The following is a copy of the obituary of August Friedrich Trost. He was
my Great Great Grandfather. He was born in Hohenselchow, Kreis Randow,
Pommern, Germany. His parents were Frederick Trost and Dorothea Wolff or
Wulff, of Hohenselchow, Kreis Randow, Pommern.
One of his brothers sponsored him to be an immigrant to Australia . Another
Brother migrated to Cooperstown, North Dakota. It has been a long and
difficult journey to try to find these three brothers and their connections
to each other. There are many thousands of descendents of August and his
two brothers. A book is being compiled ready for a TROST reunion to be held
in Cabarlah, Queensland, Australia, 11 March 2001.

A GRAND OLD PIONEER LEAVES 407 DESCENDANTS AT DEATH.

Over the ocean in the early part of 1881, there floated an old time sailing
ship which landed in Brisbane in August of that year. Among those who paced
the decks for exercise, or leaned over the bulwarks and gazed with an eye of
hopefulness over the seas of expectancy, was a man who was designed to play
a great part, and achieve great things in Queensland. He was August
Friedrich Trost. With him were his wife and five children.

In those days, sea travel was slow (the ocean on this occasion took six
months) and must have been more a hardship than a pleasure and perhaps it
was attachment to such unsympathetic elements that fostered the pluck and
forceful characters that made these early pioneers to Australia the tough
and determined men they were.

August Friedrich Trost was born on September 8th., 1848 in Hohenselchow
near Stettin inGermany. In 1870 he married Miss Henrietta Sanft, who was
born on August 15th 1850 and died on August 14th. 1923, at Cabarlah. She
was buried on her birthday.

Mr and Mrs. Trost had a family of 18 children, although only 13 reached the
adult age.

It is because of Mr. and Mrs. Trost's remarkable personality and because of
these 13 children that the writer has the pleasure of compiling this
narrative. The names of the thirteen are:-

Adolf (deceased), late of Helidon
Augusta (Gustie) Mrs. Eiser, Toowoomba
Louise (deceased) late Mrs. Otto, Cawdor
Annie, Mrs. Kuhl, Kulpie
Herman, Glenaven (Hermann and Annie were twins)

These comprise the five who were born prior to migrating to Australia, and in jovial tones, Hermann tells us how he learnt do walk on the ship a it crept to the land of his adoption.   The others, born on Australian Soil are:-

Manda, Mrs. Genrich, Glenaven
August, Childers
Mary, Mrs. Walter Wust, Eumundi
Minnie, Mrs. Harry Wirth, Toowoomba
Alvina, Mrs. C. Kahler, Cecil Plains
Charles, Architect, Sydney
Friedrich, Virginia, Crows Nest

As the principal object of this recording is to tell of the number of
descendants left by Mr. Trost at the time of his death, only a few months ago, they are shown in the following order:-

Adolf - 12 G Children: 51 GG Children: 7 GGG Children
Gustie - 12 G Children: 54 GG Children: 10 GGG Children
Louise - 4 G Children: 29 GG Children: 8 GGG Children
Hermann - 6 G Children: 16 GG Children
Manda - 8 G Children: 28 GG Children
August - 6 G Children: 9 GG Children
Mary - 12 G Children: 17 GG Children
Minnie - 6 G Children: 9 GG Children: 1 GGG Child
Alvina - 8 G Children: 7 GG Children
Lena - 6 G Children: 9 GG Children: 3 GGG Children
Charles - 3 G Children: 3 GG Children
Frederick - 4 G Children: 2 GG Children

Totals - 100 Grand Children: 265 Great Grand Children: 31 Great Great Grand
Children.
Own children living at time of death - 11
Total descendants - 407

It is authentically shown that the above are directly descended and no
"In-Laws" are included.

On arrival in Queensland, Mr. Trost went to Ipswich, and his first
occupation was well sinking in the Laidley District. He later settled at
Hatton Vale, where he claimed to be the first man in the Laidley district to
use an iron axle for a horse drawn conveyance - the days of drays or wagons
had not arrived for the farmer then, then trolleys with wooden wheels and
wooden axles were deluxe models when compared with the primitive sledge.

In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Trost and family moved to Cawdor and in 1913 went to
High fields. Mr. Trost founded the Cawdor School in the early 90's and was
a member of the school committee for 18 years.

For 18 years he was an elder of the Lutheran Church at Highfields and was a
member of the original Show Society of Toowoomba.

On his farm at Cawdor, prior to the event of the hand separator, Mr. Trost
installed a steam driven separating plant, to which the farmers of the
community brought their milk to be separated. In addition to well sinking,
Mr. Trost was an accomplished water diviner and at Mr. Alf Stark's farm, on
top of the range at Highfields, he located water, and he used to revel about
how he had, in his earlier days, located water beneath a man's kitchen at
Laidley.

Mr. Trost was a man of many parts, having studied medicine in his youth,
and in the days of his early pioneering, when doctors were few and means of
transport was slow, his skill was not infrequently availed in rendering aid
and home treatment to the sick. He had always on hand a supply of
necessities for rendering such. He was also an accepted Church Authority
and acted as Lay Preacher, and when we pronounce him as a teacher, we can do
nought but exemplify his worth of intelligence and earlier training. He
too, was skilled in Architecture and in consequence a carpenter.

