by ten votes. He took possession of the office on January 1, 1860, and so satisfactory was his administration that he was twice re-elected, each time by increased majorities. It was on the night of the last day of his second term that the court-house was burned, when, unfortunately, the funds were mostly in the national currency, and wrapped and labeled for the inspection of the board of supervisors on the Monday following. The denominations and character of the bills could only be told by expert examination of the charred parts under the bands. Examination at the treasury department identified and restored to the county most of the money contained in the safe. The foresight of Mr. Ross in anticipating an advance in real estate when the war closed, and opportunities of learning the views of owners through the office of county treasurer, enabled him to buy and sell to such advantage that he laid the foundation for a competency in a few years. Transactions in real estate, shipping live stock to market, conducting farms and holding the Nevada post-office for a term of four years, occupied his time until about 1885, when, seeing an opening for real estate, loans, and abstracts of titles, in Kansas, he opened an office at Great Bend, in that State. He is successfully prosecuting that business, but the fact that his family remains in Story County indicates that his affections linger with her pioneers, of whom he was one for thirty years. Thomas Johns Ross was born in Knox County, Ohio, on September 14, 1832, and is of Scottish ancestry; is of the fair complexion of the Northern type, is five feet ten inches in height, and weighs 180 pounds. He is a man of sound practical judgment, and is true to his instincts as to what constitutes strong manhood. He scorns deceit, meanness and cowardice, and is liable to offend by speaking with sarcasm and irony of men and acts for which he cherishes contempt. He was married at Martinsburg, Ohio, on October 24, 1854, to Miss Julia A., daughter of Judge McCreary, by whom there are two surviving daughters, the elder being the wife of Hon. C. D. Boardman, of Odebolt, Iowa, and the younger, a widow, making her home with her mother in Nevada. In addition to the advantages offered by the common schools of Ohio in his boyhood, Mr. Ross attended an academy in Martinsburg. This with his tact, brightness of intellect and fondness for reading, makes him a very entertaining conversationalist, and gives him a warm welcome among the thoughtful and refined. He has ever been an independent leader and never a timid follower.
John C. Rygh, the subject of this sketch, is a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Story County. In the distant land of Norway, he entered this world, July 6, 1841, near the city of Bergen. His parents were Norwegians, and the father died while our subject was only three years old, the mother marrying again. John first mastered shoemaking, working at this business at the early age of ten years. in 1870 he bade farewell to the land of his birth, seeking in the newer and broader land of America a wider scope for his talent, and settling in Kendall County, Ill., where he turned his attention to farming, and with such marked success, that at the end of eight years he had quite a sum of money with which to commence business. Moving to Story County, Mr. Rygh bought the 160 acres of land where he now resides. His house is large, and the farm in excellent condition, and well cultivated, as only an enterprising, thrifty farmer knows how to cultivate the soil. In this county Mr. Rygh married Miss Belle Osmunson, a native of Norway, February 14, 1879, she being a daughter of Christian Osmunson and Mollie Torbjorns Datter. To this union were born three chil-