Back
in 1994, I wrote a request to Country
Magazine's "Can You Help Me?" column:
"My
maiden name is Jost, which is an unusual name. My great-grandfather
was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, and his great-grandfather was
born in Strasbourg. I'd like to hear from any other Josts out
there!"
The
response was overwhelming! Over the next five years I received
close to 400 responses. Most told me of Josts they knew,
or had gone to school with. Others sent Josts they found
in their local phonebooks. Some used their computer cds and
printed out all the Josts in the US for me!
But
I heard from a number of Josts, as well. Jeff
Jost was one of Josts I met. He eventually took the information
I collected on all those Josts and created this webpage for
me.
If
you would like your name and info added to this page, please
contact me here!
Jeff
and I hope you will enjoy this information, and perhaps find
some long lost cousins or friends here!
To
Subscribe: Send a message to JOST-L-request@rootsweb.com
that contains the command "subscribe"
(in the body of the message, without the quotes)
and no additional text.
To
Subscribe: Send a message to YOST-L-request@rootsweb.com
that contains the command "subscribe"
(in the body of the message, without the quotes)
and no additional text.
Index
of various Josts searching for their heritage. Feel
free to contact any of them (Sorted in Alphabetical Order by First Name)
Ada
(Yost) Weber
Milverton,
Ontario
Her
paternal grandfather was a Jost from Germany, but changed
his name to Yost when he settled in Canada. Interesting
to note, her maternal grandmother's maiden name was also
Jost. She and her husband were from Darmstadt-Baden,
and arrived on the same boat as her Jost grandfather!
My family originated in Switzerland and in about 1300 migrated
to Schillingen, Germany. The family prospered there and in the
early 1700's one of my ancestors left Schillingen and moved to
Trier (a distance of about 35 Km) and started the Jost Bakerei.
In 1846, my grandfather, Nicholas Jost, left there and migrated
to Michigan and eventually Wisconsin.
The bakery is still in Trier
and has grown to a large business and is run by Dieter Jost
who is the business manager and his sister Bridget
Berg who is the Master Baker and Cakemaker. Both
Bridget and Dieter speak English and are really great people. I
first met Bridget when she was about 13 years old when
I came to visit her Grandmother who knew my grandfather.
The
business is located at Gartenfeldstr. 9, 55 Trier.
Their website is http://moback.de
Andrew & Clarissa
Jost
Huntington,
NY
Andrew
was born in Paris, France, as was his father Jean-Emelie
Jost, and his father Jacques Jost. Clarissa says that
the family had ties to Alsace Lorraine.
Andy
Weir
Australia
Descendant of Reading, Pennsylvania Josts after GF Charles Jost
went to sea in 1878 and settled in Australia. Is the son of Prof.
J. William Jost and was born in New York where his father originally
settled before moving to PA. Ancestors are from Hessen, Germany,
Dietzenbach, Essenhiem, Strastbourg, & Pirmassens.
Brent
Rowell
browell@uky.edu
I
have an unusual request. I am researching the history
of a company in Bombay India which is now called "Jost's
Engineering". The company was started in the mid-late
1800s by a "Carl Jost" who referred to himself as
a "citizen of the Austro-Hungarian empire".
Unfortunately
no one in the present company today knows anything
about Carl Jost. He first started the company in
Bombay that was called "C. Jost & Co."
and dealt in telephones and other devices imported from
Germany.
I
would like to find out more about this "Carl Jost".
Do you or any of your readers have any
suggestions? I would be looking for an immigrant
from somewhere in Austria/Hungary around 1880 or
before. Although he may have lived the rest of his
life in India, it is also possible that he returned
to his homeland.
Carl & Blanche
Jost
Vineland,
NJ
Carl tells
me that his immigrant ancestors were John Jost and Mary
Dirks. John was born in Trier, Germany, in 1846. Of their
ten children, the first six were born in Scott County,
MN, and the rest in New Jersey.
Caroline
Stroschein
Sheboygan
Falls, WI
Her mother
was Caroline Jost, daughter of Oscar Jost (part of a
large family of Josts), who was killed in an industrial
accident when she was seven years old. She says that
they have not kept in touch with the rest of Oscar's
Jost relations, but she knows there are many still in
Cleveland, WI.
