Origins

Ross was the second son of James Ross, 4th Lord Ross

James Ross, 4th Lord Ross

James Ross, 4th Lord Ross of Halkhead was a Scottish nobleman and an adherent to the cause of Mary, Queen of Scots.-Origins:Ross was the second, but oldest surviving son of Ninian Ross, 3rd Lord Ross, who died in February 1555/6...

, who died on 2 April 1581, by Jean, daughter of Robert, 3rd Lord Sempill. He succeeded to the peerage following the death of his great-nephew William

Robert Ross, 9th Lord Ross

-Origins:Ross was the third son of James Ross, 6th Lord Ross, who died in 17 December 1633, by Margaret, daughter of Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch...

 in August 1648, to whom he was served heir on 20 March 1649. After his succession, he became embroiled in a legal dispute with the Countess of Eglinton (the widow of his nephew James

James Ross, 6th Lord Ross

-Origins:Ross was the eldest son and heir of Robert Ross, 5th Lord Ross, who died in October 1595, by Jean, daughter of Gavin Hamilton of Raploch. The Rosses of Halkhead, or Hawkhead, in Renfrewshire, were a Lowland family, not apparently related to the Earls of Ross or the Highland family of Ross...

) in relation to the charter-chest of the House of Ross, which she apparently declined to produce.

The Rosses of Halkhead, or Hawkhead, in Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

, were a Lowland

Scottish Lowlands

The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....

 family, not apparently related to the Earls of Ross

Earl of Ross

The Mormaer or Earl of Ross was the leader of a medieval Gaelic lordship in northern Scotland, roughly between the River Oykel and the River Beauly.-Origins and transfers:...

 or the Highland

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

 family of Ross

Clan Ross

Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.-Origins:Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan first named as such by King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160...

 of Balnagown.

Career

Ross was knighted by Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 on 12 July 1633. Prior to his succession to the peerage, he was known generally as William Ross of Torphin, or Sir William Ross of Muriston, or Newriston.

In 1643 and 1644 he was on the Committee of War for Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

 and was appointed Sheriff of Renfrewshire in 1646. He was on the Committee of War and Colonel for Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

 and Renfrewshire in 1648 and 1649. In 1649 he was also a commissioner for the plantation of kirks (intended to provide for the regular and permanent endowment of the ministers of the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

).

In 1654, Ross was fined £3,000 under Cromwell's

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 "Act of Grace", but the fine was subsequently reduced to £750.

Family

Ross married first Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Patrick Houston of Houston and widow of John Whitefoord. With her he received first a charter (11 June 1624) and then a sasine (25 June 1628) of Muriston. He married secondly Margaret, the eldest daughter of Sir James Forrester of Torwoodhead. By her he had at least one son, George

George Ross, 11th Lord Ross

George Ross, 11th Lord Ross of Halkhead , was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.-Origins:Ross was the son and heir of William Ross, 10th Lord Ross, who died in 1656, by Margaret, daughter of Sir James Forrester of Torwoodhead...

, by whom he was succeeded on his death in 1656.