CSgt John Ross, Esq. was a very successful Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 businessman with substantial retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 interests. His fortune

Wealth

Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...

 was stolen by a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 on his death.

Career

Born the son of a schoolteacher in the city centre of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Ross came to Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

 in Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 to set up retail outlets at the age of just 17, principally hatters and grocers on the High Street, the longest in Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Other interests

Ross had been a member of the local Volunteer Company since its formation in 1859, and had attained the rank of Colour-Sergeant by his death. He was also a dedicated Freemason, a successful member of the Curling

Curling

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...

, Bowling

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

 and Chess Clubs in the area (as his numerous prizes testified) and was one of only twelve members of the Ancient Order of Free Gardeners

Order of Free Gardeners

The Order of Free Gardeners is a fraternal society that was founded in Scotland in the middle of the 17th Century and later spread to England and Ireland. Like numerous other friendly societies of the time, its principal aim was the sharing of knowledge—secrets—linked to the profession...

.

Death

Ross died suddenly of a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 on Sunday 26 November 1876, and was interred with full military honours. His funeral was a grand occasion with a full march (followed by several carriages and a band) through the town and a gun salute. Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of Falkirk as the coffin was carried past, his remains followed by what the local newspaper deemed 'one of the largest company of mourners ever seen at a funeral in Falkirk'. Captain Nimmo of the Volunteers commented:

We have lost one of our best - one whose unerring eye, steady hand, and unfaltering heart have often helped us on to victory in many a bloodless encounter - one whose enthusiasm has animated us to continued zeal in the discharge of our duties as Volunteers, and whose genial presence on our more festive occasions, when with song or story he has cheered and charmed us, will long be missed and mourned by every member of this Company.

Family and legacy

At only 36, Ross's death came as a great shock to the family, and his wife Jean was left to bring up his two sons and three daughters. His estate was valued at £11,000 on his death (£6.6 million in today's terms) but the lawyer entrusted to administer the estate escaped to America with the majority of the fortune, leaving the family with just over £1000 (£620,000 today) in capital and High Street property worth around £2.2 million today. Only one of the five children later married (Jean Ross to William Forbes), in order to save money, and as a result the family was comfortably placed in their later years.