Deborah Ross was born in Ballinamallard in the County of Fermanagh in what is now Northern Ireland. As the map below shows, Ballinamallard is just north of Enniskillen. Coincidentally, and though it has nothing at all to do with our story, this is the very same area of Ireland where the McGaghran’s are believed to have come from!
All records in Ireland indicate that Deborah was born in 1884 and is therefore 28 years old when she leaves Ireland and heads to Canada. Deborah comes from a large Irish family. She is one of 10 siblings. She has been working as a live-in maid for an 84 year old widower name Richmond Archdale in Drumcullion , just north of Ballinamallard.. Deborah’s youngest sister, 19 year old Isabella, is the only sibling still living at home with their 66 year old mother Susan Thompson Ross in Ballinamallard. Sadly, father Thomas Ross had passed away 16 years earlier. If the two sisters, Deborah and Isabella, aren’t close now they soon will be. They are about to board the Steam Ship Scandinavian and take the voyage to Canada together. They have no idea what is in store for them and how much they will need each others support in the years to come. None of their other 8 siblings are in Canada. They do have a big brother George in North America, but he has settled in New York City. Though one wonders if that might be their ultimate destination. The two sisters board the SS Scandinavian in the port of Moville just outside of Londonderry. The SS Scandinavian’s voyage originated ( like Robert Dixon’s did a year earlier ) in Liverpool, England, but made this stop in Londonderry to pick up its Irish passengers before heading on to Quebec City and then Montreal. The sisters board the Scandinavian on September 22, 1912. Like Robert Dixon they travel 3rd class, but they do carry more cash than him, as they arrive in Canada with $200. They give St Catharines, Ontario as their final destination in Canada. We know from Deborah’s son George ( named after his Uncle George) that the two sisters came to Canada to work as domestic servants. The Ross sisters are shown near the bottom of the passenger list below, age 28 and 19. They arrive in Montreal on September 29th. The two sisters then board a train first to Toronto and then on to St Catharines. For some reason they don’t stay in St Catharines long. Like Robert Dixon they move on to London, Ontario.
