ROSS-Walter Howard - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Walter Howard ROSS, District Manager of Peoria Life Insurance Company at Danville has made a distnictive success of insurance as a profession and business and is one of the leading producers among men of his age in eastern Illinois. He was born at Eugene, Indiana Sept. 12, 1894. His grandfather was Peter Ross, a Baptist minister who spent his last years in Illinois. His father, Homer Ross, was born in Virginia July 25, 1831, and in August a few days after his birth, his parents moved to Westfield, illinois where he spent some of his boyhood. He also lived a few years in MO after which he returned to Il. Receiving a teacher's license he also studied medicine 3 years but never practiced. He taught school for several years in Indiana and was married at Yeddo, that state where he lived a year. The business he followed was that of painting and he was a painting contractor for a number of years. He followed that business at Eugene, Indiana until 1900 when he located on a farm SW of Eugene giving most of his time to the management of the farm until 1907. He then operated for a year a restaurant at Cayuga and at Quaker, Indiana was engaged in the painting and decorating business until 1911. On retiring he moved to Humrick, Ill in 1911, and that was his home until his death, though he died in a hospital at Danville in April 1924. He was a republican and member of the Masonic fraternity. Homer Ross married Clara Grace BEONEBRAKE who was born at Yeddo, Indiana in 1868 and died at Quaker in 1909. They had a family of 7 children: Lena, wife of Claude Banta a carpenter at Ridge Farm; John Homer, a railroad worker at Quaker; Walter Howard; Frank Harrison, a farmer at Newport, Ind; Dorothy Leah, wife of James Loop, a steam shovel worker and strip miner at humrick, illinois; Grace Merle and Blanche Perqarle, twins both attending the Vermillion Academy at Vermilion Grove, Illinois. Walter Howard Ross acquired his education in the public schools of Eugene Indiana the Flats School House SW of Cayuga and the public schools at Quaker. He left school when 15 and until reaching his majority worked for his father in the painting trade. He then became a clerk and for six years was employed in the grocery store of HL Brown at Humrick, Illinois. Mr. Ross took up the insurance business in 1922 and for 18 months wrote life insurance with headquarters at Christman, Illinois. In June 1924 he was promoted responsibilites of district manager for the Peoria life Insurance at Danville. His district comprises the counties of Vermilion, Edgar, Coles, Clark, Cumberland, Douglas. His offices are in the Baum Building. Mr. Ross was inducted into the United States service June 26, 1918 being sent to Camp Jackson SC where for a time he was in the personnel company, a branch of the adjutant general's department and later was transferred in the same service to Camp Sevier SC. He received his honorable discharge with the rank of Sgt March 11, 1919. He is a member of Fletcher Post of American Legion, Ridge Farm. Mr. Ross married Sept 8, 1916 at Danville, Miss Grace Patten, a native of Ridge Farm.