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Born in Nebraska City, Nebraska, January 31, 1871, of Henry William ROSS and Lucy Jane (THOMPSON) ROSS. He was one of nine children: brother Rawley; sisters Clara and Cora; half-brothers Daniel A. and Roscoe; and half-sisters Laura, Lucille, and Luella.

It is uncertain how George came to be born in Nebraska City; however, it is recorded that his parents moved to Webster County, Nebraska, in 1870. Quite likely this 350-mile journey began late in the year--almost certainly during the winter, due to the account of George's half-brother Daniel, who says the family “had a team of oxen and a sled and pulled into Red Cloud, Nebraska, in 1870.” (Daniel was likely mistaken in the year 1870, since George was not born until January of the following year.) Nebraska City is about halfway between George's parents' starting point, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and their destination, Red Cloud, Nebraska. Consequently, it appears that George was born during this family migration.

George presumably matured on his father’s quarter-section farm near Red Cloud and lived there until his mother's death in 1890. In 1891, when his father began a series of moves--or even perhaps as late as 1894, when his father and step-mother moved briefly back to Iowa--George apparently went his own way.

Sometime prior to 1899, George married Olive Augusta MILLION and they moved to Bladen, Nebraska (about fifteen miles north of Red Cloud), where at least four of their children were born. George was a self-employed stone mason by trade.

Around 1920, according to his son Howard, the family moved for a short time to Hastings, Nebraska.

About 1923, they moved to the Pumpkin Buttes area, south of Gillette, Wyoming. There, on July 12, 1928, George was granted 2 homestead “Land Patents” – one for 600 acres, and the other for 40 acres, adjacent to each other. Below is an image of the document granting him the 600 acres. Separate legal details show that “Coal and other minerals reserved to United States.” This property is located at 43.9218°N, 105.6362°W, about 1 mile east of Clarkelen Road and ½ mile north of Wild Horse Creek, about 18 miles NE of the new coal town of Wright, Wyoming.

Between May 1917 and May 1949, a U.S. Post Office operated at Savageton, Wyoming – about 11 miles southeast of this homestead, at the intersection of Wyoming Highway 50 and Savageton Road. Since the town of Wright had not yet been established, Savageton appears to have been the closest link to civilization at that time. However, very little evidence remains today to show that Savageton ever existed.

[After considerable pondering, I came to wonder what in the world could have made George leave the lush green of Nebraska to move to the Pumpkin Buttes – the virtual center of “nowhere.” So I called my cousin Barney, who instantly said, “I can explain that one.” He said there was a man named Saunders who owned a lumber yard in Bladen, Nebraska (George’s home at the time). This same Saunders also owned a lumber yard in Gillette, Wyoming. After World War I, Saunders “talked grandfather into moving to the Gillette area because they had no plasterer.” (In those days, before sheetrock, all homes were plastered on the inside, and many were stuccoed on the outside. So-called bricklayers were also plasterers and stone-masons, able to do anything that involved cement.) Barney said the family drove to Wyoming in a “touring car” and went with another family. At Casper, Wyoming, they left the road (there were no highways in those days) and followed trails until they got to Gillette – where George filed for the below homestead. Barney also explained that the town of Wright was at a different location from the current town of that name; it was named after a prominent early family. He also said that in those days the area was experiencing the “wet years” that lasted until the 1930’s. He said his father told stories about the grass seeds being above the stirrups. That area is now known as the Thunder Basin National Grasslands.]

George died as a result of an automobile accident on Highway 320 about three miles east of Shoshoni, Wyoming, at 5:30 P.M., on October 7, 1939. His death certificate reports him to have been a resident of Buffalo, Johnson County, Wyoming, at the time of his death. He was buried at Riverton, Wyoming, October 10, 1939.

George and Olive had 12 children: Cora, George Anderson, Lottie Eugene, Jane Lucy, Clara Mae, Della Gertrude, Jessie Malinda, Lois Maude, William Bryan, Henry Wendell, Howard Randall, and Ethel Zanta.

7 Photos

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  Of course, I don’t know what year or make their “touring car” was, but here is a photo of a 1920 Ford Model T Touring Car.
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  George G Ross Homestead Document (600 acres)
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  Lucina Million (“Aunt Billie”) (SCHRATER) ROSS; her husband William Bryan (“Uncle Bill”) ROSS; his father, George Granville ROSS; and George’s brother, Daniel A. ROSS. Probably about 1938.
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  George Granville Ross
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  "Ross Bros Geo & Rawley Ross - Hotel Red Cloud"
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  "Geo. Ross house Bladen, Nebr."
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  Of course, I don't know what year or make their "touring car" was, but here is a photo of a 1920 Ford Model T Touring Car.