Home Page Site Map Sources Guest Book Connections

Slideshow
Welcome! This website was created on Jan 27 2012 and last updated on Jan 12 2021.

There are 502 names in this family tree. The earliest recorded event is the birth of Tingley, Samuel, Jr in 1665. The most recent event is the death of Fross, James Alden in 2021.The webmaster of this site is John Fross. Please click here if you have any comments or feedback.

LOADING! Please wait ...
LOADING! Please wait ...
LOADING! Please wait ...
About Fross Family 2
Welcome to the site. 

My interest in Fross Family genealogy began around July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the  Declaration of Independence. I was 7 years old when my grandfather, Jack Fross, told me about  our 'Hessian' ancestor, who came to America to fight for the British against the rebelling  colonialists. The story of this 'Hessian' had been passed down through several generations. The  only other piece he knew was that the 'Hessian' was captured at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia  in Oct.1781. That information stayed with me over the years and when old enough, I began the  search for him.

I was fortunate that others before me had also done their research that helped me along the way. I  eventually found the 'Hessian', his name was Johaan Georg Fraas. And, he wasn't actually from  Hesse. He came from the German principality, Anspach/Bayreuth, in what is present day Bavaria,  Germany. From the begining, all German soldiers that fought in America during the Revolutionary  War have been called Hessians.

Johaan Georg Fraas eventually decided to stay in America after the war. There is record that he  deserted his regiment on May 18, 1783 while they were marching to New York to return to Bavaria.  He made his way back to Frederick, Maryland where he had been kept as a prisoner of war between  November 1781 and March 1783. He married a local girl in 1787, became a US citizen in 1797 &  changed his name to George Washington Fross, had a family, and they eventually settled in Clark  County, Ohio around 1805. George died there in January 1827.

I began my search back in the early and mid-90's. I didn't even have a computer yet, so all my  notes were hand written or photo copied. Along the way in my search for Johaan, I also found out  more about my family line and various other branches and have included all that I learned here on  this site. Over the years I've been to Frederick, MD, Donellesville, OH and Yorktown, VA to learn  and experience. My search for George's past in Germany hasn't ended. I would still like to find  where he came from in Bavaria, and hopefully find more information about his family from there.  The 'quest' continues.

I would like to acknowledge a few folks that have helped along the way.  I corresponded with Ralph  Fross (not related though) of Mentor, Ohio who shared with me a packet about my Fross Family line.  This packet literally became my 'bible' as it had a large amount of information that was already  put together. It also included George's Will. The packet was compiled between 1936 and 1956 by  Mrs. Nellie Wheedon. Nellie was related to the Fross family thru George's wife, Anna Maria Boone.  Anna Maria and Nellie's g-g-g-grandmother were sisters.

Also would like to acknowledge Wanda Hackney of Witchita,Kansas. Her husband was decended from  George William Fross(bn.1834). This George and my g-g-g-grandfather, John Fross(bn.1828), were  brothers.  Both were grandsons of the 'Hessian'. Wanda had found a lot of records from Frederick,  MD and kindly shared all with me. She also contributed a picture of George William taken in the  1870's that I have linked to this website.

Third, Connie Cascales, of Monticello, Indiana. Connie was a Fross and her line and mine connected  thru her g-grandfather Jacob M Fross and my g-g-grandfather, Charles(bn.1877). Both were sons of  John Fross(bn.1828). Connie was curator of the White County Historical Society in Monticello. She  also sent me copies from her grandfather's collection of records. More importantly she sent me  pictures of John's children. I have also shared those on this website.

The Johaanes Schwalm Association(http://www.jsha.org/)was helpful to me in 'nailing down' George's  military service and linking him to the name Johaan Georg Fraas. There is a book/diary written by  a soldier that was in the same regiment as George. They were in different companies but shared a  lot of the same experiences during the Revolutionary War. The book is called, A Hessian Diary of  the American Revolution, written by Johann Conrad Dohla. Unfortunately George is not mentioned in  the book.

Most recently, Mary Ann (Fross) Sutton contacted me in January 2012 and asked me to search thru my  old, hand-written records to find a link and help add to her records. Turned out that Mary and I  are related thru John(bn.1828) and George William's(bn.1834) father, George Jr.(bn.1798). Mary's  ancestor was Daniel Fross(bn. between 1819-1826), an older brother to John and George William. I want to thank Mary for getting me back into the search after 16 years and 'reminding' me that I  need to get my information on to the internet so I don't have to keep going thru a box of papers  everytime someone wants to exchange Family info.

And of course I want to thank my family who have shared with me their histories, or what they  could remember when questioned 'on the spot' about this or that little detail.

Please enjoy and feel free to ask questions. I don't have all my research on this site yet.  Eventually I will get there. If you have something I don't have listed, please share with me. I am  always thrilled to find out more about my family. Also, please be sure to sign the Guest Book. I'm  always curious to see who's visited. Thanks.
 Regards, 
 John A Fross Jr    
 ssorfj@aol.com

LOADING! Please wait ...

Getting Around
There are several ways to browse the family tree. The Tree View graphically shows the relationship of selected person to their kin. The Family View shows the person you have selected in the center, with his/her photo on the left and notes on the right. Above are the father and mother and below are the children. The Ancestor Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph above and children below. On the right are the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The Descendant Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph and parents below. On the right are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Do you know who your second cousins are? Try the Kinship Relationships Tool. Your site can generate various Reports for each name in your family tree. You can select a name from the list on the top-right menu bar.

In addition to the charts and reports you have Photo Albums, the Events list and the Relationships tool. Family photographs are organized in the Photo Index. Each Album's photographs are accompanied by a caption. To enlarge a photograph just click on it. Keep up with the family birthdays and anniversaries in the Events list. Birthdays and Anniversaries of living persons are listed by month. Want to know how you are related to anybody ? Check out the Relationships tool.

SiteMap|Visitors: 93|TribalPages Forum