BORN: 23 March 1842 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
DIED: 3 May 1916 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
MARRIED: 27 April 1869 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
SPOUSE: Sarah Ann Mercy Norris born 26 August 1844 in Cape Canso, Nova Scotia, died 30 September 1916 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
CHILDREN:
Hubert Norris born 14 May 1870 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 6 July 1870 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
Sarah born February 1871 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died before 1881
Alfred Burton born 29 September 1871 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 21 January 1892 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
Estella Maria Georgina “Stella” born 29 April 1873 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 29 May 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA
Arthur Cranswick (Dr.) born 17 October 1874 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 24 March 1958 in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Bessie Norris born 24 December 1876 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 22 March 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA
Charles Edward born 11 August 1878 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 2 February 1916 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
George Norris born 14 July 1881 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 6 November 1910 in Dauphin, Manitoba
Harold Stanley born 27 May 1883 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 1 October 1883 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
Leslie Gordon born 9 March 1887 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 24 September 1957 in Los Angeles, California, USA
Mildred born 2 February 1888 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 29 July 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA
NOTES:
As their father Christopher aged, Burton and his brother George gradually took over the family business through the 1860s and 1870s. They purchased it from him and around 1880 renamed it B & G Jost Ltd. In 1890 they contracted to replace the store their father built in 1860s with a magnificent, three storey building in the Second Empire architectural style. There were out-buildings below the store near the wharf for flour and feed storage.
Burton carried on the Baptist traditions of his father and was a Liberal, while George was a great Methodist and a Conservative, so their partnership satisfied most of Guysborough’s social mores. The store’s carried all manner of merchandise needed in Guysborough, and many of its customers were carried on credit for up to a year. Jost’s purchased or traded for fish that was then resold into the Halifax market, and beef and pork that was often cut up and salted for the Newfoundland trade. Their refusal to sell tobacco or liquor added a special respectability to the business.
By 1900 Burton’s son Christopher Arnaud was working in store and by 1904 it was effectively his business.