JOST Biographies, Riverside Co., CA Copyrighted c 1998 by Polli Turner. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Polli Turner . USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogy information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must contact the submitter or the listed USGenWeb archivist. Uploaded 4 March 1998 by Polli Turner This file contains JOST Biographies According to the Historical Research Center, who sells family crests and family name histories: The German surname Jost is patronymic in origin, belonging to that group of surnames derived from the forename or Christian name of a father. In this case the surname comes from the old Germanic forename Jos or Joss and the original bearer would have been simply the son of Jos. The forename is also found in the Latin form Jodocus. It is generally believed that the forename is of Celtic origin meaning warrior. It was the name of a seventh century Breton saint, St. Josse, a hermit of Panthieu in France, whose cult spread into southern Germany in the eleventh century. There was traditionally a fete or fair on St. Josses Day which did not die out until the fourteenth century. In 1385 in Ravensburg, a church was dedicated to St. Jost zu Ravensburg whose life appears in the book Von Saint Ursulen Schifflin in Strasbourg. The forename is now found in the form Joyce, which has also developed into a surname, especially numerous in Wales and Ireland. Early records of this surname date back to the thirteenth century when one Jost de Zolikon of Zurich is noted in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt und Landschaft Zurich in 1298. In 1424 , one Jack Jos of Reuthe can be found in the Allgauer Heimatbucher while in 1500 one Jodokus Aichmann of Calw is found in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Heilbronn. He appears again in the same sources as Jost Eychenmann in 1508. FIRST GENERATION-- The following information was put together by Clara Jost Marr, and I have added tidbits here and there from Dr. A. C. Jost and Frank Jost Newson. This is the tradition that has been passed on down through the Jost clan over the generations. Note that there are variances here compared with what I have found in my research-- Georges birthplace, for instance. George Jost was born in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1728. He, with his wife, Susanna, came to Halifax, N.S. in 1750. They were both followers of Martin Luther, and their ancestors had been among Luther's personal friends. Soon after their arrival in Halifax with several other German families who left that country to get away from the frequent wars, they, being anxious for a place of divine worship in their own tongue, sent to Germany for a Lutheran minister. They also erected a building still standing on Brunswick Street, not far from St. Georges Church--it still bears its peculiar spire, which George helped to build. In the meantime the little German band had no minister but for some time attended a public service read by a school master. After 1787 the Rev. Mr. Houseal, a Lutheran minister, came over from Germany to minister to them the word of life. His appearance and manners were quite peculiar. He preached in a long white wig and on entering any habitation he used the words of spiritual salutation "Peace be on this house." After his death, the little flock became scattered but still manifested many moral excellencies. With them all manual labor terminated at 5 p.m. on Saturday and a preparation for the Holy Sabbath was observed by the reading of Holy Scripture and prayers. It is a family tradition that George had a part in the making of the rooster which still is on the weather vane of St. George's church. It is known that he was one of the church officers in 1764. George worked as a whitesmith [a worker in white metals, particularly a tinsmith, or a worker in iron who finishes, polishes and galvanizes.] Their family lived in Brunswick Street, nearly opposite the place in which the Brunswick Street Methodist Church now stands. * * * * * * * * * * * The following is a result of research I have been doing on George and Susanna: Georges full name was Johann Georg Jost. It was a practice in Germany, among both Lutherans and Catholics, that the first given name was a christening name, and the child would actually go by the middle name. So it was with George. If you notice, he and Susanna named three of their sons John [the English equivalent of Johann]! The Bettys passenger list states simply that he was from Strasbourg. The list gives his name as Jean Georges Jost, the French version of his name, but his own signature on the indebtedness list was Johann Georg Jost, showing that he was a German speaker, and thought of himself as being ethnically German rather than French. He was born May 30, 1727, according to the birth records of St. Aurelians Lutheran church in Strasbourg. This tallies with his age (25) when he boarded the Betty in May 1752. But it means he was actually 48 years old when he died in 1775, rather than 49, as was recorded on his gravestone. According to the World Book Encyclopedia: Alsace-Lorraine became part of Charlemagnes empire in the 700s. But it fell to Germany when his grandsons divided his empire. Alsace-Lorraine remained under German rule until the 1500s, when France gained control of them by slow stages. The people fought all efforts to turn them into Frenchmen. But the French Revolution of 1789 brought a change of heart. The Alsatian people became so French in spirit that more than 50,000 moved to France when Germany got their territory in 1871. However, in searching Strasbourgs Lutheran church records from the early 1700s, I found that the records were in German (and bits of Latin), meaning that George was definitely a German speaker! In 1749, Halifax was founded. The British wanted to outweigh the French Catholic influence in Nova Scotia, and so recruited Foreign Protestants from Europe (Germany, Switzerland, France) to help settle the city of Halifax. [Later, the British government banished French Catholics from Nova Scotia. The Acadians moved to Louisiana, and there became known as the Cajuns.] Meanwhile, in Alsace-Lorraine the pressures to become French and Catholic were increasing. George, probably wanting to remain faithful to the teachings of Luther, and attracted by the promise of free land in Nova Scotia, left his home at that time, and joined the Foreign Protestants who were settling in Halifax. So he escaped the French Revolution in his homeland. The settlement of Foreign Protestants in Nova Scotia began in 1750, and the last of them arrived in 1752, totalling about 2500 people. In May 1752, in Rotterdam, Holland, George embarked on a ship, the Betty, giving his home as Strasbourg, and his occupation as locksmith, and his age as 25. He was unmarried at the time. He landed at Halifax, where he remained until May 1753, when the British government resettled the Foreign Protestants in a distant wilderness surrounded by hostile Indians--the farming settlement came to be known as Lunenburg. There, the next year, George married Susanna Catherine Morash, who with her family, had left Kleinheubach (just southeast of Frankfurt, on the Main River) in 1751. During