Manley Ross, a blacksmith from Schroeppel, New York, and his wife, Susanna, started to keep the Sabbath in 1848. Before a church was built in nearby Roosevelt, meetings were held in their home, and James and Ellen White are said to have stayed with them when visiting the area. 1EGWLM 884.6
Of Manley Ross, Ellen White wrote that he “intended to be true and right” but had a “fretful, unhappy temperament” and was involved in some of the dissension among Roosevelt members. The conflict between Manley and his brother and fellow church member Alexander Ross was a “reproach to the cause of God.” 1EGWLM 885.1
See: Obituary: “Manley Ross,” Review, Mar. 16, 1911, p. 23; obituary: “Susanna Moyer Ross,” Review, Nov. 15, 1906, p. 23; 1850 U.S Federal Census, “Manly Ross,” New York, Oswego County, Schroeppel, p. 268; 1900 U.S. Federal Census, “Many [sic] Ross,” New York, Oswego County, Volney, p. 8; Ellen G. White, Lt 2, 1858 (c. Mar.); Lt 16, 1861 (Aug. 3); Testimony to the Church (PH159) (1870), p. 81. 1EGWLM 885.2