Judge Franklin Clair Ross was born on January 3, 1895, at Sandy Lake, Mercer County. He attended public schools, Grove City College, and Columbia University Law School. During his legal education, Judge Ross studied under Harlan Fiske Stone, who would later become the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Judge Ross served during World War I as an aviator in the Flying Division of the Signal Corps. Additionally, he spent two years as a chairman of the National Defense Committee of the American Legion of Pennsylvania.
Judge Ross was admitted to the Butler County bar in 1924, then spent a decade with the firm Brandon, Brandon, & Ross. The Governor appointed him Attorney General in 1935. By the end of 1936, Judge Ross held a new position as Treasurer of Pennsylvania. Four years later, he was elected as the state’s Auditor General.
Judge Ross was elected to the Superior Court in 1944, reelected in 1954, and served until his death in 1956 at 61 years old.