George and Susannas time in Lunenburg, the settlers were ravaged by Indian attacks--several were carried off, and an entire family was scalped. George and Susannas first son, John Michael Jost, was baptized in Lunenburg on Sept. 18, 1757 [their daughter was born the previous year, but escaped being recorded, as happened often in the early days of record-keeping]. They returned to Halifax ca. 1759-1760, where the rest of their children were born. Whether they returned to Halifax out of fear of the Indians, or because the employment opportunities were better for non-farmers, we dont know (his will states that he had worked as a blacksmith in Halifax). But in his will he included 150 acres in the Range of the Five Houses, a peninsula of Lunenburg. In 1765, he was granted a 150 acre parcel in Halifax, and on Dec. 5, 1771, George bought a house and lot in Halifax [probably the house on Brunswick St]. He died only four years later, at 49 years of age. Susannah remarried, to a Mr. Drillis, and had another daughter, Catherine. George and Susanna were buried together in the cemetery of the Little Dutch Church in Halifax, where they worshipped with their family. Their grave can still be seen there. According to the plaque on the wall, The Little Dutch Church in Halifax was built in 1755 by the earliest German Lutherans in Halifax, and was the first Lutheran church in Canada. It is only about 12 by 6 yards in size! Actually, the settlers found a small unfinished house, and drug it to its present location, then finished it there. The spire was built later, with Georges help, according to family tradition--being a blacksmith he may have actually made the rooster weather vane. The schoolmaster who led the services was a Johann Jorpel [or T"rpel]. The church was taken over by the Anglican church years ago, and is now a historical landmark. In 1752, a Rev. Bernard Michael Houseal, a Lutheran pastor, arrived at Rotterdam, having been called to be Minister to a Colony of Germans to be settled in Nova Scotia and he to reside in Halifax. But the British government had already discontinued sending settlers to Nova Scotia by the time he arrived, and so he was sent instead on a ship to Maryland. In Jan. 1784, he arrived in Halifax along with Loyalist refugees from New York, and then began ministering to the German Lutherans there. He received his training in Strasbourg [I wonder if he knew George there?], but was later ordained as an Anglican minister, in order to receive financial support from their missionary society. The church gradually became Anglican, the settlers simply being content to have someone who could minister to them in the German language. Only one week before his death George made out his will--he must have been ill, and suspected that he had not much time left. I have a photocopy of the will, as it was copied by hand into Halifaxs book of wills, probably by Charly Morris, the official who signed at the bottom. I added only what punctuation was needed to clarify the meaning. In the name of God Amen, I George Jost, Blacksmith in Halifax Nova Scotia, being of sound mind & memory do make this my last will & testament in manner following that is to say, first I recommend my Soul to almighty God that gave it, & my Body to be decently Buried. Secondly, I give to Susannah Catharine Jost my lawfull wife my House & Lott in the Town of Halifax letter H & No. 6 in Colliers division, & also one half Lott in the northern side 50 feet front, 250 feet deep letter B No. 9. Likewise 150 acres of land lying & situate in the Range of the Five Houses [in Lunenburg]. All the above houses, lotts & premises Susannah Catherine Jost is to keep Possession of so long her God pleases to take her from this world she Susannah Catharine Jost shall sell no part or anything hereinbefore mentioned, but after her Death the Houses Lotts & Lands shall be equally divided amongst her Children then living. May the thirtieth in the year 1775, Signed Sealed and delivered in presence of whose names are hereunto published. Anthony Henry George Jost Jn. Carl Gruss Philip Foss Halifax Jan. 27th 1780, the written will presented for Proof by Susannah Catharine Jost (now Drillis) & was proved by the oath of Anthony Henry before me. Charly Morris SECOND GENERATION-- Memoirs of John Casper Jost [This was found in an old copy book, apparently written by Rev. Cranswick Jost in about 1880. We have two versions of this. One version contains some of the previous history about George and Susanna Jost, as well as scriptures and admonitions to the reader. Otherwise they differ only in wording in a few places. I have used the shorter version, as copied by Clara Jost Marr.] During their stay upon earth they are respected by such as love God and when they cease to live here while their spirits are associated with the blest in glory, their memory shall be perpetuated on earth with everlasting profit to the living. John Casper Jost's father [George Jost] died when he was ten years old. But what he had seen and heard of that which was good deeply impressed him and profitably so. He frequently referred to those days and believed that his mind was powerfully moved by the Spirit of God leading him to fearlessly reprove popular customs of the day which tended to evil. But notwithstanding the gracious impressions made upon his youthful mind, it was not until the Rev. Wm. Black visited Halifax as a messenger of grace that he became fully convinced of the necessity of personal salvation. Mr. Black in those bygone days frequently preached in the open market place and often amid showers of stones, but the words spoken were to John Casper Jost "quick and powerful". He felt, he fled, he prayed to God, who, in Christ, soon manifested Himself as his reconciled Father. He now attended the ministry of the Word, regardless of all persecution, for frequently, while going to the place of worship, he was molested by several young men, some of whom, he has been heard to say, met a sudden and untimely death. Mr. Jost attended and eventually united with the "Methodist Society", in which important step his wife joined him, for she, too, had become a partner in the pardoning mercy of God. After many years of uninterrupted union with the church, Mrs. Jost was called to her eternal reward followed three years after by her partner. Mr. Jost sustained the office of class-leader and chapel-steward for many years and indeed continued in these posts of duty until he exchanged life here for immortality. His faith was made manifest by his works. If Christian sobriety, if a meek and quiet spirit demonstrated by real piety, then we may favorably judge of Mr. Jost's religious character, for these gracious truths were made manifest in him. From conscientious convictions he was a Wesleyan Methodist [though his parents were Lutherans] but at the same time he ever cherished the most kindly feelings towards any who loved the Lord Jesus Christ. On the means of Grace he set the highest value, regarding them as being divinely appointed to promote Christian character and a personal experience of God in the soul. Consequently for many years his presence in Argyle St. Church in Halifax was as regular as the services observed in that edifice, hallowed by a thousand