Cosette was
born in the Lorraine region of France, and came to the
US in 1951. She will check further, but remembers seeing
the Jost name in the line of her grandfather Francois
Tritz, who was born in 1847--one of his ancestors was
Jost Tritz! Her family was in the Alsace-Lorraine back
as far as the 1500's!
Dana
Jost
Medford,
MA
Dana's great-grandfather
was Robert Jost, who was born in Boston about 1833. Robert's
father was Joseph Jost, who may have been born in Germany.
There is a family tradition that their Josts arrived
in the US by way of Nova Scotia, but they have no information
yet to support that.
Dean & Margaret
Jost
Rock
Falls, IA
Dean's grandfather
was Leopold Anton Jost, of Polna, Czechoslavakia. He
brought his family to the US about 1890, where he settled
them on a farm in Plymouth, IA. Dean's father was August "Gus" Frank
Jost, who stayed in Iowa, but his uncle, Leopold Jr.,
moved to Salt Lake City, UT, and changed his name to
Yost. There is a family tradition that others of Leopold
Anton's brothers moved to different areas of the US,
but they lost contact.
Debra
(Jost) Detreville
Raleigh,
NC
Both descended
from Peter Jost, who emigrated from Switzerland in 1856,
settling in Buffalo Co., Wisconsin.
Desiree
Braithwaite (JOST)
Alberta,
Canada
I
am the great great grand-daughter of Jacob George JOST
who immigrated to South Africa after signing on in the
British Military as part of the British German Legion.
He arrived in South Africa in 1857 after signing on in
1855 in Britain. In films from his native town Betzingen
I have seen, it notes that he went to South Africa in
1858 with Katharina Gafelburger. He must have gone back
to fetch her. Perhaps they were betrothed to be married.
There is no marriage entered for them on this film. His
mother was Barbara SAUER and his father Johann George
JOST. Perhaps someone out there is related or can
help me “prove” my legal attachment to him.
Doris
Biels Kaase
Taylor,
TX
Her great-grandfather
was a Jost, born in Switzerland. She mentions that he
has other ancestors still living in Texas.
Dorothy
Hopkins
Francisco,
IN
About 1900,
Daniel Jost, her grandfather, stowed away on a cotton
ship to come from Germany to America. He was 16 or 17
years old at the time.
Doug
Jost
Lake
Oswego, OR
Doug says
many of the Josts in Oregon are descended from Carl Jost,
who immigrated from Austria or Germany about 1880. His
five sons were all born in Portland in the 1890's.
Doug
Jost
Halifax,
Nova Scotia
Douglas
Barnes
Chambersburg,
PA
His Jost ancestor
was his 4xgreat-grandmother, Elisabetta Katrina Jost.
She married about 1808, to Henrich Frühling, in
Ulrichstein, Oberhessen, Germany.
Elizabeth
McConochie
unknown
My grandmother Elizabeth Mebes (1880-1975) m. Michael Jost (ca
1880?-ca1923). His father was Franz Jost who married (Rose?)
Rincha(?). [You see how much I DON'T know.] I believe Franz'
father was named Peter. They were all Banat res, in Hungary
first and then Romania. I think they may have come from the
Alsace-Lorraine area in ca1794, as did the Mebes family. Elizabeth
and Michael were both born in Hungary, later emigrated to St.
Louis USA, where my uncle Nick and mother, Elizabeth were born.
All returned to Romania about 1910. Later Nick and then Elizabeth
returned to St. Louis. Nick had a plumbing business and was
manager of the Kutis,an amateur soccer team. Elizabeth married
and settled in WI. She died Oct. 8, 1996. She knew very little
about either side of her family, having come to the US when
whe was 18. Her mother [my grm] stayed in Romania, and with
difficulty was brought to the US in 1950, forced to leave behind
everything including photos, etc. I am interested in contacting
those who have info on the Josts of the Alsace-Lorraine region
of the 1700's and any descendants who might have migrated to
the Austro-Hungarian empire, especially to the Banats
Evelyn
Jost
Dunnellon,
FL
Evelyn relates
that her father lived in Weden, near Bremerhaven, Germany.
