| Summary: | Back: Charlie and Kay Front: Mike and Chuck High School; Gregory and Christopher are students in Dakota Elementary School in Hunter. Michael John Ross attended school at Mayville State College and at the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks. He returned to Arthur and became a partner with his brother, Charles, Jr., in the T.J. Ross Company. Michael is not married. T.J. ROSS - CATHERINE DUGAN Standing: Catherine Ross. Center: T.J., Lewis and Charles. Taken about 1910. Robert, and Frances. Front: The parents of T.J. Ross came from Luxemburg in 1857 and settled at Montrose, Minnesota, thirty miles from Minneapolis. The parents of Catherine Dugan (T.J.'s future wife) came from County Claire, Ireland, during the great potato famine in 1849, and they, too, settled at Montrose, Minnesota. When T.J. was nine years old, his father died. T.J. then started supporting his mother, a younger brother, and a sister. (There were no Welfare Stamps or Social Security benefits.) He worked for the Quinn family (the Quinn who later became a partner of grain buyer, Benson and Quinn), setting up farm machinery at Watertown, Minnesota. When T.J. was twelve years old, he got a license from the state of Minnesota showing that he could operate steam engines. After doing various types of elevator work, he became manager of Great Western Elevators in Minnesota, Iowa, Blanchard, North Dakota, and lastly at Arthur, North Dakota. During this time, Catherine went to Normal School and started teaching primary grades at the Holland School in Minneapolis. In 1902, after T.J. and Walter Phillips bought out Brandenburg's store, he and Catherine were married. T.J. and Catherine Ross had five children. Frances, (Mrs. Don Larin) received a degree in Home Economics from the University of Minnesota. She now lives in Sacramento, California. Charles T. Ross, Sr. graduated from Notre Dame in 1931 with a B.C.S. degree. He is retired and lives in Arthur. Lewis D. Ross is deceased. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1933 and served in the U.S. Army in Europe for two years. Robert H. Ross had three and one-half years of study at the North Dakota University at Grand Forks when he came home to go into partnership with his brother Charles in operating the present Ross Store. In World War II, Bob was stationed in Iceland and then France. He was in the fighting at St. Lo and the Battle of the Bulge. Robert is deceased. Catherine (Mrs. Sam Meske) took nurse's training at St. Mary's Hospital in Bismarck. She moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she made her home until her death. MR. and MRS. W. E. RUFFCORN Laura, Lewis, Vera, and Will Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Ruffcorn (Will and Laura) moved to the Arthur area from southwestern Iowa in the spring of 1920. They purchased a half section farm two and a half miles north of Arthur from Mr. Fred Williams. The Ruffcorns lived on this farm until the fall of 1945. They had two children. Vera and Lewis. The Ruffcorns were known for their purebred Shorthorn cattle and for the large flock of Bourbon Red turkeys that they marketed each year. In addition to the usual small grain farming in the area at the time, the Ruffcorns also diversified by growing 173 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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