Ross, Margaret Wheeler, 1867-1953

Author and poet, of Phoenix, Ariz.; wife of attorney and Arizona Supreme Court Justice, Henry Ross.

Margaret Wheeler Ross, author and poet, was born February 21, 1867 at Vicksburg, Mississippi, the daughter of William Stuart Wheeler. The family moved to New York City in 1869, where Margaret received her education from private tutors. As a result of financial difficulties the family relocated to New Mexico in 1888, and to El Paso, Texas soon thereafter.

In 1891 Margaret accepted employment with a railroad office at Prescott, Arizona. Next she took a job as Yavapai County court stenographer where she met County Attorney Henry D. Ross. The couple was married at El Paso in 1890 and they relocated to Flagstaff, Arizona in 1891. In 1901 Margaret attended the University of Chicago to study music and English. She later attended Boston University and the University of California at Berkeley.

Upon Henry Ross' appointment as State Supreme Court Justice in 1912 the family moved to Phoenix, where Margaret became a member of the Phoenix Women's Club. In 1914 she was elected president of the Arizona Federation of Women's Clubs. In 1920 she organized and became the founding president of the Arizona Federation of Music Clubs. In the 1920's Margaret Ross became active in writing and publishing. A Musical Message for Mothers was published in 1926 and Vanity Bag was completed in 1936.