association. He departed this life as he had lived and died. As usual he conducted family prayers in the evening and although he had been previously indisposed he appeared quite comfortable and he conversed freely and cheerfully on retiring to rest. Early the following morning his daughter, Mary, on approaching his bedside thought that he slept--not a feature was distorted. His position and his countenance all indicated that he slept soundly. But it was the sleep of death. Most truly without a parting groan "he had the welcome word received". Thus in the eighty-sixth year and after more than fifty years connection with the church this man of God finished his course. * * * * * * * * * * * The following is an obituary notice of John Casper Jost which appeared in the "Nova Scotian", a Halifax paper, June 13, 1850. "Died on Thursday morning, June 12, at an advanced age of 86 years, John Casper Jost, a native of this city and one of its oldest inhabitants. His death was as his life, calm, quiet and unobtrusive, claiming no attention except that which he had sought and no doubt obtained--that when the energy of tired nature failed and 'the weary wheels of life stood still at last' his freed spirit should be received in the bosom of his Father and his God. He retired at the usual hour and was found dead in his bed in the morning. Happy were it for the world if all passed through life as harmlessly and blamelessly as he." THIRD GENERATION-- Reminiscences of Christopher Jost, 1805-1884 Clara Jost Marr wrote: It is a mystery to the descendants of our grandfather what happened to this, and we don't know the year in which he wrote it. This much of it was found on Little Island in Guysborough [Nova Scotia] Harbor many years after his death and that of his wife. The tattered manuscript was incomplete, found by someone strolling there and delivered to one of his descendants and I got a copy of it from Dr. Arthur Jost: This is a copy of Arthur's: [she copied it by hand, as follows:] My brother John and our cousin William Moir left Halifax for Guysborough by schooner in the spring of 1822 and remained there until fall and returned home. They both returned the spring of 1823 and I accompanied them. William Moir commenced shoe-making. John and William, however, set up a shop in Guysborough. We had arrived on a Sunday morning. The name of the captain was Bell. We went on shore and went to meeting. Rev. M. McNutt preached in the county court house. On Monday morning we rented part of a house from Joseph Cameron and landed our goods in our new home. How little we knew what was before us. Mr. Cutter's establishment was nearly closed and there were only two stores--Mr. Frank Cook's and Tyrus Hart's [Christophers future father-in-law]--that did any business, except a few grocery shops. Guysboro was noted for bankruptcy. Saturday afternoons were set aside for the rowdies to come to town, get drunk and quarrel and fight and return home to prepare for Sabbath morning. Nothing could be done without rum. The smith would not shoe your horse without half a pint. The town, what there was of it, looked like a dreary place. There was a church of England, a Catholic chapel and a court house. Our parents belonged to the Methodist Church in Halifax and we were brought up to fear God. I was young and had not much knowledge of the world. I was eighteen. John was 27. We little thought of the unknown Hand that was leading us. We spent rather a pleasant summer. I was John's and William's clerk. We sold our goods and collected all we could. At this time trade was very small. Butter was 9 pence a pound, and hard to sell at that. Best fall mackarel 12/6 per barrel. We shipped our produce in a shallop [a small boat] owned by Hartz and Hadley and arrived safe at "Home Sweet Home" for the winter. Without William but planned to go back in the spring. But before I go any further, I must write about a serious circumstance that befell us on our passage back to Halifax. John and I, to our dismay, found something caused a great itching about the legs and arms and we came to the conclusion it was "Scotch (or Irish) Fiddle". How we came by it we could not tell. The only consolation we had was that we were on our way home where a mother's kind heart would console us and some treatment cure us and all would be well in a few days. We arrived home safely and found all the family and friends well. After our fish and goods were sold and our accounts paid it was decided that another supply was to be purchased and that I was to go back to Guysborough for the winter and John was to remain in Halifax. We shipped the goods on the same vessel we had come up on about Nov. 1824. And I returned with them to Guysborough. I hired a house from John Foster, handed out the goods and commenced another company for the winter, all alone, without much experience and exposed to influences common to young men but I have no doubt the prayers of pious parents followed me. But alas, I found that horrid itching again overtake me and what to do I did not know. However, something had to be done. I got some sulphur and lard and made a mixture of it and borrowed a large tub and went through the process in a very awkward way you may be sure until I was tired and sick. I do not know what the young ladies thought of the way I smelled. It was difficult to destroy that perfume. However, I got rid of it at last and very willingly bid a long farewell to it. I spent a very pleasant winter there and made acquaintances and kind friends in some good old families and also at the "Cove" and in Manchester as well as in the town. particularly Hank Cooks and the Tyrus Harts. Mr Hart [Christophers future father-in-law-- see The Hart Family] seemed to take a great liking to me and wished me to stand godfather to his son Levi. Rev. Mr. Weeks performed the ceremony. There was no preacher in the town at that time except in the English church and I could discern a great difference between it and the preaching I had been accustomed to in the Methodist church in Halifax. But I soon got quite pleased with it. My brother and I were accounted good singers and the church people were quite proud of William and me. Baptist missionaries came quite often. Rev. Mr. Widden, Nutter and Demmock and preached more often on the "Cove". We frequently went down there to hear them. At last spring came and I begin to pack up again for Halifax and arrived home safely and settled up the brothers. My brother George in Halifax had been my silent partner. He sold out his share to me for $400 and that made a change in the business. Henceforth I was to be John and Christopher Jost [J&C Jost]. I did not own another cent at the time. John and I returned to Guysborough to spend the winter there. There were no temperance societies at that time but we determined to sell no liquor. That winter we occupied the same house belonging to John Foster. In the spring we opened a store in New Harbor and I remained in Guysborough to do business there while John went to New Harbor. That summer I got acquainted with Wentworth Taylor's family and when lonesome took a walk up and spent many a pleasant evenings there. They were very kind. Very often after church William Moir and I went Manchester side of the harbor