John Ross’s Early Life - Beatha Thràth Iain Rois

The Seaboard

The land and seascape of the Seaboard are characterised by a mosaic of fertile fields gently sloping down to a cluster of small low lying fishing villages, nestling on the rocky coast and a wide glistening bay stretching beyond the horizon. This is the place where John Ross, renowned Presbyterian missionary to Manchuria (modern day Northeast China) and Korea, was born on the 6th July 1842 in a farm cottage at Easter Rarichie in the Parish of Nigg, in Easter Ross. John’s upbringing was influential in moulding his early life, equipping him with the values and skills needed for the great journey, amidst adversities and joys that lay ahead.

What’s in a Name?

John was named after his paternal grandfather, a farmer from Edderton, in the old Scottish naming tradition. His family belonged to the Clan Ross, whose ancestry dates back to the 12th century when territorial lands were granted to the 1st Earl of Ross. Its origins as a placename gave rise to the ancient Province of Ross, thought to be from the Gaelic ‘ros’ (promontory), referring to the projecting Easter Ross peninsula. The name John Ross has become renowned worldwide and synonymous with pioneering missionary work in China and Korea.

The ‘Tailors’

John’s father Hugh Ross came from Edderton to Nigg in the mid-1840s where he met and married Catherine Sutherland on 27 August 1841. The Ross family were locally known as ‘the Tailors’, a byname connected to Hugh’s profession as a master tailor making clothes for a class-conscious 19th century Highland society, where fashion was a key way of demonstrating social position and wealth. Before entering the trade as a “Master”, the apprentice was required to pass a trade test known as a “Masterpiece” and “to cut, sew and in every way finish a suit of clothes to the entire satisfaction of the Essay Masters”.

It’s likely that John’s parents had some level of social standing in the community, and customers to their shop would engage in conversation sharing news from home and abroad. It must have stimulated John’s curiosity and instilled a desire to travel from an early age.

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