John & Joseph Ross
It is widely believed that John Ross who was a convict and shoemaker was my fourth Great-Grandfather. I started this post with the intention of outlining my research for John Ross but as I familiarised myself with some of the convict John's story, I realised that there are stories where the articles talk about Joseph and in the courts he is also called John. Is it possible that they both used the name John? While there is a question about who John Lees' father was, we do know from St Johns Parramatta baptism records his mother was Ellen Ross, a spinster living at Bankstown in September 1836. John Lees' death records name his father as John Ross, a land selector. Edward, John Lees' son, registered these details but declared the mother unknown. Edward was an adult when the family left Araluen to move to Tingha. Ellen had been alive then and married to John Seeley, why he declared her unknown is puzzling other than wanting to perhaps hide John Lees' bastard birth or th...