He was born in Dundee on 10 March 1874, the middle child of five of William Rose Ross (1846-1895) ad Georgina Philip (1846-1892). He grew up in Hawick in the Scottish Borders. He attended the Buccleuch Memorial School of Art in Hawick. He was later an articled pupil of architect James Pearson Alison (1862-1932).
He married Jean Riddell Adam (d. 1930) in September 1901. They had two children:
By 1900 he had moved to Long Eaton, Derbyshire where he set up practice with James Gorman as Gorman and Ross. The partnership built themselves a practice, York Chambers, at 38 Market Place, Long Eaton, which remains one of the most distinctive buildings in the town. The partnership of Gorman and Ross continued until around 1905.
In April 1908 he emigrated to Australia, his family following three months later. In 1909 he became employed by the Perth Public Works Department. He retired on 9 March 1939.[7]
He was killed in a collision with a train on the Bellevue level crossing on 23 March 1949.[8] He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery, Redlands City, Western Australia.
^Pevsner, Nikolaus; Harwell, Clive; Williamson, Elizabeth (2016). The Buildings of England, Derbyshire. Yale University Press. pp. 489–93. ISBN9780300215595.
^"House to delight Art Nouveau fans". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 19 March 1994. Retrieved 30 December 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.