Person:John Foust (7)

Jacob Foust, better known as Jake, was born 1870, in the middle of this great transition from rural to industrial society in America. Farm population continued to fall; from more than 90% when his ancestors settled in this country, to 65% at the time of his fathers birth, to 17% at the end of Jacob's life. But along with his brothers, he chose the occupation of his forebearers rather than employment in the growing cities and towns. Jake was a sturdily built man, with a thick chest and powerful arms, well suited to the demands of country life. He started by working for other farmers in Hamilton county, and in the beginning, earned only $75 for an entire years work. But he saved his money and eventually acquired his own land in adjacent Hamilton county. Later, he built a fine new house of nine rooms. Jake married Jane Leeman in 1894 and they had three children together, all of whom settled within seven miles of their parents.

    Jane was a smallish woman of uniformly good humor with, in her later years, a face as wrinkled as a prune. She was very neat in personal appearance and housekeeping and liked pretty things, such as flowers in her garden along with the vegetables. An enduring memory shared by her grandchildren is of the cake box in the pantry that always, without fail, contained homemade cake or cookies. She was the daughter of Alfred Leeman (1844-1936) and his wife Mary Eller (1843-1929).
    Jake enjoyed superb health, never having a sick day in his life that required him to take to his bed. But ironically, he dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of 69, one of the shortest life spans in the generally long-lived Foust family. After his death, Jane moved into a bungalow in the small nearby town of Frankton where she lived until her death at 89.
    From A Family History: The Ancestors of Thomas Wilson Faust, by Don Faust, 1997.

1. ↑ A. Donovan Faust (Foust). A Family History: The Ancestors of Thomas Wilson Faust. (1997).