Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Rost, Charles ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 7, 2007, 8:18 pm Author: Genealogical & Biographical Record CHARLES ROST, superintendent of the county poor farm in Troy Township, was born in the Kagenow, Pomerania, Prussia, December 11, 1841, a son of Carl and Mary (Rosz) Rost. His father, who was a forester in Germany, came to the United States in 1862, and settled upon a farm near Macomb, McDonough County, Ill., remaining there until his death in 1881. His wife survived him for years, dying in 1898. In religious belief both were Lutherans. They were the parents of seven sons, six of whom are living, three being in Macomb, one in Des Moines, Iowa, and another in Kokomo, Ind. Of these sons our subject was the eldest. When the family decided to come to America it was deemed best to have him come first, alone, in order that he might acquire a knowledge of the language and customs of the people before the others joined him. In 1859 he crossed the ocean in an old sailing vessel, "Columbia," starting from Hamburg and arriving in the new world after a voyage of sixty-two days. He secured employment in a wire factory at Worcester, Mass. During the Civil war, when the first call was made for three-year men, he at once responded to the call, and enlisted at Boston in Company B, Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry. While in the army he took part in thirty-one battles, embracing all of the principal engagements. Twice he was wounded in the battle of Gettysburg, after which he spent some time in the hospital at Portsmouth Grove, R. I. He was taken prisoner at Antietam, also in front of Petersburg in 1864, and was held in Libby and Belle Isle prisons, and at Salisbury, N. C. From the ranks he rose to be sergeant, and after the battle of the wilderness was commissioned lieutenant. He was honorably discharged in Boston, July 14, 1865. The war ended, Mr. Rost went to Leavenworth, Kans., and was appointed in the quartermaster's department, to take twenty-four six-mule teams across the plains, via the Arkansas River and Smoky Hill route, conveying supplies to forts. He continued in the government employ until 1867, when he joined a battalion raised to suppress the Indians. He raised a company in Leavenworth, of which he was first lieutenant, under Oklahoma Payne as captain. The company took part in a number of hard fights along the Arkansas and Smoky Hill rivers. In the fall of 1867 he was mustered out at Fort Ellsworth. Going south, he engaged in the construction of bridges and trestles on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad for six years. When work was begun upon the extension from Cairo to Jackson, Tenn., connecting with the Mississippi Central, he took a contract for constructing a portion of the line. While working in the swamps below Cairo he was taken ill with malarial fever and, acting upon the advice of his physician, returned north to Macomb. When Major McClaughrey was appointed warden of the state penitentiary, Mr. Rost accompanied him to Joliet as steward, which position he filled for fifteen years, until the election of John P. Altgeld as governor. He was then chosen superintendent of the county poor farm, to which position he has been re- elected for seven consecutive terms. The county buildings as they now stand were erected by him in 1892, the main building being a three-story stone structure with a capacity for two hundred inmates. There are now one hundred and thirteen inmates, fifty-two of whom are incurably insane. The farm is situated four miles west of Joliet and comprises one hundred and sixty acres, which are cultivated with so much judgment and energy that each year, over and above all that is raised for use by the patients, there is a profit of between $1,000 and $1,500. Fraternally Mr. Rost is connected with the Knights of Pythias, Burlington Post No. 6, G. A. R., the Military Order of Loyal Legion, and Matteson Lodge No. 175, A. F. & A. M. He is a Presbyterian in religion and a Republican in politics. In Clarksville, Tenn., November 13, 1871, he married Margaret O'Connor. Four children were born of their union, three of whom are living, namely: Alpha, wife of Carl E. Haffner, of New York City; Lulu, wife of J. F. Frederick, M. D., of Joliet; and Carl, book-keeper for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad Company. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/rost919gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb