The following were typical examples of Ichidai-garo officers who were appointed to the post due to their abilities: Tsugunosuke KAWAI of the Echigo-Nagaoka domain, Hirosato ZUSHO of the Satsuma domain, and Seifu MURATA of the Choshu domain, all of whom played an active part in the abolition of the bakufu system, and as an older example, Tomofusa ONO of the Ako domain who became famous for launching a raid during the Ako Incident in the Genroku era (1688 - 1704).
有能な者が実力によって、一代家老（家老格）に登用された代表例として、幕末に活躍した越後長岡藩の河井継之助、薩摩藩の調所広郷、長州藩の村田清風、そして、古くは元禄期の元禄赤穂事件の討ち入りで、有名になった赤穂藩の大野知房などが挙げられる。