page_title: John Ross (Cherokee chief)
section_title: Genealogy
hierarchical_section_title: John Ross (Cherokee chief) / Early life and education / Genealogy
caption_attribution_description: English: John Ross Home, Rossville, Georgia. John Ross was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828–1866, serving longer in this position than any other person. Described as the Moses of his people, Ross influenced the Indian nation through such tumultuous events as the relocation to Indian Territory and the American Civil War.
context_page_description: John Ross, was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828–1866, serving longer in this position than any other person. Described as the Moses of his people, Ross influenced the Indian nation through such tumultuous events as the relocation to Indian Territory and the American Civil War.
  John Ross was the son of a Cherokee mother and a Scottish father. His mother and maternal grandmother were of mixed Scots-Cherokee ancestry, since his maternal grandfather was another Scottish immigrant. At the time among the matrilineal Cherokee, anyone born of a Cherokee mother was counted as a Cherokee, and a member of her clan. As a result, young John grew up bilingual and bicultural, an experience that served him well when his parents decided to send him to schools that served other mixed-race Cherokee.
  After graduation, he was appointed an Indian agent in 1811. During the War of 1812, he served as adjutant of a Cherokee regiment under the command of Andrew Jackson. After the Red Stick War ended, Ross demonstrated his business acumen by starting a tobacco plantation in Tennessee.
context_section_description: Because his mother and grandmother were mixed-race Cherokee, under the  matrilineal tradition, Ross belonged to her Bird Clan. His great-grandmother Ghigooie, a full-blood Cherokee, had married William Shorey, a Scottish interpreter. Their daughter, Anna, married John McDonald, a Scots trader.
caption: John Ross Home, Rossville, Georgia. The House was built in 1797 by John McDonald, grandfather of John Ross, and was Ross's home until he left on the "Trail of Tears".
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