Her mother was born in Elmsborn, north of Hamburg.
Fay
(Yost) Osborne
Citrus
Heights, CA
Fay has done
a lot of research on the Jost/Yost families. Her first
ancestor was Jacob Joust, born in Germany before1634.
Some of his grandchildren moved to Switzerland to escape
religious persecution, where her ancestor Christian and
his wife were killed in a religious war. Their children
came to the US, among them was Hans Casper Jost, who
arrived in 1733 on the Samuel. He settled in Lancaster
Co., PA, where he began to use the name Yost. Later he
moved to Georgetown, MD. Two of his sons were gunsmiths,
who provided guns for George Washington's army during
the Revolution. They later moved to Virginia, where Fay
was born.
Frank
Grossman
Portageville,
NY
His paternal
great-grandmother was Rosa Jost, born in Tiefenbronn,
Germany in 1833. Her parents were Albert and Anna Marie.
She married Gottlieb Grossman, and died 1911 in Enzberg,
Germany. Frank's parents were born in Germany, he was
born in the US.
Frank
Jost
Bad
Vilbel, Germany
Gaila
(Jost) Loveless
Long
Beach, CA
Knows little
about her ancestry, but her father was born in New York,
married in Kansas, and later moved to Calif.
Gary
Jost
Bellevue,
WA
Gary writes
that his great-grandfather, Henry Jost, emigrated from
Germany between 1890 and 1900. He settled in Pekin, IL,
and started his own construction business there. Gary's
father was Harlan "Mike" Jost. He moved his
family to Arizona in 1947, and Gary has lost contact
with the cousins back in Illinois.
Geoffrey
Jost
Los
Angeles, CA
George & Betty
Jost
Hilbert,
WI
George's grandfather
was Math Jost, born 1858 in Cristrier, Rhine Province,
Germany. His parents Math & Anna Jost brought their
family to America when he was six years old. George and
Betty still live on the farm which his grandfather Math
farmed--it has been in the family 107 years!
Gillmer
J. Seegmiller
Decorah,
IA
Gillmer's
ancestors are from Alsace. He and his wife have met many
relatives there. One of his cousins is married to Bernard
Jost in Dorlisheim, which is near Molsheim, 10 to 15
miles southwest of Strasbourg. The family has a small
winery there.
Gladys
(Jost) Niewald
Bland,
MO
Gladys says
there are a lot of Josts in Gasconade, Franklin, Crawford,
and Osage Counties in MO. She tells that her ancestors
came from Salesta, Lorraine, which was German before
1800, and is now part of France.
Glen
Jost
Victorville,
CA
n/a
Helen
Jost Malin
Hillsboro,
KS
Peter
Jost emigrated in 1824 from Gross-Heubeuden, West Prussia
to the Molotschna Colony of South Russia. Peter Jr. was
born there in 1829. In 1874, he and his wife Aldelgunda,
made the decision to follow other Russian Mennonite families
in the move to Manitoba, Canada. After a winter there,
they moved south and resettled their family in the area
of Hillsboro, Kansas, where their descendants are still
living.
Irene
Jost Martin
Mount
Vernon, WA
Irene's
father was George Jost, born in Luxembourg, Germany (about
1900?), and came to Kansas at the age of six. He later
moved to Washington, where he farmed in the Skagit Valley,
where his family still resides.
Jackie
Strickland
Oakland,
NJ
Jackie's
first husband (who died in 1985) was Arnold Jost. His
parents were Herman and May Jost, of Franklin Lake, NJ.
Herman was born in 1897. Sounds like Arnold was a brother
of Willard!
Jennifer's
grandfather and great-grandfather were born in Yugoslavia.
Jerry
(Gerald) Jost
Las
Vegas, NV
Jerry's
great-grandfather was Joseph Jost, and he was born in
1835 in Vollinghausen on the Mohns River, in Prussia,
Germany. He emigrated to the US in 1853 through the port
of New Orleans, and settled in Iowa. In his later years
he moved to South Dakota, where he was buried.
