Charles E. Coss Hon. Charles E. Coss. Although county judge ol Randall county, Mr. Coss is a teacher by professiou and during his residence in Randall county has provec his ability and skill as an educator, so that his electini to the office of county judge is a deserved tribute to tin efficiency which he had previously displayed in all hi relations with this county. Previous to coming hen Mr. Coss practiced law in Vernon county, Missouri, for ( short time, but most of his life has been spent in educational work. Charles E. Coss was born in Greene county, Pennsylvauia, April 14, 1805. His paternal ancestors came fron Holland, settling in Maryland in the midst of a Quakoi colony. On the maternal side the ancestry is Scotch. Judge Coss's father was John C. Coss, a native of Pennsylvania who died in 1905, at Lexington, Missouri, at the age of sixty-three. He gave forty years of hia active career to the ministry of the Southern Methodist church. He became a resident in Missouri in 1869, and during the four years previous to that had lived in Ohio. During the Civil war he served in the Union army, although his service was contrary to his principle, hie sympathy being all with the South. The maiden name of the mother was Mary Daly, who was also born in Pennsylvania, and who d'ied ten weeks after the birth of her son Charles. The father was again married and by this marriage had two sons and two daughters. Charles E. Coss was educated at Mt. Morris College in Morristown, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1882, and began his career as a teacher near Morris- town. He followed the work of education for thirty-one years and served in all capacities from teacher to principal and superintendent. For one year he taught in Cooper College at Moundsville, Missouri, and altogether taught for seventeen years in that state. He first became a resident of Texas in 1901, and taught at Navasota. After his first term he took up the reading of law, and subsequently passed the examination and practiced for two years in Vernon county, Missouri. He came to Randall county and located at Canyon City in August, 1908. During the first three years in Canyon City he 'taught in the public schools and on July 27, 1912, was elected to the office of county judge. This office also carries with it ex-officio, the duties of county superintendent of public instruction, and Judge Coss has active supervision over the schools of Randall county. He is secretary of the County Board of Education of Bandall county. In politics he is a Democrat, and has always been more or less active in political affairs. He is affiliated with the Masonic order, and is secretary and treasurer of the Christian church at Canyon City. He was married March 17, 1889, in Vernon county, Missouri, to Miss Nettie H. Hale, who was born in Missouri, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Hale. Mrs. Coss died in 1895 at the age of twenty-four. The one son of that union was Joseph Clay Coss, born in Vernon county, Missouri, in 1890. On December 24, 1909, Judge Coss married in Canyon City, Miss Emma Brandon, who was born in Texas, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Brandon, her father being an old time Texan, and one of'the leading lawyers of the Panhandle. The one son of the second marriage is George Brandon Coss, born at Canyon. November 25, 1910. Judge Coss, during his youth, worked his way through school, and the attainments and position of influence which he has acquired have all been due to his steady ability and persistent effort in advancing his career.   James Newton Vernon James Newton Vernon in his youth had limited educational advantages. He attended the public schools of Cleburne until he was thirteen, and then closed his school books in order to become a wage-earner. For his first work, as a farm boy, he received $10.00 per month and '' found.'' He continued farm work for three years, and the next three years he worked in a retail grocery store at Cleburne. From the grocery business he turned to railroading, entering the employ of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad Company as a clerk in the office of the division master mechanic's office at Cleburne. He followed railroading four years. the last year on the road as fireman. In 1893 he had his first experience in the laundry business, as an employee of the Home Steam Laundry at Cleburne, and was connected with that concern four years, during which time he mastered every detail of the business. The next four years he was manager and foreman for the Columbia Steam Laundry at Cleburne, this experience being followed by one year as manager of the Hillsboro Steam Laundry, Hillsboro, Texas. In 1901 he came to Amarillo and established the Amarillo Steam Laundry, the first steam laundry in the Panhandle. After successfully operating this concern for eighteen months he sold it and built a larger one, in fact the largest one in this part of the country, and which is known as the Troy Steam Laundry. This laundry furnishes employment for thirty people, is modern in every respect, and is operated under the best possible conditions obtainable here. Mr. Vernon also owns the property in which the plant is located, 306-318 Tyler street. From a poor boy Mr. Vernon has worked his way up. He not only owns and operates this important enterprise, but he has various other extensive interests. He is a stockholder in the First State Bank, owns a 665- acre ranch just outside the city, and has in the neighborhood of thirty thousand dollars' worth of property in Amarillo, including his residence at 901 Van Buren street. His chief delight is his home. There, outside of business hours, he may usually be found with his family. After his father's death, he aided in the support of the family and the education of his younger brothers. While he has never taken any active part in politics, Mr. Vernon has always voted the democratic ticket. His social, civic and religious interests identify him with various organizations, including the B. P. O. E., W. O. W., A. O. U. W., M. W. A., Chamber of Commerce and Central Presbyterian Church. Also he is a member of the Panhandle Laundry Men's Association, in the convention which met April 5, 1913, at Amarillo, he was elected Sergeant-at-Arms. Mr. Vernon's family consists of wife and three children, Kaleta, James McIntosh and Agnes. Mrs. Vernon, formerly Miss Jean McIntosh, is a native of Scotland and a daughter of William McIntosh. They were married at Cleburne, Texas, October 23, 1895.