Siskiyou
County
Biographies
W. R. FROST
W.
R. Frost, who conducted a successful new and second hand store in Yreka, is one
of the enterprising and progressive merchants of this community and one of its
strongest boosters. He was born in
Indiana, on the 28th of March, 1852, a son of Richard and Eliza
(Ballard) Frost. His father was a farmer
in Cass County, Missouri, and was a veteran of the Civil War. He and his wife died in that state. They were the parents of six children: Monroe, who died during the Civil War; Henry,
who died young; Israel, who lives in Fontana, Miami County, Kansas; John, who
died in Illinois; Mary, who is the wife of Alex Cecil and the mother of two
sons, who live in Oklahoma; and W. R.
W.
R. Frost attended the public schools, but is largely self
educated. He was engaged in farming in
Missouri when in 1886 he decided to come west, making the journey in an
emigrant car to Redding. He first took
up a homestead at McCloud, after which he bought a ranch of two hundred and
forty acres at Gazelle, Siskiyou County.
He made many substantial improvements and carried on his farming
operations there for twenty years. He
then sold out and came to Yreka, where he opened a new and second hand store,
building up a nice trade. Recently he sold his store and purchased an
eighty-acre tract, located about eight miles from Yreka. He discovered a bountiful supply of water
near the surface and plans on developing a summer resort and will devote a
portion of the acreage to the cultivation of garden products.
Mr.
Frost has been married twice and to the first union were born eight children,
namely: Ida, who resides in Pasadena,
this state; Edgar, of Aberdeen, Washington; Richard, of Springfield, Oregon;
Jesse, a contractor; William, who is employed in an ice plant; Roy, who is in
the sawmill business at Eugene, Oregon; Alba, who is with the McCloud Lumber
Company, at McCloud; and Frank. In
October, 1926, Mr. Frost was married to Miss Harriet Pool, who died in Yreka in
1930. She was born in England, received
a college education in that country, and in 1870 came to the United
States. She was successfully engaged in
the ranching and stock business three miles from Yreka. Mr. Frost’s favorite sport during his earlier
years was bear and deer hunting and, despite his years, he is still a very
active man. He is a good mixer, has a
wide acquaintance and his held in high regard by all who know him.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J. W. Major, History of
Sacramento Valley California, Vol. 2 Pages 356-357. Pioneer Historical Publishing
Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Siskiyou County
Biographies