Clarissa Ross

Brief Life History of Clarissa

Clarissa Ross was born on 16 June 1814, in Genoa, Cayuga, New York, United States. She married Brigham Young on 10 September 1844, in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 3 daughters. She died on 10 October 1857, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 43, and was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.

Photos and Memories (4)

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Family Time Line

Brigham Young
1801–1877
Clarissa Ross
1814–1857
Marriage: 10 September 1844
Mary Eliza Young
1847–1871
Clarissa Maria Young
1849–1935
Brigham Willard Young
1852–1936
Phoebe Louisa Young
1854–1931

Sources (9)

  • 1850 U.S. Census, population schedule: Clarissa Ross
  • Clarissa Ross Young, "Find A Grave Index"
  • Clarissa Ross in entry for Maria Young Dougall, "Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1964"

World Events (8)

1819 · Panic! of 1819

With the Aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars the global market for trade was down. During this time, America had its first financial crisis and it lasted for only two years. 

1820 · Making States Equal

The Missouri Compromise helped provide the entrance of Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state into the United States. As part of the compromise, slavery was prohibited north of the 36°30′ parallel, excluding Missouri.

1827 · Slavery Becomes Illegal in New York State

During the years 1799 to 1827, New York went through a period of gradual emancipation. A Gradual Emancipation Law was passed in 1799 which freed slave children born after July 4, 1799. However, they were indentured until 25 years old for women and 28 years old for men. A law passed 1817 which freed slaves born before 1799, yet delayed their emancipation for ten years. All remaining slaves were freed in New York State on July 4, 1827.

Name Meaning

Scottish: habitational name from one or other of a number of Scottish and English places called Ross or Roos(e), especially Roose (Lancashire) and Roos (East Yorkshire). The placenames derive from a British ancestor of Welsh rhos ‘moor, heath, plain’, which is the sense of the cognate Gaelic word ros. The Scottish surname has at least three origins. First, the Anglo-Norman family from Roos (East Yorkshire) was introduced to Scotland when Robert of Roos, lord of Wark Castle (Northumberland), married Isabella, an illegitimate daughter of King William the Lion. Second, various families took the name from the province of Ross in northern Scotland and other places of that name. Third, there were Norman families in Scotland by the 13th century who probably derived their name from Rots in Normandy (see 2 below). The descendants of Godfrey de Ros, tenant of the de Morville lords of Cunninghame, were major landholders in Ayrshire, and almost certainly took their name from Rots. The Rose family of Kilravock (Nairnshire) may take their name from either of these three (see Rose ). The lairds of Balnagown adopted the surname Ross after the earldom of Ross (to which they considered themselves rightful heirs) had passed into other hands through the female line.

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Rots in Calvados (France), probably named with the ancient Germanic element rod ‘clearing’ (compare Rhodes ). This was the original home of a family de Ros, who were established in Kent in 1130 and had major estates in Kent until well into the 13th century.

English: habitational name from Wrose, in Shipley, near Bradford (Yorkshire), with re-spelling of Wr- as R- due to the loss of /w/ before /r/ in early modern English pronunciation. The spelling Wrose is no longer current. The placename derives from Old English wrāse ‘knot, something twisted’, referring to the steep-sided hill on which the settlement stands, with the sense ‘broken or twisting hill’.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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