and organizer of the surgical department of the Richmond & Danville railroad company from 1886 to 1896, and since then consulting surgeon of the Southern railroad company; and has been for fifteen years the district surgeon for the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad company. He has also served for some time as medical examiner for various insurance organizations, the Penn Mutual of Philadelphia, the Fidelity of Philadelphia, the Brooklyn of New York, and the R. O. & E. association of Indianapolis. He is connected with several professional organizations, by which he has been honored in various ways—is vice-president of the National association of railway surgeons, member of the Southern gynecological society, of the Virginia State medical society, of the Richmond surgical and medical society and honorary fellow of the Abingdon medical society. He is also active and useful in social and religious fields, and since 1889 has been a vestryman of the St. Paul's Episcopal church of Richmond.
Colonel J. D. H. Ross, a prominent citizen of Rockbridge county, was born in Culpeper county in 1840. At the age of sixteen he entered the Virginia military institute, where he was graduated in 1859, and a year later appointed assistant professor of mathematics and of the Latin and French languages. He participated in the earliest operations coincident with the passage of the ordinance of secession of Virginia, going to Harper's Ferry in charge of powder from the Lexington armory, and remained at the front several months. He was then detailed to return to the institute and instruct some officers of the provisional army who had received appointments without previous military training. In this duty he continued until the close of the school in July, 1861, when he was commissioned lieutenant in the engineer corps by Governor Letcher, and about July 21st was assigned to the staff of General Loring, then operating in western Virginia. In the fall of 1861 he was appointed by Governor Letcher without his application, as major of the Fifty-second regiment of Virginia infantry, of which he was subsequently (in 1862) promoted lieutenant-colonel. During most of the time which followed during his period of service he was in command of the regiment. He participated in the battles of Greenbrier River and Allegheny Mountain, W. Va., McDowell, Winchester, Front Royal and Cross Keys, of Jackson's Valley campaign, and at the last named battle received two severe wounds which rendered him an invalid for four months. During his convalescence he served as enrolling officer, with headquarters at Lexington and Staunton, until April 21, 1863, when he returned to the service and fought at Second Fredericksburg, the defeat of Milroy at Winchester, and the three days of battle at Gettysburg. In the fall of 1864 the wounds received at Cross Keys compelled him to resign and his subsequent service was rendered in the Virginia military institute which had been removed to Richmond. After the evacuation he returned to Lexington, studied law and was admitted to the bar. Since then he has given his attention to farming on an extensive scale in Rockbridge county. At one time he managed an estate of three thousand acres. On April 7, 1862, he was married to Agnes, daughter of the late Samuel McDowell Reid, an adjutant of the war of 1812, who, with his father, Andrew Reid,
