BORN: 22 July 1805 in Halifax, Nova Scotia
DIED: 28 March 1884 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
MARRIED: 4 September 1837 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
SPOUSE: Harriet Hart, born 10 October 1815 in Manchester, Nova Scotia, died 9 February 1896 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
CHILDREN:
Cranswick (Rev.) born 25 August 1838 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 19 April 1927 in in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia
Sarah Eleanor born 18 April 1840 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 7 April 1935 in Middlesex, Ontario
Burton A born 23 March 1842 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 3 May 1916 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
Harriet Amelia born 22 April 1844 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 29 July 1918 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
Christopher Francis born 12 June 1846 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 31 October 1936 in Banning, California, USA
Jeremiah Vickers born 23 April 1851 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 17 October 1859 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia
George Edward born 16 December 1852 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, died 20 June 1920 in Ottawa, Ontario
NOTES:
Christopher and his brother John moved from Halifax to the growing community of Guysborough. They came initially in the summers of 1822 and 1823, with John and their cousin William Moir working as shoemakers and Christopher serving as their clerk. This soon transitioned into a mercantile business buying fish and selling goods that they brought from Halifax, and through the winter of 1824, Christopher came out and operated the Guysborough business by himself. In the spring of 1825 both brothers settled permanently in Guysborough and established their business as J & C Jost. By 1827 they had purchased the four water lots in the centre of Guysborough that became the base of a family business that lasted for 175 years. Christopher was an active member of the Baptist Church, and his wife, Guysborough-born Harriet Hart, was a strong Methodist. He had two club feet, and prayed that this malady would not pass along to his successors. It did not.
In 1838 Christopher bought John’s share and John built his own store a block away. In the mid-1860s the brothers co-operated in building a new store for Christopher and through the 1860s and 1870s two of Christopher’s sons, Burton and George, gradually grew into the business. The sons eventually purchased it from their father, renaming it B & G Jost around 1880, and expanding it to sell every type of merchandise in demand except tobacco and liquor. Until his death in 1884 Christopher continued to frequent the store, occupying a position at the rear of the shop and chatting with everyone. There is a story that he used to sew patchwork quilts and give them to less-fortunate people.