Bio of Charles W. ROST (b 1844), Jackson Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. 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 non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Kathryn Kelly ========================================================================= The following excerpt comes from An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota by Arthur P. Rose Northern History Publishing Company, Jackson, Minnesota, 1910 p. 495 CHARLES W. ROST (1870), of Petersburg township, is one of the early settlers of Jackson county and one of the very first in Rost township, which was named after the family. He is of German birth and first saw the light of day October 18, 1844. His parents, Frederick and Rika (Reitz) Rost, both deceased. Charles Rost came to America with his parents when a child, and until the year 1860 lived with them in Dodge county, Wisconsin, forty miles west of Milwaukee. From the age of sixteen years until he was twenty-six he engaged in farming. In the early summer of 1870 Charles accompanied his parents on their overland trip to Minnesota and arrived in the county of Jackson in June. They passed through the county and camped one night on the banks of Okabena lake at a point which is now the center of the village of Worthington. There they decided to turn back and locate at a point on the Little Sioux river which they had passed on their way west, and this they did, taking a claim in what is now Rost township. The nearest neighbor the family had lived seven miles away. During these pioneer days Mr. Rost suffered all the trials of the pioneer settlers. During grasshoppers times he suffered severely. He would buy grain each year, plant it, and then would come the grasshoppers and take everything. On[e] season he had a fine ten acre field of barley which he inspected one Sunday. By Monday noon it had entirely disappeared, having been eaten by the ravenous pests. Many stories of the doings of these pests are told by Mr. Rost - how they would dull the edges of scythes and other sharp instruments left exposed, eat holes in the women's dresses while making a trip to the neighbors, and make the dogs and chickens seek shelter from their onslaughts. Mr. Rost made his home in Rost township until 1903. He then moved to Martin county, but after a residence there of three years returned and located in Petersburg township, where he has since lived. He now lives a retired life, leaving the working of the farm to his sons. During his residence in Rost he served on the township board twenty years. He is a member of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Rost was married March 29, 1869, to Miss Mina Wagnuf. Thirteen children have been born to these parents, as follows: Eva, born December 31, 1871; Lizzie, born May 27, 1873; Jeanette, born December 14, 1874; Mollie, born November 18, 1876; Henry, born April 30, 1878; Carl, born September 11, 1879; Alvina, born April 6, 1881; John, born November 7, 1882; Wiliam, born January 30, 1884; Etta, born December 24, 1885; Clara, born April 30, 1887; Stella, born May 14, 1889, died May 4, 1904; Eddy, born April 3, 1892.