Kost, John bio

History of Fulton County, Illinois; together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens. Chas. C. Chapman & Co., Peoria, Illinois, 1879, page 442, Astoria Township
John Kost, farmer and stock-raiser, sec. 7; P. O., Vermont. The ancestry of this family are traced back to Pennsylvania. The father of John was a farmer by occupation, and for a number of years transacted a successful business as a tanner. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Snyder first, and his second wife was Miss Mary Tuckey. John Kost was the second child born of the first marriage. He learned the carpenter s trade in Penn., and was married there in 1843 to Miss Barbara Hersey. In 1851 he located in Astoria township, where he purchased a quarter-section of land, which he set about improving. Year by year he has added to his possessions and now owns large tracts of land in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. It is generally supposed that Mr. Kost is the wealthiest agriculturist in the township; but his possessions have by no means dwarfed a naturally generous disposition. Mrs. Kost died in 1858 and was laid at rest in the Vemont cemetery. In 1859 he was married to Catharine Lark, who bore him 4 children. But few men have begun life under more discouraging circumstances and few have succeeded better.
submitted by Carla Finley