William E. Ross is remembered as Portsmouth, Ohio's first elected black city councilperson, serving one term, 1894-1896, representing the old Sixth Ward. A native of the city, Ross was born on 9 April 1833, with his family having roots in Scioto County dating back to at least 1813, when his half-brother Joseph Tanner first settled in Alexandria. During the Civil War, he served as a hospital steward with Company B of the 27th Regiment of US Colored Infantry. Ross led the singing of the "Colored Volunteer" during Portsmouth's celebration of the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in April 1870. Upon his death on 20 August 1910, Ross was buried with military honors in Greenlawn Cemetery's Soldiers Circle.