Alexander Milton Ross
Encyclopedia
Alexander Milton Ross, was born in Belleville
, Upper Canada
and died in Detroit, Michigan
, USA. He was an abolitionist who was an agent for the secret Underground Railroad
slave escape network, known in that organization and among slaves as The Birdman for his preferred cover story as a bird enthusiast.
In 1855 he received his M.D degree in medicine. He then worked as a war surgeon in America's civil war.
Alexander became actively involved in the anti-slavery action in 1856. He would come up to the owner of a slave plantation and make a very bold lie: that he was only going to research and study some interesting birds around the owner’s estate. Then when night fell he would speak in secret to the slaves. Mr. Ross passed on the locations of Underground Railroad
stations. He would tell them who to watch out for and who to trust. As he parted he would give each slave a knife, a compass, a few dollars, as much food as they could carry and perhaps a pistol.
Ross made at least five trips to the United States
' southern states
. In this time he managed to play an important part in the escapes of 31 black people. His services in the abolition movement and during the American Civil War
were so self-sacrificing that they gained him tributes from abolition leaders and from Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln honored him in numerous dinner parties and banquets. He was honored by other well-known abolitionists as well. Many speeches were given in his honor. Alexander Ross died in Detroit, Michigan
on October 27, 1897.
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Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
, Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and died in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, USA. He was an abolitionist who was an agent for the secret Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
slave escape network, known in that organization and among slaves as The Birdman for his preferred cover story as a bird enthusiast.
Life
Alexander Ross’s father died when he was only 12 which made him quit school, and then his mother died when he was 23. Two years after her death, he married a woman named Hester F. Harrington.In 1855 he received his M.D degree in medicine. He then worked as a war surgeon in America's civil war.
Alexander became actively involved in the anti-slavery action in 1856. He would come up to the owner of a slave plantation and make a very bold lie: that he was only going to research and study some interesting birds around the owner’s estate. Then when night fell he would speak in secret to the slaves. Mr. Ross passed on the locations of Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
stations. He would tell them who to watch out for and who to trust. As he parted he would give each slave a knife, a compass, a few dollars, as much food as they could carry and perhaps a pistol.
Ross made at least five trips to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' southern states
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. In this time he managed to play an important part in the escapes of 31 black people. His services in the abolition movement and during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
were so self-sacrificing that they gained him tributes from abolition leaders and from Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln honored him in numerous dinner parties and banquets. He was honored by other well-known abolitionists as well. Many speeches were given in his honor. Alexander Ross died in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on October 27, 1897.
Books
Alexander Milton Ross is also the author of many books: Recollections of an Abolitionist (Montreal, 1867) ; Birds of Canada (1872) ; Butterflies and Moths of Canada (1873); Flora of Canada (1873); Forest Trees of Canada, (1874); Ferns and Wild Flowers of Canada (1877) ; Mammals, Reptiles, and Fresh-water Fishes of Canada (1878); Vaccination a Medical Delusion (1885); and Medical Practice of the Great Future. Alexander Ross is featured in the book Underground to Canada, a book written by Barbara Smucker.Further reading
Wright, Rick (2009) Birder undercover: the life and times of Alexander Milton Ross BirdingBirding (magazine)
Birding is the bimonthly members' magazine of the American Birding Association. While not a formal journal, Birding offers enthusiasts in-depth and scholarly articles on field identification and bird conservation. Each issue also features tips on North American and foreign birdfinding, news in the...
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