature. After leaving Congress, he was appointed judge of the Court of Admiralty for Pennsylvania in April 1779, according to the U.S. House. That made him one of those founders who helped not only in the break from Britain, but also in the construction of functioning Revolutionary government afterward. Not the loudest résumé in the room, maybe, but definitely not decorative wallpaper either.
George Ross died near Philadelphia on July 14, 1779. He is not one of the best-known names among the signers today, but he was an important Pennsylvania Revolutionary figure: lawyer, legislator, Continental delegate, signer, and judge. He helped carry Pennsylvania from colonial politics into independence and then into wartime governance.
Related Links
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Declaration of Independence
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