Jim
Drysdale
Guysborough,
Nova Scotia
Our
line descends from Johann Georg Jost, born 1727 in Strasbourg,
in the Alsace, then a German city-state. He was one of
a group of German Protestants recruited by the British
to help settle Halifax, Nova Scotia, between 1751 and
1753. According to the Lutheran church records of Strasbourg,
there were Josts in the city at least as far back as
the 1500's.
Joanna
Jost
La
Mirada, CA
John & Dorothy
Jost
Regina,
Saskatchewan
John
was born in Poppendorf, Austria, and settled in Canada
in 1952.
John & Janet
Jost
Brooksville,
MS
John
was born in Gossel, KS. His grandfather was Peter L.
Jost.
I'm
specifically looking for information on Chicago area
Josts. My father's father, Joseph George Jost, divorced
his Mother (Alvina Stubenrauch) when my father was 6
years old. Some time after that he moved to Des Moines
Iowa where he died. The Josts I need to find information
on first are:
1. Joseph George Jost, b. 2 March 1893 (probably in Chicago), d.
13 January 1950 in Des Moines Iowa. Married Alvina Catherine Stubenrauch
28 July 1915 at a civil service in Waukegan Illinois, divorced
Alvina about September 1922. Had 2 sons with Alvina, John Joseph
Jost b. 3 December 1916 and James Herman b. 6 November 1918. John
Joseph Jost died 23 April 1993 in Mequon Wisconsin, James Herman
Jost, my father, currently lives in Menomonee Falls Wisconsin.
2. P.C. Jost, found this name on James Herman Jost's baptism
certificate from a Chicago Catholic church. May be a brother to
Joseph George Jost.
3. Esther Jost, found this name on James Herman Jost's baptism
certificate from a Chicago Catholic church. May be the wife of
P.C. Jost or a sister to Joseph George Jost
Jon & Eleanor
Jost
Hillsboro,
KS
Dan
S. Penner's late wife Marlyn Jost Penner who also happens
to be Roger Scott Jost's great aunt.
June
and Lois Jost
Marion,
KS
Neither
mentioned their ancestry, but June grew up on a farm
just south of Hillsboro, KS, which is just ten miles
from Marion. It may be that both are part of the clan
descended from Peter Jost of
Gross-Heubeuden, mentioned on this page.
Karen
Harrison
Newark,
CA
Her
mother was a Yost, and grew up in Melville, Montana,
where her father was a cattle rancher. She also says
that the name was originally Jost, but they changed the
spelling so the Americans would pronounce the name correctly!
Kathy
(Jost) Shouse
Inverness,
FL
Web Page:Kathy's
Web Site
The marriage license of my grandparents Wilhelm H. Jost and Bertha
Petry dated Nov. 28, 1900 from the State of New York. Wilhelm was
20 years old and lived at 1201 Gates Ave. He was born in Friedenau,
Berlin. His mother and father's name were August G. Jost and Wilhelmina
W. Müller. Wilhelm and his brother Timolian were sent over
to the US to live with a lady by the last name of Froehner after
his father drowned. Wilhelm and Bertha had two children Wesley
W. Jost Sr, my father, and Howard Timolian Jost. Kathy's oldest
brother is Wesley W. Jost
My gggrandfather was
Leopold Jost. In 1854, he and his wife Auguste Schroeder
baptized their son Johann Leopold August Jost in
the church in Templin, Germany. Templin is about
30 miles north of Berlin. Both August and his father
Leopold were artists. August married Caroline
Ottillie Hermine Moller and lived in Berlin with
their sons Hermann Alfred Willy and Gustav August
Timoleon Jost. In 1890, the boys immigrated to the
US after their father drowned in Wilmersdorfer See
in Berlin. They lived in Brooklyn with their Aunt
and Uncle, Robert and Bertha Moller.
Kathy's site gives her Jost/Yost line. She says they are Germans from Russia:
Kathy Brehm LaPella
Harold Brehm
Sam Brehm
Nicholas Brehm married Margaret Jost - both from Norka, Russia (changed to Yost in the US)
Peter Jost 05 Nov 1838
Heinrich Johannes Jost I b 22 May 1813
Conrad Jost I 26 Jan 1794
Johann Georg Jost I b 1748
Georg (Jost) Yost b 1719 in Isenburg, Hesse now Germany
Kevin
and Candy Jost
Syracuse,
NY
Kevin's
immigrant ancestor was Casper Jost, of Algesheim, Germany
(somewhere near Munich), but they don't know the year
he came. Kevin's grandparents were Chauncy and Emma Jost--both
of whom were somehow descended from Casper! The family
settled in New York.
