John S. Frost is too well known to need an introduction to the readers of this volume, and yet the work would be incomplete were his biography not contained in it. He traces his lineage to England, but was born in Decatur county, Indiana, November 26, 1839, the third in a family of four children born to Selah and Sarah (Drake) Frost.

        Selah Frost was born January 28, 1799, in Chemung county, New York, and was reared as a tiller of the soil. He was educated in the common schools and remained in his native state until he was about forty. In September, 1830, he was united in wedlock with Miss Sarah Drake, who was born in the same county in 1809, and died October 14, 1868. She was an estimable woman and a kind, indulgent mother.

        In 1839 the family started for the western wilds, coming down the Allegheny river to the Ohio, and from there on a raft to Cincinnati, taking a wagon at that point for Decatur county, this state. Mr. Frost entered eighty acres of land from the government at Jeffersonville, and in 1847 or 1848 traded this land for a farm in Jennings county, upon which he resided for nineteen years. The house here was of hewed logs, with shingle roof. The first house in Decatur county, Indiana, was of round logs and the roof held in place by weight poles. On April 1, 1865, he purchased eighty acres of land in Van Buren township, where he remained until his death, December 4, 1868, surviving his wife only about seven weeks. He was a man of unblemished character, firm in his convictions and of sound judgment, who enjoyed the respect of all who knew him, his opinions carrying great weight and being regarded as decisive. He acted as justice of the peace for a number of years in Jennings county, and was a most impartial official, while using great discrimination in his verdicts. A brother, John, was a solder (sic) of the war of 1812, and fought in the battle which took place at Buffalo, New York. In politics he was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and intelligently alive to all the issues of the day. Both he and his wife were members of the Hard-shell Baptist church, and in their death the county lost two of its best and most honorable citizens. Their death coming so close together was a great shock to those who knew them and was the cause of much sorrow. Father Frost was a good marksman and killed many deer around their home in southern Indiana. One time he aimed at one deer and shot two. At another time as he was driving his cows and oxen home through the woods in the evening, he saw a large flock of wild turkeys just off the roadside, but as it was almost dark it was too late to get any that night, so he placed a brush across the road to mark the spot and went home. He cleaned up his patch rifle, got plenty of ammunition ready and at early dawn returned to the point where he had left the turkeys, killing as many as he could carry without moving out of his tracks.

        John S. Frost received his earlier schooling in Decatur county, his father being his first teacher and he was carried to school on his father's back. The school-house is indelibly engraved on his memory, and was made of round logs about eighteen by twenty feet in dimensions, with clapboard roof, and heated by the wide fireplace about eight feet in width. The split-sapling seats were provided with wooden pegs, but were minus backs, while a broad board did duty as a desk for the older pupils, it being supported against the side of the building by wooden pins driven into the wall. The steel pens had not yet come into use, and the children used pens made from the quill of a goose. Most of his education was received in Jennings county, but he has a keen perception and retentive memory, and has done much to extend his knowledge by reading good books and periodicals. And not only does he read them, but he thoroughly digests what he has read, making it a part of his very self, ready to be called up at any time.

        Mr. Frost remained at home until his majority, at which time he married and started in life for himself. His father aided him to a certain extent in later years, but his start was made independent of all help and with no cash capital. He was united in marriage December 16, 1860, with Miss Amanda Huckstep, and was blessed with a family of four children, only two of whom are living, namely: George S., a mechanic of Upland, who was educated in the Fairmount schools and married Miss Olive Smith, who has presented him with two children; and Artie M., wife of William Z. Payne, a saleman of Fairmount. Mrs. Frost was born July 16, 1843, in Versailles, Ripley county, this state, and was one of nine children born to John and Mary (Reed) Huckstep. Both parents were natives of Kentucky, the father born in 1802 and the mother in 1800. They came to Indiana at an early day and were pioneers of the state, the father dying at the age of sixty-four and the mother when about seventy-five. Mrs. Frost was educated in the public schools and is a genial, winsome lady whose friends are legion.

        In September, 1869, they located on the farm they now occupy. It consisted of sixty acres of land covered with heavy oak timber, and the house was made of logs similar to that in which he was born. It seems almost impossible that the neatly cultivated farm of to-day was at one time in the midst of a thick forest, as few of the old landmarks remain to remain (sic - remind) the citizens of early times. Mrs. Frost and his wife have one of the neatest and best-kept farms in the township, the fields enclosed by good fences, with substantial residence and outbuildings in the best possible repair, and everywhere evidence of thrift and prosperity. Their property extends to the corporation lines of Fairmount, and they are regarded as a most worthy couple of strict integrity and spotless character, and both are deeply religious, he being a member of the Missionary Baptist church, while his wife adheres to the Wesleyan Methodist faith. They are charitable to a fault and are never asked in vain for the relief of the distressed. Mr. Frost is a Democrat in national issues, but in lcoal affairs is non-partisan, supporting the man best fitted for the office regardless of his party views.