Dr. Alexander Milton Ross
Black History Month, Abolitionist Helped Slaves Flee to Canada
Under the guise of nature research, Dr. Ross visited plantations where black slaves lived. He helped many make an escape to the Underground Railroad and freedom
Dr. Alexander Milton Ross had a passion for nature. A licenced physician, he was also an active naturalist and ornithologist, traveling throughout Canada and the United States to document the varying nature and bird populations. But on his trips to the southern US, he also made clandestine contact with black slaves. Under the guise of bird watching on plantations, Ross gave hope to desperate freedom seekers.
Born in Belleville, Upper Canada (now the Province of Ontario) on December 13, 1832, Alexander Milton Ross became a slavery abolitionist at a young age, his parents firmly against the practice. During the era, racism may have run rampant in Upper Canada, but slavery was not permitted. It had been abolished in 1793.
After the death of his father, Ross moved to New York City. The teenager became a compositor at the Evening Post, noted Famous Americans. Working days at the Evening Post, he took up night classes in medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, according to Biographi.ca. He graduated at age 23 as a Medical Doctor in 1855. He was a strapping young man with a large personality. According to Biographi.ca, Ross was “basically an idealist and he manifested his idealism in radical, anti-establishment activity and in vigorous, often polemical writing.”
Ross Part of Underground Railroad
In 1955, Ross toured those southern states that permitted slavery, using his bird studies as a reason to visit plantations. While at the farms, he surreptitiously spoke with the black slaves, supplying them with detailed information about the networks of the Underground Railroad into Canada and safe houses for hiding during the daytime. Occasionally he provided “a compass, knives, pistols and food,” said Great Clan Ross, to help them escape from their lives of desperate oppression.
Taking little notice of the dangers to himself, Ross often accompanied small groups of black slaves on their flight to freedom into Canada, escorting them to safety between Niagara Falls and Windsor. It was a huge risk for all involved. Slave owners often posted Wanted ads for the return of their slaves, occasionally offering cash rewards for their capture. The runaway slaves risked vicious beatings, lashings by whips and possible death if they were caught, according to Spartacus Schoolnet. If they left family behind at the plantation, those family members could face punishment. The people aiding runaway slaves did not get off easy themselves, and were severely disciplined for their acts of kindness.
Ross’s posts as physician took him to fascinating places. One of his first jobs was as a surgeon in Nicaragua. He then served with the National Army during the American Civil War in the early 1860s. Leading a life of intrigue, Ross took a post in Canada as “confidential correspondent” to President Lincoln during the Civil War. His work involved monitoring Confederate activities on Canadian soil. Ross’s efforts were praised by President Lincoln as a contribution to an early ending of the Civil War.
Ross a Naturalist
Later, Ross performed a stint of surgical duty with the Mexican Army. The doctor then returned to Canada, putting his focus on his passion as a naturalist. He “collected and classified hundreds of species of birds, eggs, mammals, reptiles, and fresh-water fish,” plus, Famous Americans said, “3,400 species of insects, and 2,000 species of Canadian flora.” Ross wrote many books on nature, including “Ferns and Wild Flowers of Canada in 1877, “Mammals, reptiles and Fresh-water Fishes of Canada” in 1878, and “Medical Practices of the Future” in 1887, just to name a few.
His vast knowledge of many topics lead Ross to the position of Ontario Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture. He was a one of the founders of the Society of the Diffusion of Physiological Knowledge and was also appointed to the Canadian Consul in Belgium and Denmark. Ross was knighted by the Emperor of Russia and awarded medals from the European countries of Italy, Greece and Portugal. France’s government presented him with the “Academie Francaise”.
Dr. Alexander Ross died on October 27, 1897 in Detroit, Michigan, leaving behind his wife Hester and three children. Considered a “conductor” on the Underground Railway, he was able to assist a number of black people to freedom from oppressed lives as slaves.