to visit some of the folks--Mr and Mrs. Lawson and some of the McKeough families--I think something like a load stone drew William there very often to McKough's who lived on the point. Several young ladies belonged to it. In the fall my brother John shipped his fish from New Harbor to Halifax as I did mine. We both spent the winter in Guysborough. There came to Guysborough about that time a number of Irish families from Newfoundland and settlers around Salmon River Lakes and Roman Valley. A number of them hired out for work on farms. Some of these farms belonged to protestant families and after a time they married some of their daughters who became Catholics. The protestants became alarmed--however God intervened. Evangelical preaching was conducted more often and Methodist and Baptist preachers came on the ground. A Methodist meeting house was erected in the town and a Mr. Webb became the preacher. The Baptist Assn. sent Mr. Widdne who used to travel time after time over almost the whole country. There appeared to be a great searching for the "Water of Life." A number of persons who had come Sunday after Sunday to the established church to hear words whereby they might be saved went away dissatisfied and when they heard the joyful sound from dissenting ministries embraced the full gospel at once. The Lord blessed the labors of His servants and a number got converted round about. After this we had regular preaching at the Interval [?] and the "Cove" and in Manchester as well as the town. We had, however, got used to the established church and we found it difficult to leave it. But oh how thankful I ought to be that I found the strength to do so. But I had felt there was something wanting. In the spring we left the Foster house to go where Mr. Mahoney now lives and there we commenced business and during the summer we started to build a house on the land where we now reside. We purchased the land from Christian Muller Esq. an old German. In the spring of 1866 my brother John and I built a new store on the ground where it now stands. Again Clara comments: And that is all we have of it. Not a clue as to the date it was written except that it was after 1866. Were John and William and Christopher attracted by the beautiful scenery around Guysborough that they decided to settle there, or was it the young ladies? We do know that John and Christopher parted in the business. John built a store about a block away. Probably it was about this time that Christopher's son Burton was taken into the business. And a little later his son George. And it probably was about this time that Christopher retired. He died in 1884. John also had a son, [Henry] Marshall and he may have wanted to get him established, having seen that the business was growing sufficiently to warrant the opening of another store. The original business became B&G Jost [around 1880]. I have heard it remarked by Guysborough folk that the reason they, B&G Jost got so much of the business was because Uncle Burt was a liberal in politics and a Baptist and Father [George] a Tory and a Methodist. But their principles, like their father, Christopher, were the highest, and that can be said of the firm to this day under Gordon Drysdale, grandson-in-law of Burton, who married Burton's grand-daughter Dorothy Jost. Burt and George ran the store about 20 years in all, from Christophers death in 1884 to 1904. In 1900, Burts son, Christopher Arnaud Jost, began working in the store. He eventually took it over, and worked it faithfully to the end. Gordon Drysdale came in about 1948. One evening in 1952 Christopher had a store meeting for the purpose of giving his son-in-law Gordon signing power. Christopher died the next day. The original store was built in 1866. A later location was built in 1900--Jim Drysdale knows the son of the man who built it [hes 93 years old, as of 1990]--he showed Jim the bill his father made out for the job, $950! That building burned down in 1927. Until the present building could be erected, the store carried on business in a feed shed on the wharf. The B&G Jost store closed its doors for the last time at 12 noon on Sat. June 30, 1990, after 167 years of doing business. * * * * * * * * * * * Dr A. C. Jost was 10 years old when Christopher died. In his later years he wrote: My memory of Christopher Jost, my grandfather, is quite distinct in a number of particulars. He had retired from the business but used to spend a great deal of his time in the shop, which occupied the northern half of the building. . . . The shop was small, and the office was behind the counter and showcase of the right of the door as you entered the shop. The office was connected with the portion of the house used as a dwelling, by a door. Grandfather, I remember most distinctly as sitting on a stool or on a nailkeg, in the rear of the shop, about where there was an opening in the counter. He was clubfooted, both feet, badly deformed, and he had, as I remember a characteristic attitude of sitting, with his head thrown upward and his chin forward. He seems to have been occupied usually in chatting with those who might come in, while he whittled a match or sliver of wood. Concerning Grandmother, my recollections are much more vivid, though there are few which I can remember as characteristic. I remember her kindliness, though I can not conceive of her being a bright or joyous individual. During her latter years, when an invalid she always appeared the same, kind, with little self-assertiveness, most uncomplaining, giving me the general impression of being extremely even-tempered. Their granddaughter, Clara Jost Marr wrote: Our grandma, Harriet Hart Jost [Christophers wife] was a very fine woman--a lady. In the early days of her marriage a ship came in our harbor with escaped slaves. Among them was a young girl called Sarah Reed. Grandma took her and turned her into a good maid. Grandfather, after he retired from the business used to often amuse himself by sewing squares of patchwork for quilts for the colored people out in the colored settlement about two miles from town. Grandma would get some ladies together and they would quilt them and he would drive old Kate in the sleigh and take them out to deliver them. He often took me with him--I was not more than six or seven, but I remember it. He would have prayers with them in their little houses and we would drive back home over the snow. A few years after Grandpa died Grandma gave up house-keeping and went to live with her brother Joseph and his daughter Maria. When Joseph died and Maria went to Halifax, Grandma came to live with us. Sarah had gone to live among her friends in the colored settlement but she continued to come to Aunt Sarah Jost and mother for the weekly cleaning and the spring and fall house-cleaning. But they both kept regular maids. Mother had Mary McIsaac for six years. Grandma stayed with us until old Mrs. Franchiville died. She was Aunt Hattie [Christopher's sister] Franchiville's mother-in-law and had lived with Aunt Hattie for years in the lovely old Franchiville home overlooking the harbor of "Long Beach". Aunt Hattie was a widow then. Grandma died there in 1896, 81 years old. Grandma was a beautiful needle woman. She was clever, intellectual and