In the 1830s, he worked in a mercantile house in Quebec and was captain of a ship trading to the West Indies.
[1] On 10 May 1838, he married Marianna Browne (1820–1890) of Quebec City,[2] with whom he had fourteen children (ten surviving).
[3] He spoke four languages – English, Gaelic, French and Spanish – and contributed poetry to newspapers such as the Sherbrooke Gazette.
Ross was a member of the Conservative Party of Quebec and represented the electoral district of Compton.
[8] Ross contracted pneumonia on his return from the 1873 trip and died at his home in Gould on 23 January 1874.