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Objects | Clan Ross Items

Items from our collection relating to Clan Ross.

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Oval gold and enamel order of the Baronets of Nova Scotia. Both faces of the medal are identical having in the centre a gold shield with a red Lion Rampant in the centre. This shield is superimposed on a larger decorative shield depicting the blue and white St Andrews Cross. This shield is fixed to the outer blue surround on which the printing appears at 9 points of contact, coloured green. The whole interior motif is surmounted by a Baronets Crown in red, gold and white. The medal is attached by two gold rings to a gold watered silk brocade ribbon. Printed on both sides round outer face - SUCCESSUS ALIT 1668 SPEM.

Medal of the order of the Baronets of Nova Scotia

The Cross of a Chevalier of the Belgian Order of the Crown. The medal is a five-pointed gold star, enamelled in white and blue, suspended from a green enamelled wreath on a maroon silk ribbon. It was awarded by the King of the Belgians to Reverend Donald Ross of Tain for his

Cross of Chevalier of the Belgian Order of the Crown

Military General Service Medal, issued to Sergeant Donald Ross, 71st Foot in 1848. The face of the medal has the head of Queen Victoria with

Peninsular War Medal awarded to Donald Ross, 71st Foot

Polished walnut duelling pistol with brass barrel and mounts. One brass side plate with flag decoration. One steel side plate with a firing mechanism. The butt of the pistol is enclosed in a brass cap decorated with an embossed human head. One of a pair; the other stolen from the original owner, Crawford Ross, while he was on a visit to Glasgow. Top of barrel engraved LONDON. The barrel also stamped IW, g, a head? and one other mark. Steel side plate engraved WATERS & GILL.

Crawford Ross's Duelling Pistol

A day to day account of Regimental Orders, for the months of June to August 1783, for the 1st company of 71st Regiment, including the American Campaign. 1st Battalion Grenadiers of the 71st Fraser Regiment.This very rare book in our collection is a surviving relic from the American War of Independence (1775-1784). It belonged to, or at least was brought back to Britain, by John Ross of Achnacloich. The Orderly Book covers a period of just over 3 months from 7th June 1783, to 17th August 1783, which is during the final period of the preparation for the journey home.John Ross listed as Lieutenant on 27th November 1775, in the 71st Fraser Highlanders Regiment, raised by Simon Fraser of Lovat to fight in America. The war involved a series of campaigns in which John Ross played an active part. He was captured twice. The first occasion was at Stoney Point north of New York on 22nd July 1779, and he was kept in captivity at Lancaster until November 1780, when he was returned to New York to be exchanged for an American Officer. He was taken prisoner again at Yorktown in October 1781, where the British finally surrendered. He stayed with the 71st prisoners who were marched through Maryland and Virginia to camp at Lancaster and organised their journey home to Scotland. Having discharged those men who wished to settle in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, he sailed home with the rest of his men and mustered his company at Perth on 2nd June 1784. By this time, he had been promoted to Captain on 22nd March 1784. Not long after he returned from the war he died in London, apparently unmarried and leaving no heirs.

71st Fraser Highlanders Orderly Book belonging to John Ross of Achnacloich

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A footman's jacket from Balnagown Castle was gifted to the museum by the estate. It is double-breasted with large lapels and long swallowtails. The brass buttons are all embossed with the Ross Clan Crest, a forearm and hand holding a laurel wreath. In the museum collection, we are lucky to also have a photograph of the staff wearing the uniform, taken by William Smith around 1900.

Balnagown Footman\'s Jacket

In 1995, NASA astronaut Jerry Ross took a board with samples of Ross tartan into space with him, whilst on a space shuttle mission to rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir. He later gifted this to Tain & District Museum.

Col. Jerry Ross's, Tartan Samples from his Space Shuttle Mission

This beautiful quaich is made of alternate staves of boxwood and ebony and probably dates from the late 17th century. The staves are held in place by silver bands at the base and halfway up. The lugs are covered with silver plates engraved with the initials WR and AM. A silver boss is set into the base of the quaich and is engraved with the crest and motto of the Rosses of Priesthill,

Ross Quaich.

This medal was awarded to David Russell Ross by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific to mark his discovery of comet C/1906F1.David was born in Ardgay in 1850 and moved to Tain with his family where three of his brothers ran a hardware shop. There, David became friends with James MacGregor, who taught him to tell the time using the stars leading to a lifelong interest in astronomy.In 1876 David followed his older brother to Australia where he became a banker but he continued his interest in astronomy building his own reflecting telescopes. He discovered two comets: C/1884Ai and C1906 Fi.

Astronomy Medal