refined, a great reader. Also an excellent house-keeper and cook. She was kindly and pretty and very religious, Methodist to the core. When she lived with us my bedroom was opposite hers, across the hall. One Sunday morning I was dressing for church and a button came off my kid glove. So I went across to Grandma's room and asked her to sew it on. Her reply was I couldn't sew a button on on Sunday, dear. I don't remember what I did about the glove, but I never forgot Grandma's reaction. Mother could no doubt have given me the same answer. Sunday in those days was just that sacred. I always sat next to Grandma in church. She had a very sweet voice and I loved to hear her sing. She didn't go to church in the evenings so I stayed with her and we sang hymns. I remember her beautiful black clothes. A long crepe veil as widows wore in those days over a bonnet. Her black silk dress had a very full skirt, and I remember her mink tiffet and muff. Never a color after Grandpa died. She was very near-sighted, held her book or her work very near her eyes but seldom wore glasses. I remember her as being about five foot two inches in height, slight and a little (a very little) stooped. And she did a lot of knitting for all of us children--perfect work. She loved to call Mother Maudie Dear. Her hair was white and very thin. She wore a dainty lace cap over it all the time--generally black, but white on special occasions--of very finely pleated organdy laid in folds, white. Sometimes she would ask my father to take her to Halifax to visit her other daughter, Sarah Teasdale, whose husband J.J. Teasdale was minister in Brunswick Street Church there and I would be taken along, too. I loved it. * * * * * * * * * * * The following is an excerpt taken from a history of Guysborough County written by Harriet Hart Jost--the book won a prize in the Akins Historical Prize Essay Competition. Christopher Josts name also appears in the obituary list. The firm of J&C Jost (now B&G Jost) was a prominent part of Guysboro business life. These brothers came from Halifax, and by diligence and perseverance established themselves in a flourishing trade. The elder brother John died some years previously. He was one of the principal supporters of the Methodist church and his daughter, Kate, spent the few years of her married life in mission work in Newfoundland as the wife of Rev. Thomas Gaetz. Rev. Cranswick Jost, DD, Methodist minister, is the eldest son of Christopher. Two other sons have remained in Guysboro so the name is still perpetuated in business circles. Mr. Christopher Jost was an active member of the Baptist Church. He was the donor of the site of the present County Academy in the town of Guysboro. * * * * * * * * * * * Arthur Cranswick Jost, son of Burton & Sarah-- Finished high school at the age of 15. Got his B.A. at the Baptist University in Wolfville. Went to McGill and graduated M.D. Married Victoria Martin (Tory). Practiced in Guysboro. Enlisted in WWI. After his wife died, sister Bessie came to keep house and help raise his two boys, Burton and Victor. After his return from the war he was health officer for Nova Scotia, living in Halifax, and later took the same position in Dover, Delaware. There he met and married Dell Buckner. Burton graduated as a mining engineer, and enlisted in WWII, in the Canadian forces. Victor also enlisted, but in the American forces. Burtons plane went down over Germany, and he was reported killed. At about the same time, Arthurs beloved Dell died suddenly. He was shattered. He had retired, and he returned to Guysboro and took up residence in the hotel, a highly respected and valuable citizen. He has written many books on Nova Scotia history, many of which he passed on to the Nova Scotia archives. The bulk of the above material was taken from work done by Clara Jost Marr, a daughter of George Edward Jost. She worked on the Jost family history for more than 20 years before her death. The material was sent to me by her son, Avard Marr, who lives in New Westminister, BC, Canada. In turn, Clara got some of her information and the manuscript by Christopher Jost, from Dr. Arthur Cranswick Jost, mentioned above. Information about the store came from Jim Drysdale, son of Gordon and Dorothy (Jost) Drysdale. FOURTH GENERATION-- The following section was taken (those portions in quotation marks) from the books, History of Banning and San Gorgonio Pass, written by Tom Hughes and published in 1939 by the Banning Record, and Centennial of the First Baptist Church of Banning California, written by our own Dorothy Jost. Christopher Francis Jost was born at Guysboro, Nova Scotia, June 12, 1846. His father was Christopher Jost, his mother's maiden name was Harriett Hart. He attended Acadia College at Wolfville two years, then went into a mercantile business with his father. At the age of 30 he left his native town, coming almost directly to Banning to open a store and act as paymaster for the Rev. Winfield Scott. Young Jost came over the Central Pacific to San Francisco, thence by boat to San Pedro. As he was shipping a $2600 stock of general merchandise, he rode a freight train from the port, reaching San Gorgonio on the sixth of March, 1877. There being neither station nor siding at the Banning site he hauled his merchandise by team from San Gorgonio up the Water canyon. Of the few store buildings of that time, none is standing today. He estimated the population of the entire Pass was less than 200. There were no commercial orchards, and the only ranches he recalled were the Gilman, the Edgar, the de Crevecoeur at Potrero, and the Rans Moore cattle ranch at the mouth of Water canyon. Jost went directly to the lumber mill at the head of the canyon, above the Camp Comfort site, where some 40 men were at work getting out sugar pine and building the mill and the 10-mile flume above the canyon. At the completion of the flume, in June, the store was moved to the railroad. Young Jost and Dr. Murray slept in the store. Mr. Jost related that some of the goods were shipped from such distant points as Chicago and Boston. When Scott sold the store to Worsham, Christopher left it, and on January 11, 1878, at San Bernardino, he was married to Mrs. Marguerite de Crevecoeur, who lived on her quarter section ranch in Potrero, above the present reservation settlement. Ben de Crevecoeur was a baby then, Jeff was three, and Wally five. The two older boys went to the first little school in Banning, but for a time a sister of Dr. King was employed as teacher at the ranch. Jost went into the bee business with Walter Hathaway, his neighbor in Hathaway canyon, buying Hathaway out after the first year. In the creation of the Morongo Reservation Mr. Jost, along with Hathaway, Barker, Sam Black, and others, was dispossessed in 1888. He was given a half section of dry land northwest of town. On account of the children's schooling he did not move to the new ranch, but bought the home at Murray and Hayes. The house was built by Joseph Fountain in 1887. Mr. Jost described his relations with the Indians during his ten years in the Potrero as having been entirely pleasant. He said the few arguments he did have were with the Indian department officials. He hired many an Indian to work on his ranch, paying