Frederick Augustus Ross was born on December 25, 1796, in Cumberland County, Virginia, to an immigrant from Scotland who made his fortune in his new home. When Ross grew up, he became a minister in the Presbyterian Church.
Reverend Ross inherited over 2000 acres of property near what’s now Kingsport, Tennessee, in 1818. Here he established his plantation, the centerpiece of which was Rotherwood Mansion, set on a hill overlooking the Holston River.
Ross had a beautiful daughter named Rowena born on September 2, 1824. Ross spared no expense in educating his daughter, sending Rowena to the finest boarding schools in America. Rowena grew into a well-educated, kind, and well-liked young woman. Rowena Ross was a much sought-after bride by men from other prominent families.
Rowena wasn’t interested in any old suitor, though. She had met and been courted by a wealthy young man who was raised not far from Rotherwood. The two had fallen in love and soon they became engaged.
Soon it was their wedding day. That morning, probably to work off some nervous energy, and despite the fact that it was a cold winter day, the young man decided to go fishing with three of his friends. They got in a boat and set out on the Holston River down below the mansion. Rowena was watching the men push off from shore when she suddenly saw the boat tip over, dropping the men into the icy waters of the Holston.
Of the four men, only three were saved.
Rowena’s true love drowned in the accident, his body never found.
With his death, Rowena’s life came to a stop. She stayed in her room on the third floor of the mansion, where she could gaze, day after lonely day, at the spot in the Holston River where her beloved tragically lost his life. There she remained for two years, mourning his loss.
Rowena Ross did eventually come out of her room, getting out and socializing again. And it turns out that the qualities that made her a much-sought after mate were still there.
She met and fell in love with another wealthy young man, this one from Knoxville. They were engaged and a wedding date was set. But, shortly before that day arrived, Rowena’s beloved became quite ill with yellow fever. He lasted a few days and then died.
As she had done before, Rowena went into seclusion at Rotherwood, this time mourning for the next ten years.
Then she met another man, Edward S. Temple, who she married on May 23, 1850. The two would have a daughter and for six years Rowena and Edward had a happy marriage.
That was not to last, however.
The Temple family decided to visit Rotherwood and Rowena’s father in the spring of 1857. It was here that Rowena began to hear something calling to her, faintly at first, but more and more distinct. And that something appeared to be in the Holston River, down below the mansion.
Rowena claimed that what she heard was the spirit of her very first fiancée, calling to her. She even said she saw his ghostly hand come up out of the river to guide her down to the water to join him.
She resisted this spirit…until April 5, 1857.
On that day, Rowena put on the wedding dress she had planned to wear when she and her first suitor wed. She then left the mansion and walked barefoot down to the Holston River, where she walked into the water and went under, drowning herself.
Her ghost, which is called “The White Lady,” is said to haunt the grounds of Rotherwood Mansion, especially the riverbank area, supposedly looking for her drowned love. Many, including some prominent men and women from Kingsport, have reported seeing Rowena, “The White Lady,” over the years, wandering the Rotherwood grounds.
