Shapley Prince Ross: Life and Legacy of a Texas Ranger and Indian Agent (1811–1889)
By: L. W. Kemp
Published: 1976
Updated: June 1, 1995
Shapley Prince Ross, ranger and Indian agent, was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, about six miles from Louisville, on January 18, 1811, the son of Shapley and Mary (Prince) Ross. The family moved to Lincoln County in 1823. Ross married Catherine H. Fulkerson in St. Charles County, Missouri, on November 4, 1830; they became the parents of nine children. In 1839 Ross moved to Texas and settled at Nashville in Milam County. In 1842 he served on a committee of five to select a permanent seat for Milam County. He was a member of Capt. John C. (Jack) Hays's rangers in 1842 and a member of the Snively expedition in 1843. In 1845 he moved to Austin. He was elected captain of a volunteer company for the protection of the frontier and was stationed near Waco in 1846. In the ranger battalion commanded by Peter H. Bell, Ross commanded a company formed in April and May 1847. In 1849 Ross moved permanently to Waco, where he built the first hotel and in 1850 became the first postmaster. He was Indian agent from 1855 to 1858. Ross went to Southern California in 1870 in an effort to improve his health, then returned to Waco in 1875. He was a Mason and a Democrat; he opposed joining the Confederacy but supported secession. He died in Waco on September 17, 1889, and was buried at Oakwood Cemetery.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
L. W. Kemp, “Ross, Shapley Prince,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ross-shapley-prince.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FRO86
- 1976
- June 1, 1995