them $1 a day and board. He spoke in high terms of Captain John Morongo as a most intelligent and capable leader. Mrs. Jost died in 1917, leaving eight sons: Waldemar and Ben de Crevecoeur, Chris Christensen, Henry Stubbe, and four sons of Mr. Jost--Francis [Frank] Christopher, Burton Cranswick, George Marshal, and John Jefferson. The Misses Laura and Clara Stewart, living on their ranch west of town, are granddaughters of Mrs. Jost. Mr. Jost had been deacon in the Banning Baptist church since its organization. He never sought or held public office other than to serve in 1890 as road overseer, and in 1900 as census taker in the Coachella desert. At the time of his death, October 31, 1936, he was Banning's second oldest arrival in point of residence. * * * * * * * * * * * Chris shared his parents' devotion to the Lord and commitment to the church: It must be recorded that one of these [earliest] saloons housed Banning's first indoor public religious ceremony. Mr. Jost recalled how storekeeper Worsham conducted Sunday services there on more than occasion. But it was certainly the Reverend Winfield Scott who preached the first Protestant sermon in the Pass. In the summer of flume building Scott delivered his sermon under a sycamore at Rans Moore's, and young Jost [31 years old at the time] conveyed those who wanted to hear the preaching. The Baptist church, the first American church in the Pass, was organized February 18, 1883. Christopher was the first to be admitted to membership, on August 19th. H. Kinney, in The Church That Never Gave Up, said Thus was recorded the entry into the church of a man who later was prosperous enough to pay the pastor in a lean year, yet was humble enough to volunteer as janitor, again in a lean year. At various times he served as deacon, trustee, moderator, and clerk, and was faithful until his death at the age of ninety years. Marguerite was baptized in Moore creek in the Water canyon on October 26, 1884, the first adult to be baptized into the church. The four Jost brothers--Burt, Marsh, Frank and John (only 9 years old)--were baptized together on February 6, 1895. Marguerite was a leading figure in the organization of the local Women's Christian Temperance Union. * * * * * * * * * * * A story of which I am particularly fond is that of the Indian maiden Ramona--it is a classic book written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Hemet has its annual Ramona Pageant, a play based on the book, done in an amphitheater. And in tourist places all over the southern half of California there are signs Ramona was married here etc. I am particularly fond of it because the real Indian Ramona was a wash-woman on Chris & Marguerites ranch in the Potrero. Helen Hunt Jackson was looking for an Indian to pattern her book after, and so lived a time on the Jost Ranch while she wrote her book. She romanticized Ramonas life greatly of course. Somewhere in the family there still is an autographed copy of the book the author sent to them. In later years, Mother [Dorothy Jost] was doing some reporting for the local paper, the Banning Record, and interviewed Ramonas son, to get the real picture of Ramonas life. * * * * * * * * * * * Christopher Jost related an incident of his storekeeping days at the lumber camp in the Water canyon, before there was a Banning. It seems that the Reverend Scott, the flume promoter, had bought a small stock of drug sundries at a closing-out sale in Los Angeles. Among the lot were a few bottles of Schiedam Schnapps, which young Jost put on the shelves. One day an Indian came up from the work camp with an order for provisions. Christopher sold him sugar and flour and such, then the Indian began doubling up, and by means of the universal sign language conveyed the message of intense pains in his stomach. Recalling the schnapps, Jost sold him one of the bottles for a dollar, and the Indian went his way down the canyon with his groceries swinging from his back. Next morning the irate foreman demanded to know what Jost had done to his Indian. The matter was explained, at which the foreman warned, Don't you sell my Indians any more of that stuff. The fellow had left a wavering trail of sugar and flour half way to camp, arriving empty handed; but Mr. Jost always believed his patient was cured of his cramps. * * * * * * * * * * * A caravan of camels was used to carry mail between the coast and Arizona for several years--Rans Moore found a mother and her new baby which had been left behind, and took them to his ranch where he kept them: Those camels in the Pass, concerning which more than a little has been said back and forth, were very real, said Mr. Christopher Jost. Especially real were they to one John horse that Jost owned in those days. Rans Moore had the camels hobbled near his place at the mouth of the Water canyon. Mr. Jost was driving a team to town when this John horse, catching sight, or perhaps smell, of the big dun beasts, forgot harness, teammate, duty, sank limply, and lying flat on his side began beating his head against the rocks. Fearing the animal would pound his brains out, Jost put the seat cushion under his head, and managed to chase the camels out of sight. * * * * * * * * * * * Elwood Jost (my father), remembers his grandfather fondly, and passed on to me the following stories: He was an upstanding man. At one time he was accused of selling liquor in the store. He was tried by the church, acquitted, and restored as a member in good standing. Later, a man offered to buy his property, but when Grandpa learned that the man wanted to build a liquor store there, he refused, though he was badly in need of money. He always told the grandkids to come to his house for lunch whenever the weather was bad, and hed have a pot of soup waiting for them. One day when Elwood and his brother Arthur did, Grandpa left them to eat their soup while he went on an errand. The young boys eyes were caught by two silver dollars on the dresser, and temptation overtook them. More painful than the whipping they received when they were discovered, Elwood remembers with tears in his eyes, was the apology they had to make to their sweet Grandpa, knowing how much they had hurt him. Ill never forget that as long as I live, said Elwood. The lesson he learned was to stay with him all his life. * * * * * * * * * * * Dr. Arthur Cranswick Jost jotted this note in his family listing under an entry about Chris Jost: Uncle Chris went to California in company with the Cunninghams. The family always looked a little askance at his choice of companions. Mother and Father visited him and spent a winter. It was in March of that year that I contracted scarlet fever while attending a son of Will Buckleys. I was still in quarantine when they returned from California. Victor was living, but Burt had not yet been born. Tory hid my rubbers so I could not go up to the house to see them. They got home sometime in April. * * * * * * * * * * * Marguerite Thompson was born in Sonderborg, on the island of Als, in Denmark. When she was very young, she was married to Chris Christensen, a ship's captain, in payment for her father's war debt [according to the story told by her son, Burt]. It has been said that she was so young, while the groom was