Volume 10 , Issue 3

Pioneer Raphael H. Ross - Rosston, OK

Are there any Rosston, Oklahoman's out there? Here is some history that we pulled from A Standard History of Oklahoma, pg.1602, Vol IV, by Joseph Thoburn, that tells about the "Raphael H. Ross" family that settled in that area south of Laverne, Oklahoma.

Raphael H. Ross had been one of the makers of history in Northwest Oklahoma. He founded the flourishing town of Rosston, in Harper County, and when that town was incorporated he was honored by election as its Mayor.

Throughout Raphael Ross' career in Oklahoma he had been more than a passive factor in development. He had made his success count for betterment in a large community. It was in 1912 that he had 160 acres of his land platted as a townsite, it was named Rosston in his honor. In the same year he took the lead in building enterprise, putting up a group of four modern brick buildings, furnishing quarters for bank, stores and post office, and his liberality had been seen in almost every permanent institution of the community. When the town was incorporated in 1916 he was elected the first Mayor, and no one could have deserved that office better. Everyone spoke of him as the father of the town, and he had been its leading spirit from the beginning.

Ross had been identified with Harper County for fifteen years. Besides his interest in the town of Rosston he had an extensive ranch of 4,000 acres, lying immediately adjacent to Rosston. He was of old Virginia ancestry, was born January 25, 1868, in a log house on a farm in Pleasants County, West Virginia, a son of Cornelius P. and Ambrosine (Harness) Ross, who were natives of the same state. Cornelius P. Ross, was born in 1836 and was living retired at the age o eighty in Florida around 1916, spent his active years up to the age of forty as a farmer and afterwards became a merchant.

During the Civil war, Raphael Ross went with the South, and fought in a Virginia regiment under General Longstreet. Ross was present in many important battles including Cedar Creek and Chancellorsville, and was mustered out with the rank and title of an officer of the Confederate army. After the war he represented his home district in the West Virginia Legislature.

In 1866 he married Ambrosine Harness, a daughter of Solomon and Ann (Usher) Harness, her mother being a relative of the late Admiral Usher of the British Navy. She died at Waverly, West Virginia, in 1905. She was a highly cultured woman, espcially devout in her religious duties, being an active worker in the Presbyterian Church. Their 3 children were still living in 1916:

Raphael H.:

Ora G., wife of Richard S. Foley, farmer at Waverly, West Virginia;

Anna R., wife of M. C. Hess, a merchant at Rosston, Oklahoma.

Raphael H. Ross completed his literary education at the University of West Virginia at Morgantown. Raphael found ample outlet for his unusual energies and enterprise as a worker in the oil fields of West Virginia. From the East he came to Oklahoma in 1901, and secured a tract of Government land in Harper County. From that first tract as a nucleus, his holdings had spread until they included a ranch of 4,000 acres, well stocked and improved, he was one of the principal buyers, raisers and shippers of cattle from this section.

Raphael Ross also conducted a large hardware, furniture and implement store in Rosston, and was president of the First National Bank of that town. He was one of the organizers of the Fort Supply Telephone Company, which conducted a line from Woodward to Beaver, Oklahoma. Raphael H. Ross was a 32nd Degree Mason, being affiliated with the Consistory at Guthrie.

The history of the little town of Rosston, Oklahoma constantly reflects Ross' liberality. Ross donated four blocks of land for school purposes and gave a quarter block for the Congregational church. Ross not only gave the land but gave of his means for the building of schools, churches, and in every possible way was exerting his influence toward making this one of the model towns of Northwest Oklahoma.

On November 20, 1906, at Woodward, Oklahoma, Raphael H. Ross married Annie L. Moore who was born in Missouri in 1878. They had three sons:

Eugene Granville;

Leland Rufus;

Raphael Herbert.

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