Frank Ross and family

We give below a few newspaper reports on Frank Elmore Ross and his family.

Frank Ross was married three times. He married:
(i) Julia Margaret Benton (1878-1941) on 4 May 1904 in Sewickley, Allegheny, Pennsylvania,
(ii) Elizabeth Matilda Bischof (1882-1960) on 10 June 1913 in Williams Bay, Wisconsin,
(iii) Anna Olivia Lee on 21 August 1939 in Dubuque, Iowa.

His children are as follows:
Robert Donald Ross (1905-1996) with Julia Margaret Benton;
Rosalie Benton Ross (1908-) with Julia Margaret Benton;
Alan Kenneth Ross (1915-2003) with Elizabeth Matilda Bischof;
Barbara Helen Ross (1920-1970) with Elizabeth Matilda Bischof.

We note that Pittsburg is not a typo for Pittsburgh, rather it is the old spelling of that city used up to 1911 in official documents of the federal government.

1. Wedding in St Stephen's Protestant Church.
The Pittsburgh Post (Sunday, 24 April 1904).

St Stephen's Protestant Church, Sewickley, will be the scene of an interesting wedding on Monday evening, 2 May, when Miss Margaret Benton, a daughter of the rector, Rev. Robert A Benton, will be married to Dr Frank Elmore Ross, of Washington, D. C. Miss Mary Chaplin and Miss Eleanor Gormly will be the bridesmaids and the bride's brother, John Benton, best man. Dr Ross and his bride will make their home in Washington D. C.

2. Wedding of Today.
The Pittsburgh Post (Wednesday, 4 May 1904).

An interesting wedding of today will be that of Miss J Margaret Benton, daughter of the Rev and Mrs Robert A Benton, of Sewickley, and Dr Frank Elmore Ross, of Washington, D. C. The ceremony will be performed in St Stephen's Protestant Episcopal Church, of Sewickley, of which the bride's father is rector. The maid of honour will be Miss Jane Glenn, Wooster, and the bridesmaids will be Miss Mary Craig Chaplin and Miss Eleanor Adams Gormley, of Sewickley. The ushers will be Dr John R Benton of Washington, D. C., Stewart Campbell Spencer and John Anson Emery of Pittsburg.

3. Walter Ross marries.
Evening star, Washington, District of Columbia (Thursday, 3 August 1905).

Yesterday morning at the residence of Mrs W F Hardy, 1118 10th Street Northwest, her daughter, Miss Emma Frances St Clair, was married to Mr Walter Ross of the Carnegie Institute. The bride was becomingly attired in a travelling costume, and was attended by Miss Tessie Ostrander, while the groom's brother, Mr Frank Ross. also of the Carnegie Institute, acted as best man. After a sumptuous wedding breakfast, given in honour of the bride by her brother, Mr Walter St Clair, the happy couple left for Atlantic City, where they will spend their honeymoon. Both the bride and groom are very popular and have a host of friends. Others present were Mr Arthur St Clair, Mr Frank Ross, Mrs Watson, Mr and Mrs B F Atherton, Mr and Mrs George Schmitt, Mr and Mrs Ostrander, Mr and Mrs Frank Hall, Messrs Thomas Crowler, Thomas Grimes and Raymond Jones, and Miss Jennie Huffman and Miss Anna Gantz.

4. Obituary: Mrs Elizabeth Bischoff Ross.
Idaho Daily Statesman (Thursday, 30 June 1960).

Mrs Elizabeth Bischoff Ross, 77, of 1023 Fort Street, a resident here for 19 years, died Wednesday evening in a Boise hospital after a short illness.

Mrs Ross was born 13 July 1882, in Rockport, Missouri, and lived in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, as a young woman. She lived in California for two years before coming to Boise in 1941. She was the next to last survivor of a family of 13 children.

She is survived by a son, Alan K Ross of Boise; a sister, Mrs Barbara Robers of Fond-du-lac, Wisconsin, and five grandchildren.

Summers chapel is arranging services.

5. Obituary: Dr Frank E Ross.
The Los Angeles Times (Friday, 23 September 1960)

Memorial services for Dr Frank Elmore Ross, 86, astronomer and designer of the 200-in. lens. for the Mt Palomar telescope, will be conducted at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Ives Warren chapel, Dr Ross died Wednesday at his home, 1100 Mt Lowe Drive Altadena, leaving his widow sons, Robert, Warwick, and Allan, Boise, a daughter, Mrs Barbara Roberts, Fond du Lac. Dr Ross, a National Academy Sciences gold medal winner, also developed the corrector lenses for the Mt Wilson telescope and conducted studies of the planet Mars.

6. Mrs Roberts Dead at 49; Services Set.
Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter (Saturday, 28 February 1970).

Mrs Jack L Roberts, 49, of 243 Ledgeview Avenue, Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, was found dead of natural causes at her home Friday.

The former Barbara Helen Ross, she was born 21 December 1920 in Berkley, California, the daughter of Mr and Mrs Frank E Ross. Her father was a renowned astronomer, associated with Yerkes Observatory at Lake Geneva and with Cal Tech in Pasadena, California, working with the Mount Wilson and Mount Palomar Observatories.

She was married to Jack L Roberts on 25 May 1945, in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from high school in Lake Geneva and attended the University of Wisconsin and the University of California at Berkley. She had lived in Fond du Lac since 1959.

