Ida Hancock Ross

Ida Hancock Ross (1843 – 1913) was the owner of the Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles County, including the La Brea Tar Pits.^[1] Ida Haraszthy was born in Imperial, Illinois. Her mother, Eleonora Dedinsky, was a noblewoman of Polish descent whose family had lived in Hungary for centuries. Her father, Count Agoston Haraszthy, was a titled nobleman who had been exiled from Hungary for "efforts to obtain freedom from what he considered despotism." The family became the first Hungarians to become American citizens. They lived in Wisconsin for many years before moving to California.

She married Major Henry Hancock, a native of New Hampshire, in 1863. Their son, George Allan Hancock, donated Rancho La Brea to Los Angeles County.

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