Letitia Dowdell Ross

Letitia Dowdell Ross (1866–1952) was an American educator who was identified with religious, educational, philanthropic and patriotic causes. She was in close touch with the large scientific movements of the time. and president of the Alabama Federation of Women's Clubs (AFWC).

Early life and education Letitia Roane Dowdell was born in Chambers County, Alabama, Letitia was also a niece of Colonel James F. Dowdell, who commanded the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Confederate States of America, and for several years before the civil war was a member of the U.S. Congress from the East Alabama district. She was also a first cousin of James R. Dowdell, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, and of William J. Samford, Governor of Alabama.

Ross graduated from Lucy Cobb Institute (Athens, Georgia). She also pursued courses at the University of Georgia and Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn, 1890–91), and still later at the University of Berlin (1901). where she served on the Committee on International Relations.