Alexander Ross (1782-1856) Born in the Scottish Highlands,
schoolteacher Alexander Ross immigrated to Canada’s St. Lawrence
River Valley in 1804. Befriended by fellow Scot Alexander McKay,
a veteran Montreal-based fur trader, both men found work in
American John Jacob Astor’s boldly conceived Pacific Fur Company
enterprise in 1810. The two voyaged around the Horn on the
Tonquin, arriving at the mouth of the Columbia in March 1811.
Ross, engaged as a clerk, remained to help build Fort Astoria,
while McKay sailed on the doomed ship to commence trade with the
Natives of Vancouver Island, a trip that ended with the death of
all aboard. As a result, Astor’s plans for a transcontinental,
trans-Pacific fur-trade empire were crippled. Ross was sent more
than 400 miles up the Columbia to establish a trading post at
the mouth of the Okanogan River. There he married a local Indian
woman named Sarah, or Sally. They had a large family and
remained devoted partners for the rest of Ross’s life. In
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