Bert David Ross (1888-1947)

Pseudonym of Gilbert C. Ross
Aka G.C. Ross
Office Worker, Insurance Salesman, Gardener, Author, Teacher
Born March 8, 1888, Red Oak, Iowa
Died March 30, 1947, Santa Clara city or county, California

Bert David Ross was the pseudonym of Gilbert C. Ross, who also went by his initials as G.C. Ross. Ross was born on March 8, 1888, in Red Oak, Iowa. I haven't found anything on his early life, but on March 15, 1925, Ross married Della Rose Brown in Seattle, Washington. The couple had two daughters, Rose Alyce Ross and Star Aileen Ross.

As of 1928, Ross was working as office manager at Acme Engraving, Seattle, Washington. In 1930, he was an insurance salesman. Ten years later, he was a gardener for a private family in the Seattle area. In 1942, when he filled out his draft card, Ross was living at Deer Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, and working for Davis Investment Co. Finally, in 1944, he was an office worker at Bremerton Navy Yard. It was at around this time that Ross' professional writing career began. He had a story called "Scandia Reef" in Short Stories, June 25, 1944. "Overflow," in Short Stories for October 25, 1944, is set on San Juan Island, Ross' former home.

On the strength of those successes and a couple of more from early 1945, Ross, with his associates, formed the Writer's Club of Bremerton in late April 1945. Ross served as the first president, while Edward Stevenson was vice-president, Mrs. Lucille E. Doty was secretary, and Alice Smock was treasurer. According to an article from September 25, 1945, other members of the Bremerton Writers Club and their guests included: Mildred Dunn, Eddie Hammond, Muriel Innes, Jane Kent, Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Leach, Bernice McFarland, Ivy Pelky, Louise Pelky, Seaman 1st Class Larry Richardson, and Dr. & Mrs. Savage. More articles give the names of more members during the 1940s through the 1960s: Clyde Clark, Henry Clarke, Valentine Dmetriev, Mr. & Mrs. Lynn Jensen, Muriel McConnell, Margaret Metcalfe, Marian Reid, Margaret Rice, and Myrtle Tennis.

As of 1946, Ross was a teacher of creative writing in night school classes conducted at Bremerton High School. His older daughter was in high school, the younger in grade school. Later in the year, Ross and his family moved either to San Luis Obispo or San Simeon, California. G.C. Ross died in Santa Clara city or county, California, on March 30, 1947, and so his writing career that had begun three years before came to a sudden end. He had just turned fifty-nine years old. 

If the information in The FictionMags Index is accurate (I always assume that it is), then Ross' career in writing for story magazines lasted just over three years, from June 1944 to November 1947. He had two stories in Weird Tales and eight in Short Stories. Both titles were owned at the time by Short Stories, Inc., of New York City, and both had Dorothy McIlwraith as their editor.

Bert David Ross' Stories in Weird Tales & Short Stories

• "Scandia Reef" in Short Stories (June 25, 1944)
• "Overflow" in Short Stories (Oct. 25, 1944)
• "Luck Plus X" in Short Stories (Feb. 25, 1945)
• "Old Black Magic" in Short Stories (May 10, 1945)
• "Plane Paradise" in Short Stories (Mar. 10, 1946)
• "'Discovery 2nd'" in Short Stories (Apr. 25, 1946)
• "Not Human" in Weird Tales (Sept. 1946)
• "Peek and the Blackfish" in Short Stories (Jan. 25, 1947)
• "Trip to Monterey" in Short Stories (Mar. 25, 1947)
• "The Last Adam and Eve" in Weird Tales (Nov. 1947)

Further Reading

• "Invite Membership in Writers Club" in Kitsap Sun (Washington), May 1, 1945, page 4.
• "Personal Portraits" by Vera Pumphrey in Kitsap Sun (Washington), March 2, 1946, page 3.

An illustration for "The Last Adam and Eve" by Bert David Ross, drawn by Boris Dolgov and published in Weird Tales, November 1947.

Text copyright 2022, 2023 Terence E. Hanley