The Yost Family Names
Source: Harvard, Nebraska, 100 YEARS PLUS 2, published in 1973 for the Harvard Centennial.
Author: Harvard History Book Committee. Article below by: Virginia (Krahmer) Less, 2004.
The first Yost families arrived in the Harvard, Nebraska vicinity as immigrants from the Norka Colony in Russia in the late 1870's. Some arrived first in Sutton, Nebraska. In those early years some of the men worked for the railroad under an agreement to work until their westward transport fares were paid for as a number of the immigrants arrived at the eastern U.S. Ports without funds. After they had paid off their debt and earned a sufficient grubstake to buy a team and plow they homesteaded or purchased land around Harvard in Clay County.
My great-grandparent, Ludwig Yost arrived in 1877 in Sutton. Records that I have researched indicate that in the 1880 census his vocation was a farmer. A deed to land shows he purchased 150 acres near Harvard on 6 January 1883 for $1350. If he was a railroad worker when he arrived I have not found information that indicates this.
Many of the Yost families that arrived around this time in Nebraska settled in or near Harvard, Nebraska. One thing they had in common (besides having lived in Norka in Russia) was they all had similar names. And their children, especially the sons also carried the same name as their father, or an uncle. Every family had a Henry or Johann or Conrad or Ludwig or Johannes or whatever. This became very difficult for the U.S. Mail to be delivered. The problem was resolved by assigning a middle initial, a convenient solution since none of the male children had a middle name. For example, all the Conrad Yosts around Harvard came to be known as "C.J.", "C.W.", "C.D.", "C.E.", "C.G." and so on. At times the middle initial used by some families was that of their father's name, such as John C. (John, son of Conrad), or Henry C. (Henry, son of Conrad). Then, nicknames were in popular local usage for identification. For example, Henry Yost who lived on the hill outside of Harvard became known as "Henry on the Hill".
In my ancestral family of Ludwig and Catherine (Glantz) Yost there were four sons that had just one first name. Research has shown that two used the middle initial of their father's name. There was Philip L. Yost and Peter L. Yost. However, their brother, John, who became a prominent businessman and owner of several Yost Lumber Yards in Nebraska in his lifetime, used the middle initial "H". It seems that his name originally used by the family was "Hannes" as recorded on the Ship Record at the time of the family's arrival at Castle Gardens in New York. So perhaps (as no one in today's family seems to know why the letter "H" was used) the name used in his youth was the reason for using the initial and he became known as John H. Yost. Their younger brother, recorded upon arrival at Castle Gardens as an infant by name of Georg., was known in his adult years and in recorded in his obituary by the name of George H. Yost. Why "H"? Does his immediate family descendants know?? It is possible that the letter "H" may have been taken from their mother's father's name that was Heinrich Peter Glantz.
In regard to the name of "Yost". This is an American adaptation of the original spelling of the name which was "Jost". There is no letter "Y" in the German alphabet, yet the German "J" is pronounced like the English letter "Y". Perhaps in stating their names orally to immigration authorities and, being fearful of authorities, they did not protest or question the altered spelling that appeared on their official documents.
Webmasters note: There is a letter "Y" in the German alphabet. It is likely that the spelling was changed from "Jost" to "Yost" to achieve the correct phonetic pronunciation in the English language. The notion that names were changed by immigration officials is not supported by facts in most cases.