Larry
T. Jost
St.
Louis, MO
Larry's
grandfather, Louis Joseph Jost, was born 1902 in Graz
(Budapest), Austria-Hungary. He came to the US, where
he married and had children in Milwaukee, WI.
Lawrence & Helen
Jost
Garden
City, TX
Lawrence
also descends from Matthew and Elizabeth Jost.
Leona
(Jost) Way
Marietta,
GA
Leona
shares with me that she has been in the US for the last
2½ years, since her marriage to her American husband,
Scott. She mentions that there are Josts now living in
Germany, between Frankfurt and Siegen. I assume that
is where she is from, also!
Leona
Balmer-Jost
Wilderswil,
Switzerland
Leona
writes that she heard of my query in Country magazine,
because she has Jost relatives in Wisconsin!
Ryan Jost
Albany,
MN
Leonard's
immigrant ancestors were Joseph Jost and Mary Dedricks,
born in Trier, Germany. Their son Nick was born in Tinta,
MN, in 1892. Nick and his wife had fourteen children,
of whom Leonard was the oldest boy.
Louise
(Jost) Yampolsky
San
Antonio, TX
Her
grandfather, August Jost, and his brother Henry Jost
came from Germany during the 1800's and settled near
Fredricksburg, TX. She mentions that Fredricksburg is
a German community, and has been restored and is now
a tourist attraction.
Mark
Jost
Ames,
IA
n/a
Marshall
T. White
Rialto,
CA
His
mother was a Yost. Marshall has traced the family
back 13 generations to Jacob & Rachael Jost,
who emigrated from Franconia, France in 1727,
settling in Philadelphia, PA. The British colonists
in Philadelphia spelled the name as it was pronounced,
thus resulting in the difference in spelling.
Mary
Alice Yost
unknown
I have my Jost ancestry back to 1600's in the Reichelsheim, Hessen
Darmstadt, Germany area. My immigrant ancestors were
Johann Georg Jost and his wife Anna Katharina Kempf
who came to the US (Tippecanoe County, Indiana) in 1853.
My grandfather was their son Andrew Yost who was born
in 1859. Last year I went to Reichelsheim to see the
area and met an 8th cousin and a few other distant cousins.
I am interested in talking to anyone who might be related
to my ancestors.
A
clan of Josts in Michigan are descended from
Peter Jost, born about 1794, in Alsace Lorraine.
(It is believed that their family can be traced
to Augustus St. Just, an officer in the French
Army during the French Revolution, which began
in 1789. He and his family fled for safety across
the border to the Alsace-Lorraine, and changed
their name to Jost.) Peter's son Jacob emigrated
to the United States in 1846 on the ship Garrone.
His family lived in Maryland for a time, before
they settled in Alpine Township, Michigan. Nellie's
husband Raymond (who died in 1958) descended
from Jacob Jost. Jacob's youngest son
was Frank Clemens Jost and Raymond was the only
son of four children.
Nina
Jost
Mauston,
WI
Her
husband Leonard died 10 years ago. His grandfather
was born in France or Switzerland, near the
German border.
Norm
Jost
Bellingham,
WA
His
great-grandfather migrated to Saskatchewan,
Canada, from the Ukraine region of Russia. His
grandfather moved on to Kansas, and later to
California. He didn't give names, I wonder if
he is related to the Hillsboro
clan above?
Polli
(Jost) Turner
Mount
Vernon, WA
Regine
Jost
Wiernsheim,
Germany
n/a
Paul & Jeannette
Jost
Morris,
MN
n/a
Robert
Jost
Satanta,
KS
n/a
Robert
Jost
Lake
Suzy, FL
Robert
was born in Staten Island, NY. He has been told
that his grandparents were from Germany, but
he doesn't know where.
