Fur trader, memoirist.
Born at Rothes, Scotland in 1912, son of Annie and Richard Ross, he was educated there and at Elgin, Scotland. He joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1930 and spent 42 years with the company, serving at Grassy Narrows, Temagami, and Minaki (Ontario); Fort McMurray (Alberta); and in northern Saskatchewan, finishing his career as an administrative assistant to the General Manager at Winnipeg.
He was married twice, first on 25 September 1935 to Beatrice Vivian Dingle (1906-1966) at Winnipeg with whom he had three daughters and a son. The family lived at 97 Lyndale Drive, Norwood. On 25 March 1969, he married Jane Farrell Allyn (1930-2011, sister of Grenville “Gren” Marsh).
He served as President of the Elmhurst Golf and Country Club (1964-1967) and was Honorary Chieftan of Clan Ross (Manitoba Division). He wrote two memoirs of his experiences as a fur trader, both published by Watson and Dwyer: The Apprentice’s Tale (1986) and The Manager’s Tale (1989).
He died at his Winnipeg home on 2 November 1992.
Birth registration [Beatrice Vivian Dingle], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Hugh Mackay Ross, Beatrice Vivian Dingle], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Beatrice Vivian Ross], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 October 1966, page 27.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 4 November 1992, page 36.
Obituary [Jane Allyn Ross-Reyman (Krause) (Farrell)], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 January 2011.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, December 1999, 288 pages.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 September 2026
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