Hiram William Ross Biography


	This biography appears on pages 904-907 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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				HIRAM WILLIAM ROSS. 

	The history of the city or state does not depend so much upon the 
machinery of government or upon those who control its official 
interests as upon those who establish and conduct its business 
enterprises; who establish centers of trade and reach out in commercial 
activity to various sections. In this connection the name of Hiram 
William Ross is well known, for he became one of the prominent 
lumbermen of the northwest, founding and developing a business which 
grew until it embraced thirty or more lumberyards in South Dakota and 
Minnesota. 

	Mr. Ross was a native son of the middle west, his birth having 
occurred at Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in 1842. His father, Hiram J. Ross, 
was one of the pioneer lumbermen of that state. He settled in 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1835 and there operated a sawmill until 1837. 
Hiram W. Ross was a pupil in the public schools of his native town and 
afterward pursued a more advanced course of study in Milwaukee. He made 
his initial step in the business world as bookkeeper for a commission 
house in the latter city and afterward engaged in the produce business 
at Berlin, Wisconsin, but after four years there spent returned to 
Milwaukee, where he once more engaged in the commission business for a 
number of years. He afterward became connected with the wool trade, 
forming a partnership with Casper Sanger, of Milwaukee, but at the end 
of two years he established a wholesale business, dealing in fancy 
groceries under the firm name of Bowker, Ross & Company. He continued 
in active connection with that enterprise for five years and then 
disposed of his interests, after which he traveled for a short time for 
the Sanger, Rockwell Lumber Company. He was next connected with the R. 
McMillan Lumber Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and in 1879 he came to 
South Dakota. He did not at once locate in Sioux Falls. He believed 
that either this city or Yankton would be the coming metropolis of the 
state and felt that he could better decide if he were an outsider and 
therefore an unprejudiced observer. Accordingly he located at Canton, 
where he established a lumberyard which he conducted for about eight 
years. At the same time that he established the yard at Canton he also 
established one at Sioux Falls. In the interim he watched the 
indications of growth in the two cities and, believing that Sioux Falls 
would take the lead, he then, in 1881, came to Minnehaha county to make 
his home. The business was operated under the name of the Oshkosh 
Lumber Company until 1886, after which it was carried on under the name 
of H. W. Ross. In 1893 the father was joined by his two sons: Charles 
H. Ross, now of Sioux Falls; and Hiram E. Ross, of Minneapolis. Their 
business is today among the largest of the kind in the states of South 
Dakota and Minnesota, the company having a paid up capital of three 
hundred thousand dollars and a surplus of over two hundred thousand 
dollars. 

	Hiram W. Ross continued to reside in Sioux Falls until 1894, when 
he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and from that point continued to 
superintend the growing interests of the H. W. Ross Lumber Company. It 
has been a distributing point for sending out lumber and building 
materials to all parts of South Dakota and of Minnesota, where the 
lumberyards of the company are to be found. Hiram W. Ross was a most 
successful and progressive business man He formed his plans readily, 
was prompt and systematic in their execution and carried forward to 
successful completion whatever he undertook. 

	Sioux Falls owes much to the efforts of Hiram W. Ross, not only 
because of his intense business activity but also because of his 
cooperation in many movements which promoted the upbuilding and 
substantial improvement of the city. In 1885 he was elected mayor and 
served in that capacity for two years, giving Sioux Falls a beneficial 
and public-spirited administration characterized by many needed reforms 
and improvements, his course winning the admiration of not only his 
constituents but of the general public. The death of Mr. Ross occurred 
August 6, 1908, and ill his passing the northwest lost one of its most 
prominent pioneer lumbermen. His example may well serve as a source of 
inspiration and encouragement to others and his memory is cherished by 
many who knew him in Sioux Falls while he was still an active resident 
of the city. 

	Mr. Ross was married to Miss Sarah Ann Flowers, of Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, October 29, 1868. She was a daughter of John H. and Ann 
Flowers. Her father is now deceased, but her mother is still living at 
the age of eighty-eight years. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Ross: Charles H., president of the H. W. Ross Lumber Company; and Hiram 
E., secretary and treasurer of the H. W. Ross Lumber Company, of 
Minneapolis. The mother lives in Minneapolis. Minnesota.