David Ross (1857–1931) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and founded

Scotch College, Perth Scotch College (informally known as Scotch or SC), is an Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary school for boys, located in the Perth suburb of Swanbo ...

Life

He was born on 13 August 1857 in

Rosskeen Rosskeen is a parish in Ross and Cromarty on the Cromarty Firth in northern Scotland, containing the settlements of Invergordon, Bridgend and Saltburn, Ross and Cromarty, Saltburn. It lies on the A9 between Inverness and Thurso. Notable Buildi ...

near

Invergordon Invergordon (; or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen. History The town built up around the harbour which was established in 1828. The area ...

the son of Hugh Ross, a saddler, and his wife, Jessie Hood. He studied at

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

then trained as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

from 1877 to 1881. He was then licensed to preach by the Free Church of Scotland and assisted the Rev Charles Salmond at St Matthew's Free Church in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He was ordained at the Free Kirk in Crathie in 1883. In 1892 he emigrated to Australia, settling in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. He initially served as minister of St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Perth. In 1896 he was elected

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

of the Presbyterian Church of Western Australia. During his period as Moderator he was invited to found the Scotch College in Perth, which opened in January 1897. He became minister of St Kilda West Presbyterian Church in 1899. In 1919 he served as Moderator of the

Presbyterian Church of Victoria __NOTOC__ The Presbyterian Church of Victoria is one of the constituent churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It was established in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations. The ...

. He retired in 1930 aged 73. He died a few months after retiring, on 4 March 1931 in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

.Free Church Monthly April 1931

Family

In 1883 he married Georgina Elizabeth Thomson (d.1901), daughter of Rev John Thomson of

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, at

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. Their daughter Ethel Isobel Ross died in 1928.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, David 1857 births 1931 deaths People from Ross and Cromarty 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Scottish emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers 20th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers