Politics in the Ross and McLean families

In baseball, the tie goes to the runner.

In 18th century New York politics, a tie did not go to either runner.

The 1799 race between Donald Ross and Benjamin Moore to represent Clinton and Essex counties in the state Assembly ended in a tie, with each candidate receiving 229 votes. So the seat was vacant for the term, being deemed “no election” under election practice at the time.

Ross, of Essex, was sheriff of Clinton County in 1794–1797, when the town was still part of Clinton County, and he was First Judge of Essex County from 1800 to 1823.

Politicians can be found on multiple branches of the genealogy of the Ross and McClean families of Essex and Washington counties.

Donald Ross was the father of Henry H. Ross of Essex, who represented the region in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 19th Congress from March 4, 1825 to March 3, 1827.

Ross, the son, was elected as a supporter of John Quincy Adams.

He received 3,210 votes, 52 percent of the vote.

He had a good attendance record in the House, missing 9 of 111 votes, or 8.1 percent for the term, much lower than the 16.1 median lifetime absentee rate for representatives serving in March 1827.

He was active in the Whig party for many years, and was a delegate to the 1839 Whig National Convention that nominated William H. Harrison.

He was a member of the Electoral College in 1848, voting for Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore.

He was an elector for Democrat Stephen Douglas in 1860.

He was First Judge and Surrogate Court Judge in Essex County in 1847 and 1848.

Ross also was a soldier, enlisting in the 37th Regiment of the New York State Militia in 1812, a year after he was admitted to the New York State Bar.

He fought in the Battle of Plattsburgh and Battle of Willsboro during the War of 1812.

He was promoted through the ranks to major general of the state Militia in 1828. He retired from the military in 1836.

In 1922 Ross married Susannah Blanchard, the daughter of Anthony I. Blanchard of Washington County, a state Assembly member in 1796 and 1797 and a Washington County judge.

Henry Ross was praised at the time of his death in 1862 for his devotion to the country and to his church.

“In his intimacy with the world, as we have intimated, he was grave, courteous, and dignified, and it as only in his own house, surrounded by his family and his guests, that he exhibited those warm social qualities that endeared him to all,” the Albany Atlas and Argus reported on Oct. 7, 1862.

Susannah Blanchard, wife of Henry Ross, was the sister of Martha Blanchard, another daughter of Anthony Blanchard, who married John Mclean Jr. of Salem, in Washington County.

McLean served in the state Assembly in 1815 and in the state Senate from 1829 to 1832 and in 1837.

He was First Judge of Washington County from 1835 to 1847, and a regent of the University of the State of New York from 1835 until his death in 1858.

Gov. Silas Wright appointed him to a 3-member commission to establish ferries between New York City and Long Island.

The other members were Samuel Cheever of Saratoga County and George P. Barker of Erie County.

Imagine that: three upstate men in a room deciding what is good for downstate.

McLean died at age 65 of pneumonia, or, as one obituary characterized it : “a victim to the complaint prevalent of this season, beginning with a severe cold and ending in a congestion of the lungs.”

“In political life he was an associate of the best men of the Democratic party in its best days, a friend of Silas Wright and Governor Marcy, and his days of political activity were contemporary with the period in which these men were prominent members of the party,” The Historical Magazine eulogized him.

“Mr. McLean was among the most distinguished men of our county. … His loss will be deeply felt throughout the county,” the Fort Edward Ledger eulogized him.

McLean was the son of John McLean Sr., who also served in the New York state Senate.

Sources: The Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, January 1859; Plattsburgh Republican, April 12, 1856; “Biographical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress”; Political Graveyard; gov.track; Burlington Daily Times, Sept. 19, 1862; Albany Atlas and Argus, Oct. 7, 1862; Americanelections.org; Fort Edward Ledger report reprinted in Glen’s Falls Republican, Dec. 14, 1858.

This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

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