Charles Hembrey Ross Biography


	This biography appears on pages 975-976 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				CHARLES HEMBREY ROSS. 

	The steps in the orderly progression of Charles Hembrey Ross are 
easily discernible. He has learned to correctly judge of those things 
which go to make up life's contacts and experiences and he is capable 
of mature judgment of his own capacities and powers. He is eminently a 
man of business sense and easily avoids the mistakes and disasters that 
come to those who though possessing remarkable faculties in some 
respects, are liable to erratic movements that result in unwarranted 
risk and failure. He is recognized as a well balanced mall, of even 
temper and conservative habit, and possessing that kind of enterprise 
which leads to great accomplishments. He is today president of the H. 
W. Ross Lumber Company, the pioneer enterprise of this character in 
Sioux Falls. 

	Charles H. Ross was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 23, 
1870, a son of Hiram William and Sarah Ann (Flowers) Ross. His 
grandfather, Hiram J. Ross, owned and operated a sawmill in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, as early as 1837, having located there in 1835, when the 
place was first settled. Hiram W. Ross, father of our subject, was a 
prominent lumberman of the northwest, operating a saw-mill at Colby, 
Wisconsin, for some years, afterward becoming president of the H. W. 
Ross Lumber Company, operating a line of thirty yards in Minnesota and 
South Dakota. He maintained the presidency of the company until his 
death, which robbed the northwest of one of the most prominent figures 
in lumber circles. 

	The early education of Charles H. Ross was acquired in the public 
schools of Milwaukee and he afterward attended the public schools of 
Sioux Falls, being graduated from the high school with the class of 
1888. He then entered the University of South Dakota and completed his 
course in 1890. It was in 1879 that the family came to this state, 
settling at Canton. After two years there spent the father regarded 
Sioux Falls as the most promising town of the territory and removed 
with his family to this city. With the completion of his collegiate 
course Charles H. Ross accepted a position in his father's lumber yard 
and for four years did the work of a day laborer, that he might 
thoroughly learn the business in every detail. He was not afraid of the 
hard work involved and knew that only through practical experience and 
thoroughness could he become absolutely master of the business to which 
he expected to devote his life. It was not parental authority but 
personal ability that secured his advancement. As he was qualified for 
larger responsibilities they were given him and thus gradually he 
worked his way upward. In 1893 he was made secretary of the company and 
after two years was promoted to the position of buyer, continuing to 
act in that capacity until 1900, when his brother, Hiram E. Ross, 
became buyer and Charles H. Ross assumed the management of the outside 
yards, with his residence in Sioux Falls. The company has drawn about 
it men of capability, insight and enterprise and this is one of the 
features of the success which has attended the business. Good wages 
have always been paid and an employee recognizes the fact that fidelity 
means promotion as opportunity offers. 

	Charles H. Ross has not only studied the business immediately 
under his control but has been a student of trade conditions and of 
everything affecting the lumber interests of the country. He believes 
firmly in organization among business men for the further development 
of their respective lines and he has, therefore, always been connected 
with associations of lumbermen. In 1901, when in Florida, he received a 
telegram announcing his election as vice president of the Northwestern 
Lumbermen's Association and in January, 1902, at the annual meeting 
held in Minneapolis, he was elected to the presidency. His election as 
vice president came as a total surprise to him, as he had never sought 
the office nor dreamed that it was to be given him. For seven years he 
has been a member of the executive committee of the board of directors 
of the Northwestern Lumbermen's Association and his sound judgment, 
keen sagacity and thorough understanding of the trade have done much to 
further the interests of lumbermen throughout this section of the 
country. Aside from being president of the H. W. Ross Lumber Company he 
is vice president of the Sioux Falls Savings Bank and is a director of 
the Minnehaha Springs Company. 

	Mr. Ross is pleasantly situated in his home life. He has been 
married twice. On the 24th of October, 1900, at State Center, Iowa, he 
wedded Miss Ellen Mae Goodrich, of that place, and they became the 
parents of two children, Hiram Goodrich and Marjorie. The wife and 
mother passed away November 24, 1908, and on the 3d of September, 1910, 
Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Amy Ohlman, a daughter of M. P. 
Ohlman, president of the American State Bank at Yankton, South Dakota. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ross occupy one of the attractive homes of Sioux Falls and 
its hospitality is enjoyed by their friends. 

	Mr. Ross votes with the republican party but has never been a 
politician in the sense of office seeking. However, he is never 
neglectful of the duties of citizenship but on the contrary cooperates 
in many movements which have direct bearing upon the welfare and 
progress of city and state. He was made a trustee of the board of 
education of Sioux Falls and in 1910 was reelected for five years 
without opposition. He is a member of the Congregational church, in the 
work of which he is also actively interested, serving as chairman of 
its board of trustees. He is a prominent Mason, joining the consistory 
and the Mystic Shrine in 1905. He is also connected with the Knights of 
Pythias and the Hoo Hoos, the latter an organization of lumbermen. He 
belongs to the Minnehaha Country and the Dacotah Clubs and he greatly 
enjoys hunting and fishing. He has made recreation an even balance to 
his intense business activity and he is an enthusiast with the rod and 
gun. He has traveled abroad, delighting in the art of Europe and in the 
scenes of modern and historic interest. The most envious cannot grudge 
him his success—so worthily has it been won and so honorably used, and 
his life record stands as incontrovertible proof of the fact that 
prosperity and an honored name may be won simultaneously.