Isaac Ross (planter) facts for kids

Isaac Ross (1760-1836) was an important person in early American history. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became a wealthy farmer, known as a planter, in Mississippi. He owned a large farm called Prospect Hill Plantation where he grew cotton. He also owned many enslaved people.

Ross helped start Oakland College, a school for young men. He also helped create the Mississippi Colonization Society. This group wanted to help freed enslaved people move to Africa. In his will, Ross planned to free his hundreds of enslaved people. He wanted to use money from his farm to help them travel to a new life in Africa. They would go to a colony called Mississippi-in-Africa, which later became part of Liberia.

Isaac Ross's Life Story

His Early Years

Isaac Ross was born on January 18, 1760. He was born in North Carolina. When he was young, his family moved to Orangeburg County, South Carolina. His father was also named Isaac Ross. His mother was Jean (Brown) Ross.

His Career and Plantations

During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), Isaac Ross was a soldier. He became a Captain in the Second Dragoons. He served under General Thomas Sumter.

In 1808, Ross moved from South Carolina to the Mississippi Territory. He bought land near Port Gibson. He developed this land into Prospect Hill Plantation. This farm grew cotton. By 1818, he owned nearly 4,000 acres of land. He also owned many enslaved people. By 1828, he owned several other farms and more enslaved people. Before he died, Ross owned about 5,000 acres of land. He also owned 160 enslaved people. His wealth was estimated at $100,000.

In 1830, Ross helped fund Oakland College. This was a Presbyterian college near Rodney, Mississippi. Its president was a minister named Jeremiah Chamberlain.

The Colonization Society

In the 1830s, Ross helped start the Mississippi Colonization Society. He worked with other planters like Edward McGehee and Stephen Duncan. This group was similar to the American Colonization Society. Their goal was to move free Black people and newly freed enslaved people to Liberia in West Africa.

Many slave owners in the South believed that free Black people threatened their society. They thought moving them to Africa was a good idea. In Mississippi, there were three times more enslaved people than white people. So, this group focused on moving freed enslaved people from Mississippi.

His Family Life

Isaac Ross married Jane Brown (1762-1829). They had five children:

• Margaret Allison Ross Reed (1787-1838). Her second husband was Thomas Buck Reed. He was a U.S. Senator from Mississippi.
• Martha B. Ross (1793-1818).
• Jane Brown Ross Wade (1786-1851). She was the mother of Isaac Ross Wade.
• Isaac Ross (1796-1852).
• Arthur Alison Ross (1801-1834). He married Octavia Van Dorn.

Ross's wife died in 1829. Around the same time, he also lost a daughter and two sons.

Isaac Ross's Will and Legacy

His Death and Burial

Isaac Ross died on January 19, 1836. He passed away in Jefferson County, Mississippi. He was buried at Prospect Hill Plantation. This burial ground later became known as the Wade Family Cemetery. His grandson, Isaac Ross Wade, bought the plantation again in the 1850s.

His Will to Free Slaves

In his will, Ross decided to free his enslaved people. He ordered that his plantation be sold. The money from the sale would pay for their travel to Liberia. It would also give them money to start their new lives.

His will said that if any enslaved person chose not to go to Africa, they would be sold. The money from their sale would go to the American Colonization Society. This money was meant to build a new university in Liberia. Ross also said that enslaved families should not be separated when sold.

Many people who supported colonization called this "repatriation." This meant sending people back to their homeland. However, by this time, most enslaved people were born in America. They had been for many generations. Many free Black people in the North did not want to leave the United States. They wanted to gain equal rights where they were. Still, thousands of free Black people did move to Liberia.

The Will's Challenges

Out of Ross's 160 enslaved people at Prospect Hill, 123 chose to be freed and move to Africa. Five were not allowed to leave. Other freed enslaved people from different farms joined the group, making nearly 300 people.

Ross's grandson, Isaac Ross Wade, fought the will in court for almost ten years. The money from the estate was used to pay for the journey. In 1842, Mississippi passed a law. This law made it illegal to free enslaved people through a will. It also stopped people from moving enslaved people out of the state to free them. However, the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld Ross's will in 1845.

There were other delays too. During this time, the freed people worked at Prospect Hill Plantation. They were technically free and were supposed to be paid for their work.

Map of Liberia in the 1830s, showing the Mississippi and other state-sponsored colonies.

Journey to Liberia

Finally, the freed people from Prospect Hill traveled from Natchez, Mississippi by ship. They arrived in Liberia in two groups in 1848. They settled in the area known as Mississippi-in-Africa. This land was bought by the Mississippi Colonization Society. Many of them could read and write. They were likely skilled workers or household staff among the enslaved people.

Many of them wrote letters to the Wade family and the Mississippi Colonization Society. They asked for supplies they desperately needed. They also wanted the money they were owed for three years of work. This was estimated to be $100,000. But they mostly received no reply. In one letter, the Wade family said that their living costs and court fees had been taken from the money they were owed. The family claimed the freed people actually owed them money.

The letters from the African Americans reported many deaths. Many died in the first year from "African fever." Neither the Wade family nor the American Colonization Society kept their promises to the settlers. No university was ever built or funded in Liberia from Ross's money.

The author Alan Huffman wrote a book about this story. He suggests that the way this colony was set up caused problems. The Americo-Liberians, who were descendants of American settlers, treated the local tribes unfairly. They acted like colonizers themselves. This unfair treatment caused anger among the local people. Huffman believes this anger contributed to later civil wars in Liberia.