The family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, while Ross was still a child, and later to Buffalo, New York.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Erie Co., 2nd D.) in 1915 and 1916.
He resigned his seat on December 27, 1919, having been elected Commissioner of Finance and Accounts of the City of Buffalo in November 1919.
In November 1925, he ran on a "dry" ticket for Mayor of Buffalo, but was defeated by the "wet" incumbent Frank X. Schwab.
He was buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.