Ann Lawler Ross
Wife of George Ross, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
1731 – 1773 A.D.

Ann Lawler, described in Harris’s History of Lancaster, as “a lady of respectable family,” was the only child of Mary Lawler, a widow of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, possessed of considerable property and who died in 1778. She was a handsome and accomplished young woman, and her marriage to George Ross, August 14, 1751, was considered a highly advantageous union for both.

George Ross was born in Newcastle, Delaware, where his father who was twice married and had eleven children, all of whom became prominent members of society, was clergyman of the Episcopal Church. George Ross was well educated by his father and afterward studied law with his brother, John Ross, one of the foremost practitioners of his day and a warm and personal friend of Benjamin Franklin. Later he took up residence in Lancaster. In 1768, he was elected a member of the Provincial Legislature and from that time, he was almost continuously in the public service until his death, July 14, 1779.

His wife’s death took place several year before this. Three children were born to George and Ann, two sons and a daughter.

Egle’s Notes and Queries says of the Ross Family: “Ann (Lawler) Ross was greatly celebrated for her beauty and her children were so remarkable in this respect as to attract general notice.”

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Reference: The Pioneer Mothers of America: A Record of the More Notable Women of the Early Days of the Country, and Particularly of the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods by Harry Clinton Green and Mary Wolcott Green, A.B. Third Volume, Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons.