Samuel Huston and Celina Calista Frost

The story of Samuel Huston (or Hueston) is an interesting one. At age 18, in 1843, Celina Calista Frost was the local school teacher in Penn township's first school, in Johnson Co. Iowa. She met and married a 30 year old prominent man in the community, Samuel Huston. “John N. Headley and Samuel Huston came in March 1839 and settled one mile east of the present site of Tiffin, in Clear Creek Twp. They were from Ohio.”… p. 737 Johnson Co. Iowa History. Huston was actually born in Pennsylvania.

From p. 748, Johnson Co. History. “In 1843, a pretty good log schoolhouse was erected in section 7. Miss Frost taught the first school in this house, at a salary of eight dollars per month, boarding among the scholars and receiving her pay in wheat, etc. This house was used for all religious and business meetings for a number of years.”

“The first Justice of the Peace in the township {Town of Tiffin in Clear Creek Twp.} was John Hartwell who married Samuel Huston to his second wife, Miss Frost – a sister of his first wife. …. These were among the first marriages in the township.” [The Frost ladies were not sisters, but possibly cousins.]

Samuel and Celina had a daughter, Elizabeth, b. 1844, in Clear Creek, and a baby son, Phillip, b. 1847. But Celina and the baby boy died in 1847. Sam married again, Mary or Margaret _____ . She had children George and Emma. That is where our family connection ends, but his story goes on.

Samuel Huston was first cousin of Daniel A. Shafer, mentioned above as the guardian of our gt. grandfather Daniel McGill. Shafer's wife was Harriett "Hattie" Frost, sister of Celina mentioned above. Hattie helped raise Celina's daughter, Eliza, while her father went to the gold fields.

Around 1851, Samuel Huston got together about 100 men and 50+ wagons and went to the California gold rush at Susanville. He came back with more wealth and bought up real estate and stores. The daughter of Sam and Celina, Elizabeth, only lived to age 21.

In 1876 when he was about 65, Huston donated $9000 to build a school for black students in Austin Texas. Mr. Huston belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Iowa, and I read that the local (or mission "board") had already planned for the school in Texas. Then they persuaded this well-to-do man to donate, promising that the college would bear his name. It took several years for it to come to fruition, but was named for Samuel Huston. It is still in existence after merging with another school, but still bears his name and is said to have a portrait and biography of Sam. The merger mentioned apparently produced what has now become Huston-Tillotson University.

It is a shame that young Celina and her children didn't live to join in his success.

The Johnson County History written in 1882 says on p. 599: “Mr. Hueston now lives at Koszta, Iowa County."