inside receiving the guests congratulations, the bride was outside playing with the other children. The captain took his young wife first to Australia, where their son Chris was born, then on to San Francisco, where their daughter Mary was born. Shortly afterwards, Chris Sr. died--according to Burt, he was killed while serving in the U.S. army. The young widow then married Mr. Stubbe, another army man. He also was killed tragically while in the army--scalped by Indians while leading wagon train settlers over the pass into California [again, according to Burt]. Marguerite married a third time, this time to Hans de Crevecoeur. They moved to Banning in 1872, and, shortly after Ben was born, to their ranch in the Potrero. [It is of interest that the History of Banning mentions that, in 1885, there were not more than four or five white women in the region!] Early in 1876, Hans was murdered on the ranch by William Gates, a neighbor. Young Gates, venting a personal grudge, emptied the contents of a shotgun and pistol into his victim's body. He was convicted at San Bernardino of first degree murder, sentenced to San Quentin in July to serve a life term, was pardoned by the Governor in September 1880, and is said to have died of tuberculosis a few months later. Marguerite stayed on at the ranch. On Jan. 11, 1878, she married Chris, and they had four more boys. Altogether she had 11 children. They stayed on at the ranch until they were dispossessed in 1892 to make room for the Indian reservation. In exchange for their ranch, they were given a section of land in Banning--one square mile at the SW corner of San Gorgonio and Westward streets. * * * * * * * * * * * In the late 1870s, Helen Hunt Jackson (who also wrote the book Ramona) wrote a book to report on the Mission Indians in S. Calif. In her report she included an estimate made by Chris Jost on the value of his and Marguerites ranch in the Potrero, to show what the government would have to do to reimburse those who might be dispossessed to make place for the Indians. Here it is: Claim of C. F. Jost and his wife for improvements in San Gorgonio Reservation, Banning, San Bernardino County. Settled on section 25, township 2S, R1E, SBM, San Bernardino County, in May 1875. Bought out other white settlers. Hold railroad permission to settle on land; of date, Nov. 1875. IMPROVEMENTS House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300.00 Barn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150.00 Milk-house. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 Meat-house. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 Granary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 Potato-house and cellar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 Chicken-house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00 Two board flumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00 Two water dams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00 Honey house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00 Wire fencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300.00 Other fencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00 One hundred seventy fruit trees (mostly bearing this year). . 400.00 Breaking up sod and draining land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00 Amt. pd. to first white settler for claim (no improvements) . 250.00 $2100.00 On the first of June I will have $50 worth of seed-potatoes in the ground, and labor, $100. It is necessary to plough the ground three times to properly prepare it for potatoes. This crop in December of the same year is worth $500 to $600 in the markets. Have about seventy stands of bees, worth, say, $300, which if I am moved will be a dead loss. Though this report was made in the late 1870s (Chris and Marguerite did not marry until Jan. 1878) they were not dispossessed until 1892. In exchange for their land they were given a portion of land elsewhere in the Pass. However, so their children could attend school, Chris moved the family to the old house on the southwest corner of Murray and Hayes Streets, south of town. * * * * * * * * * * * From Wieffels & Son funeral home in Banning I learned that Marguerites parents names were Christopher Thompson and Marie Mentmeir , and both were born in Sonderburg. Janice found Marguerites obituary for me, which was printed in the Banning Record on Jan. 25, 1917. It goes as follows: Pioneer Enters on Last Journey Once again the Record is called upon to chronicle the close of the earthly career of an old pioneer. This time the death angel called at the C. F. Jost home and bade the spirit of the aged wife and mother take its long journey to the far country. Marguerite Marie Jost, wife of C. F. Jost of Banning died at 7:10 am Sunday, the 21st. The immediate cause of death was cold c---ing on the lungs. Mrs. Josts maiden name was Marguerite Marie Thompson, of Alsen, Sonderborg, Denmark. As a girl she saw the war between Denmark and Germany, being in her home when a cannonball went through the house, and lost its force in a feather bed. Mrs. Jost lived fifty-six years in California, forty-four years in Banning and vicinity. She was generally helpful to all around her. As a monument to motherhood, she left eight living sons. She was 73 years of age. A brother, Peter Thompson, of San Bernardino, is the only relative in the United States. Mrs. Jost came to Southern California when the locality was young where Banning is now situated. She lived at Warrens ranch in the Morongo Valley, before its purchase by Mr. Warren. Thus it will be seen that her history in this vicinity should be dated before the establishment of many old landmarks. The funeral services took place from the parlors of the Banning Undertaking Company on Tuesday at 5 oclock and the interment was in Sunnyslope cemetery, north of town. Rev. F. E. White spoke feelingly of the life of the good woman. She was a member of the local Baptist church and took interest in the work until illness prevented further activity. Sonderburg, the familys home, is on Als, an island, that now comprises the southern part of Denmark (the Danish spelling is Sonderborg). At the time Marguerite was born, however, Sonderburg was in Schleswig. Schleswig-Holstein was an area comprised of two German states, both of which at the time were under Danish rule, although not part of Denmark. In 1848, a revolt broke out, and a revolutionary government was set up which wanted to throw off Danish rule and join the German Confederation. But Danish troops defeated them in 1850, [probably the war mentioned in Marguerites obituary] and in 1863, Schleswig was made a part of Denmark. The next year, Prussia and Austria invaded Denmark, winning a quick victory, and taking over Schleswig-Holstein. After WWI, in 1920, a vote of the people was taken, and in accordance with the results, the Allies took North Schleswig away from the Germans and returned it to the Danes. Marguerite had a sister, Christiane (pronounced Christi-ana) Thompson Husman, or Tante Jane (Aunt Yanuh, being a German nickname for Christiane). The photo Tante Jane sent Marguerite shows her two children, Christian Husman (nicknamed Ridde), and Marie (Mariechen, or little Marie) Husman Eichel, with Maries