Survivors include her widower of Fond du Lac, who is vice-president of the Kal-Equipment Co. in Ostego, Michigan; one son, Andrew A Roberts, a student at Army Adjutant General's School at Ft Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; her mother, Mrs Anna Lee Ross of Pasadena, California; and one brother, Allan Ross of Boise, Idaho.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Candlish Chapel with the Rev Lloyd G DeJong officiating. Burial will be in Rienzi Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 4 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday.

7. Mrs Barbara Helen Roberts.
Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter (Tuesday, 3 March 1970).

Funeral services for Mrs Barbara H Roberts were held at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Candlish Chapel, the Rev Lloyd G DeJong officiating.

Miss Florence Seefeld was at the organ. Burial was in Rienzi Cemetery.

Casket bearers were Edward Casper, Frank Reinhardt, Edward Cohen, Lester Copeland, Robert Cain and John McKee.

8. Obituary: Robert Donald Ross.
Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia (Monday, 22 January 1996).

Williamsburg - Robert D Ross, 90, passed away on 19 January 1996. He was born in Sewickley, and had been a resident of Newport News for over 40 years. He resided with his daughter, Shirley, for the past five years. As an electrical aeronautical engineer, he worked for the Westinghouse Electric Company, the U.S. Navy Department, and retired from NASA after 25 years of service, having worked with the Apollo space program. He was a member of the Institute of Electrical Electronic Engineers, the Engineers Club Virginia and a member of St Andrew's Episcopal Church.

He is survived by his two daughters, Shirley Morris, and her husband, Howard, and Violet Chalkley, and her husband, Jim, all of Williamsburg; five grandchildren, Shirl Ferris, Lisa Bush, Robert Saunders, Charlene Camby and Phillip Clarke; two brothers, Alan Ross of Idaho and John I Benton of Florida; and 10 great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends at Peninsula Funeral Home on Monday, 22 January, from p.m. A funeral service will be held at St Andrew's Episcopal Church, Hilton Village, at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, with the Rev Dr Robert D Marston and the Rev Pamela C Skelton officiating. Burial will follow in Peninsula Memorial Park.

9. Obituary: Alan Kenneth Ross.
The Idaho Statesman (Wednesday, 17 December 2003).

Alan Kenneth Ross, 88, of Boise, passed away Saturday, 13 December 2003 at Valley View Health Care Center. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, 18 December 2003 at Cloverdale Funeral Home. Services are under the direction of Cloverdale Funeral Home.

Alan was born in Omaha, Nebraska on 2 October 1915. His early childhood was spent in Rochester, New York, where his father, Frank E Ross was a research scientist at Eastman Kodak Co, His family moved to Williams Bay, Wisconsin in 1927 as his father was on the Astronomy staff of Yerkes Observatory. Here Alan attended grade school and high school, graduating in 1934. His younger sister, Barbara also attended the same school. While in high school, Alan became interested in radio and with the help from one of the astronomers, he obtained his amateur radio license in 1931, with the call letters W9BOP. After graduation, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He majored in Electrical Engineering and graduated with a B.S. Degree in 1938.

During the last few weeks of school, he was interviewed by several companies, including Western Union. He accepted a position with them as an Engineering Apprentice. In July 1938 he was on his way to New York City, to the companies headquarters. There he spent six months learning to operate the circuits, including the teletype and Morse code.

After six months of training, he was sent to San Francisco for two years of extensive training.

In 1941, he was sent to Boise as Chief Operator of the Western Union Telegraph office in Boise, and was issued his new call sign; W7IWU (Idaho Western Union).

He married Marjorie Duncan in 1943. They had four children; Marilyn, Kenny (who passed away in 1967 from diabetes), Elaine and Frank. His wife Marjorie passed away in 1966 from cancer. Seven years later he met Edna Agenbroad and they were married on 25 May 1973. After he retired in April 1976, they did a lot of travelling in their trailer and later a motor home. Edna passed away in 2000 from a stroke.

Alan's hobbies were amateur radio and photography. He made many cherished friends on the airways during his 72 years of "ham" radio operating. A lot of his time was helping the Red Cross and other agencies with communications. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Kiwanis Club, and the Good Sam Club, Boise Roadrunners Chapter.

Alan is survived by his children; Marilyn Westover of Murray, Utah, Elaine (Bob) Corn of Garden Valley, ID, and Frank Ross of Boise; step-children Ron (Carolyn) Agenbroad of Boise, Ken (Jackie) Agenbroad of Phoenix, AZ, and step daughter-in-law Helen Agenbroad of Scottsdale, AZ; daughter-in-law Kathy Rodd of Kimberly, ID, brothers-in-law Clarence (Beth) Agenbroad of Sun City, AZ, John Jr. (Shirlene) Agenbroad of The Colony, TX, Charles (Sue) Agenbroad, Plano, TX; sisters-in-law Barbara (Wally) Pratt of Boise and Betty (Earl) Green of Boise; numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife Marjorie, sister Barbara, son Kenny, wife Edna, sister-in-law Avis, brothers-in-law Jack, Fred, Edward, Howard, Raymond, Rex, Robed, Glen and stepson Jerry.

The family wishes to acknowledge all the people in Alan's life who contributed to his joy and well being. A special thank you to Ron and Carolyn Agenbroad and Betty and Earl Green.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to your favourite charity.

Last Updated March 2025