User:WilyD/William Case/William Ross

William Ross was a Methodist circuit rider.

Ross was born February 10th, 1792 in Thyringham, Massachusetts. He converted to Methodism around 1810, and was accepted on trial as a circuit rider by the New York Conference in 1812. He volunteered to be assigned to Canada, and was sent to the Dunham Circuit, which was primarily in Lower Canada, although it also covered a bit of Vermont.

During the War of 1812, Ross was allowed to continue preaching on both sides of the border. However, during a public sermon, he refuted an assertion that a Christian could not die when fallen from grace, but would remain alive until restored, he retorted: “In that case, sin is a sure preservative of life; and if you would furnish me with an army of 5000 back-slidden Christians, and they could be kept from praying, I could conquer the world; for no bullet could touch them as long as they be kept from prayer.” This got reported to a local magistrate as Ross claiming he could conquer Canada with an army of 5000 men, and the magistrate offered Ross a choice between swearing an oath of allegiance, or returning to the United States; he chose the latter.

Returning to the United States, Ross remained a circuit rider until his death on February 10th, 1824 in Brooklyn, New York.