Roger
Scott Jost
unknown
Son
of Eldon L. Jost; Grandson of Frank R. Jost
who farmed in Hillsboro, KS
Dan S. Penner,
a dentist from Hillsboro, Kansas,
married my aunt RENA MARLYS JOST some
52 years ago. He recently passed away.
He has children in McPherson, KS;
Grant, Nebraska; Missouri and California.
I could easily dig up more information
if needed. Please contact me at rjost@southwind.net
Roger
Yost
Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada
My
grandfather, Johann Jost (Yost) came to Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada (via Hamburg, Ellis Island
and Minneapolis) in 1898 from the village of
M|nchenthal in the Austro-Hungarian province
of Galicia. This village, now called Muzylowice,
Ukraine is near Lemberg (Lviv). His wife, Elizabeth
Petri (Petrie), came from a nearby village called
Weissenberg (also called Bialogora).
In
researching the family I have come
across other older descendants with
surnames of Aif (Eif), Boni (Poni),
M|ller, Sch|tz and Lang. I would appreciate
having this information posted on
the Jost website & if anyone is
interested they could email me at
yost_roger@yahoo.com
Ruth
(Jost) Odland
Detroit
Lakes, MI
n/a
Ryan
Jost
S.
Range, WI
His
ancestors are from southern Germany, near the
Trier area. They settled in central Minnesota.
Sarah
Jost
Cleveland,
WI
Sarah
tells me that her parents are Randy & Kathy Jost.
Shirley
Jost
Coeur
d'Alene, ID
Shirley's
husband (now deceased) was Richard Stanley Jost. He was
born in Mount Vernon, WA, in 1927, to George and Velma
Jost. Was he the brother of Irene,
above?
Stephanie
Jost
Boise,
ID
Stephanie
sent me a photocopy of a Jost family crest, and a description
of it and explanation of the origins of the name. The
information was from the Historical Biographical Lexicon
of Switzerland, and was printed by E. Thirstein & Son
in the town of Bowil (where is that???). I hope to hear
more of her family origins!
Steve
Jost
DePaul,
IL
Steve
Lowery
Somewhere
in VA?
The
Yost branch of my ancestry can be traced to a George
Benjamin Yost (no dates but born about 1800-10) who was
married to Martha Chaplin and they were living in Virginia
when their son John was born. Since Fay's
ancestors are also from Virginia, I wonder if we might
find a connection.
Thomas
Jost Mangos
Germany
Thomas
is very interestedhas done research on the Jost name
in Germany. He at one time had his own website for
his German research, but I have saved some of it and
included it here. Click here for more information
Steven
L. Jost
Marion,
KS
n/a
Susan
Jost
Annapolis
Royal, Nova Scotia
n/a
Thomas & Rita
Jost
Junction
City, OR
Tom's
GGGgrandfather was William J. Jost, born 1802 in Strasbourg.
Son William Justice Jost married Mary von Huentier in
Essenheim, Germany. About 1870, they settled in Reading,
Pennsylvania.
Walter & Edna
Jost
Denton,
TX
Edna
writes that Dale's parents were Christian and Mary Jost.
They came to the US from Zweibrücken, in East Germany.
Walter
Jost
Littleton,
CO
Martin
Jost was born in Stolp Münde, Pommern, Germany.
His son Martin Wilhelm Jost was born 1851 in Cross Garde
in Stobapas Districh, Germany. He married and raised
his family in Chicago, Illinois.
Wesley
W. Jost
Wall,
NJ
He
tells me that his grandfather Wilhelm Jost was born in
Germany, and will send more details. He has a daughter
named Polly! His younger sister is Kathy
Shouse.
Wilbert & June
Jost
San
Angelo, TX
Wilbert's
father was Peter William Jost, born 1881 in Werschetz,
Hungary, to Matthew and Elizabeth Jost.
Willard
Jost
Dublin,
NH
Willard's
grandparents were Sebastian Herman and Mary Louise Jost,
from somewhere in Germany. Sebastian was born there in
1850. His father was Herman Paul Jost, born Jersey City,
NJ, in 1897. He married May Vorhees.
The
Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His
deeds!
The Lord is near
to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth!
Psalm 145:17&18 (NASB)