Something which speaks truest of all praises is sung by his own sons, who
contacted him through all laneways of life - he was never known to swear.
He was possessed of an unusual power of muscle, and many will confirm the
assumption that he has lifted the rear portion of a five horse dray off the
ground with his own strength.

The late Mr. Trost was also a boon to society in the pioneering days in
rendering help to the needy and acting as midwife.

Although Mr. Trost conquered the adversities of life, accomplished a state
of independence and lived the latter 20 years of his life in retirement in
Toowoomba, he told many instances of hardship that - now looking back over
the years of time - are perhaps amusing, however harassing they may have
been at the time of happening. But first the reader is reminded that Mr.
Trost was a highly enlightened man, was eloquent and could converse on all
topics of the moment. He was fond of card playing although his real hobby
was draughts. Anyone who could put it over him could claim to be a Draught
Board Champion.

In demonstrating how prevalent the kangaroos were in the pioneering days at
Rosevale ( Laidley ), he would tell of once, when on a fencing job - the
weather was dry and water scarce - his daily supply of drinking water had to
be carried for a distance in a bucket, and the 'roos were so parched and
became renowned for sneaking up and drinking from the fencer's prize bucket.
However, shooters were eventually induced to the spot and in two weeks over
200 were accounted for - still, as Mr. Trost used to put it, that proved no
acquisition to the fencing - the carcasses made the place uninhabitable.

During his career, Mr. Trost followed potato growing enthusiastically
though sometimes not to any great monetary advantage. One incident tells of
a ton of potatoes yielding 7/6 at Toowoomba, and one of his lads (then
young) accompanying him, buoyed with the hope of a new pair of boots. The
lad got the boots but dad had to add money to the return from the potatoes.
But while dwelling on potatoes and kangaroos, a more glowing incident may be
related. This time he was trailing the road with a load of potatoes for the
market, when his dogs bailed up a kangaroo. He stopped, secured his horses,
killed and skinned the 'roo and went on his way. At Laidley he sold the
potatoes for 15/- and the 'roo skin for one pound.

It is not surprising that Mr. Trost would have known many interesting
incidents of the Australian Aboriginals; so while we are in the mood let us
relate this one: - it is on "King Billy"; scene, Rosedale; this royal gent
has a flare for carrying his trousers under his arm and would only put them
on when he would 'see a white man come'.

Mr. Trost's reminiscences also give us a glance at him as he makes trips
over the Toll Bar with a four horse wagon in the days when it could be made
only by doing it in stage by stage. On another occasion we see him
returning from Toowoomba with one of his small boys, to see dense clouds of
smoke rising in the vicinity of their homestead. The horses are urged
frantically and on arrival at the place where the dwelling should have been
only ashes remain. Buildings, fences, everything gone plus a patch of
potatoes, which was heaped with logs and bush saplings - ideal fire fodder
and ravaging stock - neighbors included - soon laid them to waste. On that
occasion distress was supplemented by tribulation - a neighbour who had also
been a loser by the fire, claimed damages from Mr. Trost, because the fire
had started on the latter's place. The day was dry with strong westerly
winds, some of Mr. Trost's daughters had been washing, using an open fire,
and one girl's dress caught alight and in the excitement of freeing her, the
garment had contacted with the dry grass around the house.

A sad chapter is also recorded, Mrs. Otto (Louisa), contracted Black
Measles, died on a Monday. On the following Friday Mr. Otto died. They left
four children, two boys and two girls. Mr. and Mrs. Trost senior, reared
the two boys. Mr. Herman Trost reared one of the girls (Millie) now Mrs.
Henry Briskey and Mrs. J. F. Genrich reared the other girl (Mary), now Mrs.
P. Fox.

So ends our narrative of a man who, at his passing, left 407 descendants.
All good Australians who play their parts as citizens and are scattered from
Thursday Island to the borders of Victoria.

This obituary appeared in the Crow's Nest Paper at the passing of August
Friedrich Trost and the author is unknown.

Note for 1997: On a recent trip to Australia to visit my family, I discovered some other stories about August Trost. It was reported that he retired to Toowoomba but the people he lived with apparently took advantage of him and sold off his furniture and belongings and kept the money. Another report stated that he barely spoke English and his wife spoke no
English at all. I visited a home in Toowoomba where I saw the reclining couch and easy chair that he once owned. I had been taken to see the place where the original Trost homestead had stood. It is an empty field now but it was pointed out that this was the spot where they all lived. It was also reported that every Sunday they all went to church. Father striding out in front and mother and children trailing behind. They moved from Laidley to Highfields by way of Spring Bluff. It was reported that they walked the whole way with the older children carrying the younger children. These stories have not been documented and are only hearsay. I think that life was not very easy for them and I am amazed that they lived as long as they did and also that more children did not die during childbirth or from other childhood illnesses. I hope that this obituary helps each one of us to appreciate more the heritage
that is ours because of the life led by August Friedrich Trost and his wife Henrietta Sanft.  

Beverly Ann Markham

Oueensland, Australia