John Rosse at Dunbar, 1650

John Rosse was my 8th-great grandfather on the Crosby side.  In 1650, during the Third English Civil War, John Rosse fought at the Battle of Dunbar. The victorious troops each received a victory medal for the battle.  What John Rosse received instead forever changed my DNA, maybe.

The Battle of Dunbar was fought 3 September 1650, during the Third English Civil War, in the coastal town of Dunbar, Scotland.  The battle pitted Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian army against a Royalist Scottish army, that was loyal to King Charles II (King of Scots).  Initially the Scots had the upper hand in the battle, but a tactical error gave way to a victory by Cromwell.  The Scots broke ranks and fled with Cromwell’s army in pursuit.   The two sides recorded very different numbers with regards to casualties and prisoners, but — by all accounts — it was a very bloody battle. Cromwell reported 3,000 Scots were killed with 10,000 prisoners taken. The Scots reported that only 800-900 were killed with 6,000 taken as prisoner.

Following the battle Cromwell decided to march on Edinburgh, which was undefended after his victory at Dunbar.  Worried about a rescue attempt to free the Scottish prisoners, Cromwell ordered a forced march south, toward England.  Eight days after the battle at Dunbar 3,000 prisoners arrived at Durham Cathedral, where they were held. Upwards of 2,000 men died during the forced-march south.

John Rosse was one of the 3,000 who survived both the battle and the march; and so did his brothers: Gilchrist and Finlay.  The Parliamentary government found itself in a dilemma.  Keeping 3,000 prisoners of war (POWs) would have been very expensive and releasing them would mean they could return to the Scottish army and again do battle.  However, a third option presented itself: selling the prisoners as forced labor.

And so, John, Gilchrist and Finlay were packed aboard either the ship Unity or John and Sara and taken to Massachusetts were they were sold into servitude.  Many of the prisoners were taken to the Saugus Iron Works, in Lynn, MA. Some others were sent to northern MA (now known as Maine) to work in saw mills. And some were sold to local merchants and businessmen.  The Rosse brothers ended-up in Ipswich, Essex County, MA.

The forced servitude was not a life long plight. By about 1660 all the brothers had fulfilled their sentence and they married and their families have continued to flourish.

Had the Scots not made that fateful tactical blunder in 1650: …

…  John Rosse would never have been forced to go to Massaschusetts, He would have likely never met Mary Haggett, whom he married 1 January 1661/62.  Likewise, Sara Ross (the name was Americanized shortly after his arrival) would have never married Willaim Hoar, and so forth. My family tree, and DNA would be very different if the Scots prevailed at Dunbar.

Or so it is thought.

All of what I have written so far makes a wonderful tale. And it may be just that, a tale; a fanciful yarn. Folk lore told, and retold, over the generations until its origin is long forgotten. With the advent of the Internet came the ability for information to spread farther and faster than it was ever possible at the dinner table.

So, why write about the Rosses and the Battle of Dunbar if it might not be accurate? Well, because the story just may be accurate. I can’t just write-off the story as being false, just as I can’t accept it at face value. What is needed is research! Although researching people alive in the 17th century can be daunting, it certainly isn’t impossible.

What is known:

1. John Ross, born about 1640, of Ipswich, MA is my 8th-great grandfather. He married Mary Hagget (Daughter of Henry and Ann Hagget) on 1 Jan 1661/62.

2. John’s daughter Sara (my 7th-great grandmother) married William Hoar Jr.  (Is it just a coincidence that John is supposed to have arrived on the John and Sara and that his daughter’s name is spelled without the “h” at the end?)

3. Killicross Ross of Ipswich married Mary Galley. Mary was the daughter of my 9th-great grandparents, John & Florence Galley.  In the old records of Ipswich and Essex County, Killcross’ first name is spelled a variety of ways, one of which is “Gilcrest”.  The rules of spelling in the 1600s were not as strict as they are today and, given that Killicross would have had a thick Scottish accent, he was likely difficult to understand.

4. Fennell/Funel Ross also lived in Ipswich at the same time as John and Killicross. An additional alternate spelling of his name is listed as “Finlay”.

What is not known:

1. Is my John Ross the same John Rosse of the Dunbar prisoner ship? Compounding the question is the presence of three men named John Ross on the ship.

2. Were John, Killicross (Gilchrist) and Fenell (Finlay) brothers?

3. Did John, Killicross (Gilchrist) and Fenell (Finlay) arrive together aboard the same ship?

4. Where did the three Rosse’s originate from in Scotland?

5. Do Scottish military, birth or baptismal records exist for the three?

Fortunately, I’m already familiar with the resources available for Massachusetts during the 1600s. However, this will be my first attempt at doing research in Scotland (via the Internet, not in person). Some quick searches of the Internet have uncovered passenger lists for the Unity and the John and Sara.  Unfortunately, I have already noticed that some of the web sites contradict each other. But at this point I will collect all the information, with the sources, and then set about determined the veracity of the data and decide on the next steps.

One factor that should make this research a little easier, is that I have three people to research. A dead end for John might be overcome by researching Finlay or Gilchrist.

Either way, I hope I am able to either prove or disprove the Dunbar tale. At the very least I will learn more about 1600s Scotland and the civil wars of England.

My lineage to John Rosse:

John Rosse > Sara (Ross) Hoar > Abigail (Hoar) Grover > Rebeckah (Grover) Elwell > Rebecca (Elwell) Crosby > Edward Crosby III > John Crosby > John A. Crosby > Roy Crosby > Maurice Crosby > Me