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Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross (September 27, 1838January 3, 1898) was the 19th Governor of Texas (USA), a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and a president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now called Texas A&M University. Ross was raised in the Republic of Texas, which was later annexed to the United States. Much of his childhood was spent on the frontier, where his family founded the town of Waco. As a teenager, Ross attended Baylor University. On one of his summer breaks, he suffered severe injuries while fighting Comanches. After graduation, Ross joined the Texas Rangers, and in 1860, led troops in the Battle of Pease River, where he "rescued" Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been captured by the Comanches as a child. When Texas seceded from the United States and joined the Confederacy, Ross joined the Confederate States Army. He participated in 135 battles and skirmishes and became one of the youngest Confederate generals. Following the Civil War, Ross briefly served as sheriff of McLennan County before resigning to participate in the 1875 Texas Constitutional Convention. With the exception of a two-year term as a state senator, Ross spent the next decade focused on his farm and ranch concerns. In 1887, he became the 19th governor of Texas. During his two terms, he oversaw the dedication of the new Texas State Capitol, resolved the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, and became the only Texas governor to call a special session to deal with a treasury surplus. Despite his popularity, Ross refused to run for a third term as governor. Days after leaving office, he became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). He is credited with saving the school from closure, and his tenure saw a large expansion in college facilities and the birth of many school traditions. After his death, the Texas legislature created Sul Ross State University in his honor. ==Early years== Lawrence Sullivan Ross was born on September 27, 1838 in Bentonsport, Iowa Territory. He was the fourth child and second son of Shapley Prince Ross and Catherine Fulkerson, the daughter of Missouri legislator Isaac Fulkerson. Ross was jointly named for his paternal uncle, Giles O. Sullivan, and his father's grandfather and brother, both named Lawrence Ross. The senior Lawrence Ross had been captured by Native Americans as a child, and lived with them from the time he was six years old until he was rescued at 23. To differentiate Ross from his uncle and great-grandfather, he was called "Little Sul" when he was a child, and later "Sul".〔Benner (1983), pp. 3–4.〕 Shortly after Ross's birth, his parents sold their Iowa property and returned to Missouri to escape Iowa's cold weather. In 1839, the family moved to the Republic of Texas, where they settled in the Robertson Colony on the lower Brazos River.〔〔Davis (1989), p. 149.〕 Two years later, they joined seven other families under Captain Daniel Monroe and settled near present-day Cameron,〔 where they received 640 acres (260 ha) of land along the Little River.〔 Their land adjoined Comanche territory and was raided several times.〔Benner (1983), pp. 5–6.〕〔Sterling (1959), p. 284.〕 In 1845, the family moved to Austin so Ross and his older siblings could attend school.〔Benner (1983), p. 9.〕 Four years later, they relocated again. By this time, Shapley Ross was well known as a frontiersman, and to coax him to settle in the newly formed community of Waco, the family was given four city lots, exclusive rights to operate a ferry across the Brazos River, and the right to buy of farmland at US$1 per acre.〔Benner (1983), p. 10.〕〔Davis (1989), p. 151.〕 In March 1849, the Ross family built the first house in Waco, a double-log cabin on a bluff overlooking the springs. Ross's sister Kate soon became the first Caucasian child born in Waco.〔 Eager to further his education, Ross entered the Preparatory Department at Baylor University (then in Independence, Texas) in 1856, despite the fact that he was several years older than most of the other students. He completed the two-year study course in one year.〔Benner (1983), pp. 14–18.〕〔Davis (1989), p. 152.〕 Following his graduation, he enrolled at Wesleyan University in Florence, Alabama.〔〔 The Wesleyan faculty originally deemed his mathematics knowledge so lacking, they refused his admittance; the decision was rescinded after a professor agreed to tutor Ross privately in the subject.〔Benner (1983), p. 19.〕 At Wesleyan, students lived with prominent families instead of congregating in dormitories,〔 thus giving them "daily exposure to good manners and refinement".〔Davis (1989), p. 153.〕 Ross lived with the family of his tutor.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lawrence Sullivan Ross」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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