son, Dieter. Marie and Dieter are said to live in Hameln on the Weser River. We also have a letter sent to Marguerite by another sister, Marie--but no date on the letter. She says that on the 22nd of Jan. she will be 79 years old. My guess is that it was written as a Christmas greeting, and received just before or after Marguerites death, Jan. 21, 1917. It was written from Sonderburg (using the German spelling, Sonderborg is the Danish spelling). The grammar and spelling are very bad, so very little of the letter is translatable. About the only thing I can put together is that she fell and was hurt so badly that she couldnt wear her false leg for 14 days, and she is sorry that Marguerite is sick, and will pray that God will give her many more healthy years. She mentions sister Christiane and the heartache she has over her children (but I cant make out the reasons). But says, For myself, I can praise God, I have joy from my children. She mentions their brother Peter, I think saying to greet his daughter (also named Marie) for her. Peter Thompson came to the U.S. about 1860. He owned the Owens Mine in Julian, Calif. at one time [according to his daughters obituary]--his son Christian was born there in 1875. According to the History of Banning, Marguerites brother Pete later lived in the Pass, and had a ranch half way up the canyon in the late 1870s. It also mentions Pete Thompson being the constable in Banning in 1878-- [according to the San Bernardino Co. Board of Sup. Minutes, pp. 373-74, Peter Thompson was appointed constable of San Gorgonio township in 1877--Banning was part of San Bernardino County until Riverside County was formed in 1893.] His family moved to San Bernardino about 1883. Peter died there, and was buried in Mt. View Cemetery there. FIFTH GENERATION-- I will include what information I can find about the children of Marguerite Jost. Seven of them are not Josts, but, after all, they are family. And several of them had quite a part in the history of the Banning area, and colorful and interesting lives. Again, most of this is directly quoted from The History of Banning. Mary Christensen, Marguerites second child, married R. P. Stewart in 1880: Banning was little more than a name when on Sept. 18, 1878, Reznor Perry Stewart, with Ben Smith, W. K. Dunlap, Dan Scott, and Arthur Scott, drove in from Yolo County. Mr. Stewart brought in two carloads of horses, built a large barn just south of the Penney store site, and at once set his hand to the plow. The next year he and Smith bought acreage on the bench from Winfield Scott and began growing grain and hogs. In August of 1883 he took up a homestead 4 miles southwest of Banning. Patents to this land were issued by Presidents Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. Buying some 1800 acres more from the railroad, Stewart began dry-farm grain and hay growing on a scale greater than had ever been attempted in the Pass. With two neighbors he bought the first threshing outfit. He built large barns and sheds for livestock, grain storage, and machinery. Dad Stewart was born in Illinois in 1845. When he was five years old he and his mother crossed the plains, stopping at Hangtown, now Placerville. Here his mother ran a boarding house. Later Reznor became a foreman of the vast George Scott ranches, remaining 21 years. It was here that he met Kit Carson and Buffalo Bill. George Donner, survivor of the ill-starred Donner Party, once worked for him on the Scott ranch. The daughters Laura and Clara for years worked alongside their father in running the big farm, and since his death they have managed it with continued success. Among the 57 consecutive crops that have been harvested on it there has not been a failure. Miss Laura does the necessary riding, and keeps her rifle and shotgun standing in the corner of her room. This, the same room she was born in, was the old Stewart home in Water canyon, and was moved away from its rock chimney to the valley ranch to make the nucleus of the present 11-room home. * * * * * * * * * * * We know very little about the Stubbes--Henry moved to Los Angeles, no one knows anything about Lula. But the de Crevecoeurs are another matter, or at least Ben. According to the History of Banning: No man has had a wider experience of the dramatic events in Banning and its territory than Ben B. de Crevecoeur. As rancher, storekeeper, contractor, constable, U. S. Special Officer, and deputy sheriff, he has been to many places and seen many things. * * * * * * * * * * * A famous incident in which the Josts took part was the Willie Boy manhunt in 1906. Uncle Ben de Crevecoeur was U.S. Special Officer at that time, and led the hunt. His brother Wal was deputy. Willie Boy was an Indian living on the reservation in those days. He had taken a liking to a young girl named Lolita--but she was a cousin, and wasnt interested in him. They were at the Gilman Ranch one day, harvesting. Willie Boy had too much to drink, approached Lolitas father, Old Mike, spoke to him about his daughter, and then shot him. He grabbed Lolita then and headed east into the desert. Uncle Ben got up a posse, which included his brother Wal and some of the Jost boys. They chased Willie Boy for a couple of weeks in the desert. Willie Boy and Lolita were on foot, with no provisions. Before long, she tired out and lagged behind. One day the posse found her body where he had shot her. They later found where, in desperation, he had eaten a half-cooked lizard. They finally cornered him in a canyon. He shot at them a few times, then they heard a last shot. They waited to see what would happen--after a time they went up into the hills and found that he had been so sick that he finally took off one shoe, and used his toe to pull the trigger on his gun to kill himself. To him, the ultimate shame was to be hanged by a white man, so he committed suicide. The Indians real name was Billy Boy. But about the time of the manhunt, President William Taft was travelling through Southern California--his nickname was Billy Boy! The newspapers, not wanting to offend the President, changed the Indians name in their reports to Willie Boy. In the 1960s a movie was made about the manhunt, Tell them Willie Boy is Here. Of course, they embellished and changed the story to make it more sellable. Robert Redford played the part of Ben de Crevecoeur, the sheriff who led the posse! I must say, there was no resemblance! Grandpa Burt Jost found what he believed were Lolitas moccasins where she left them in the desert, because the soles were worn through. They had an American flag beaded on each toe. * * * * * * * * * * * And of course, there were the Jost boys: In 1909, Marsh and John Jost became proprietors of the Blue Front Livery, on the corner of Ramsey and San Gorgonio. In May 1920, Frank bought the livery and its ground, planning to build a hotel in its place. The hotel was finished in Dec. 1924, and it housed Banning's first chain store, Daley's. In March 1925, the Banning Drug Co. opened &in the new Jost building. The drug store, in later years was owned by Hal Devoist, and called Hal's Drug. Although no longer carrying the Jost name, the building remained a hotel until it burned in 196?, after which the site was turned into a parking lot.