John N. Gharst, 1796

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Name
John N. /Gharst/
Given names
John N.
Surname
Gharst
Name suffix
I
Birth November 10, 1796
Birth of a sonNoah Peffley Garst

Birth of a brotherPeter G. Gharst
June 19, 1799 (aged 2 years)
Birth of a brotherGeorge B. Garst
June 29, 1800 (aged 3 years)

Death of a paternal grandfatherJohann Nicolaus Gerst
October 1801 (aged 4 years)
Note: The will of John Nicholas Garst was written October 20, 1801, and proven at Botetourt October Court…

The will of John Nicholas Garst was written October 20, 1801, and proven at Botetourt October Court 1803.

Death of a brotherHenry Garst
1812 (aged 15 years)

MarriageChristina PeffleyView this family
March 20, 1821 (aged 24 years)

MarriageChristina PeffleyView this family
March 20, 1821 (aged 24 years)
Note: John Gharst and Christina Peffley were 1st cousins, John Gharst is the son of Frederick Garst I, bro…

John Gharst and Christina Peffley were 1st cousins, John Gharst is the son of Frederick Garst I, brother of Magdalena Garst, Christina's mother.

Birth of a daughterMary Garst
December 27, 1822 (aged 26 years)
Birth of a sonHenry Garst
March 6, 1825 (aged 28 years)
Birth of a daughterChristina Garst
November 18, 1830 (aged 34 years)
Birth of a sonJohn N. Garst
February 26, 1834 (aged 37 years)
Birth of a daughterSarah Jane Garst
April 17, 1837 (aged 40 years)
Birth of a daughterAnnie Garst
about 1842 (aged 45 years)
Death of a fatherFrederick Garst I
1842 (aged 45 years)
Marriage of a childHenry GarstSarah HoutsView this family
January 7, 1847 (aged 50 years)
Death of a daughterMary Garst
December 30, 1848 (aged 52 years)
Death of a brotherFrederick Gerst
August 11, 1850 (aged 53 years)
Marriage of a childJohn Cline HoutzSarah Jane GarstView this family
May 9, 1855 (aged 58 years)
Marriage of a childJohn N. GarstMartha SmithView this family
August 14, 1856 (aged 59 years)
Death of a sisterAnna Garst
October 22, 1858 (aged 61 years)
Marriage of a childSamuel S. SherfeyChristina GarstView this family
October 29, 1860 (aged 63 years)

Death of a wifeChristina Peffley
September 25, 1861 (aged 64 years)
Marriage of a childNoah Peffley GarstSusan Elizabeth GraybillView this family
about 1862 (aged 65 years)

Death of a brotherPeter G. Gharst
April 30, 1869 (aged 72 years)
Death of a sisterMary Magdalena Garst
October 28, 1870 (aged 73 years)

Death of a brotherJacob Gerst
December 6, 1879 (aged 83 years)

Death of a brotherGeorge B. Garst
August 20, 1886 (aged 89 years)

Death of a daughterSarah Jane Garst
July 13, 1889 (aged 92 years)

Death of a sonHenry Garst
November 30, 1898 (aged 102 years)

Death of a daughterChristina Garst
April 22, 1907 (aged 110 years)

Our Garst Family in America Number:
[31]
2000 (aged 203 years)

MHN in relation to Theobald Gerst b. 1702:
1116
2000 (aged 203 years)

Death of a motherMagdalena Rauch

Death of a motherMagdalena Rauch

AGED
78 yr 7 mo 15 da

officiantChristina PeffleyView this family
Rev. Joel Crumpacker

Burial of a fatherFrederick Garst I

Burial of a motherMagdalena Rauch

Death
Burial
Title
I

Family with parents
father
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1842
Birth: Lancaster Co., Pa
Death: 1842Salem, Roanoke Co., Va
mother
Marriage Marriage
elder sister
17821870
Birth: May 3, 1782Lancaster Co., Pa
Death: October 28, 1870
21 months
elder brother
17841850
Birth: January 15, 1784Lancaster Co., Pa
Death: August 11, 1850Limestone, Washington Co., Tn
19 months
elder sister
17851858
Birth: August 2, 1785
Death: October 22, 1858Clark Co., Oh
brother
1812
Birth:
Death: 1812
elder brother
17901879
Birth: December 20, 1790
Death: December 6, 1879
6 years
himself
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1796
Birth: November 10, 1796Botetourt Co., Va
Death: Salem, Roanoke Co., Va
3 years
younger brother
17991869
Birth: June 19, 1799Botetourt Co., Va
Death: April 30, 1869Illinois
13 months
younger brother
brother
Birth: Botetourt Co., Va
Death: Kentucky
elder sister
1789
Birth: August 1789
Family with Christina Peffley
himself
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1796
Birth: November 10, 1796Botetourt Co., Va
Death: Salem, Roanoke Co., Va
wife
17981861
Birth: March 2, 1798 37 35Botetourt Co., Va
Death: September 25, 1861Roanoke Co., Va
Marriage MarriageMarch 20, 1821
Marriage MarriageMarch 20, 1821Botetourt Co., Va
22 months
daughter
18221848
Birth: December 27, 1822 26 24Botetourt Co., Va
Death: December 30, 1848Roanoke Co., Va
2 years
son
18251898
Birth: March 6, 1825 28 27Botetourt Co., Va
Death: November 30, 1898
6 years
daughter
18301907
Birth: November 18, 1830 34 32Botetourt Co., Va
Death: April 22, 1907
3 years
son
18341921
Birth: February 26, 1834 37 35Botetourt Co., Va
Death: October 29, 1921
3 years
daughter
18371889
Birth: April 17, 1837 40 39Roanoke Co. (near Salem), Va
Death: July 13, 1889
son
Birth: Salem, Roanoke Co., Va
Death:
daughter
1842
Birth: about 1842 45 43Roanoke, Roanoke Co., Va
Death: Roanoke, Roanoke Co., Va
Marriage

John Gharst and Christina Peffley were 1st cousins, John Gharst is the son of Frederick Garst I, brother of Magdalena Garst, Christina's mother.

Note

FATHER: 111; MOTHER: 111s

From the book entitled "Places Near the Mountains" we find the following: "John Gharst I bought 130 acres of fine land on Mason's Creek, January 17, 1842. This land was located about a mile north of present day Lakeside on what we know as Kesler'sMill Road. He built a dam across Mason's Creek and built his mill on the west bank of the creek. The mill was in operation over 80 years. "On November 26, 1855 John and Christine Gharst sold their farm, mill, dwellings and all to their son Henry. They reserved a limited acreage and rights for their lifetime. "During the War Between the States, the Union Army under General Hunter, retreated north by Hanging Rock. The Confederate General in pursuit had his headquarters in the mill.

"Henry Garst operated the mill until March 26, 1888. At that time he sold two-thirds interest to William Shuff, Josephus Johnson, Joel Thomason and Sparrell F. Simmons. They traded under the name of `William H. Shuff Company'. On May 16, 1906 O.D.Kesler and H.H. Sides purchased one-half interest in the mill plus an additional small acreage. The mill has become known as Kesler's Mill from this time. "There were other owners after Kesler. The mill ceased operation in 1922. Legend has it that the old mill pond was a favorite swimming place with the old building used as dressing rooms. "John Gharst's Mill--Kesler's Mill--was torn down in the early twenties. The hand moulded bricks were purchased by E.M. Coulter and were used in the construction of his Mansion House on Airport Road."

Additional information is provided in the original Garst book. It reads: "John Gharst and wife, Christina Peffley Gharst, lived on their farm on Mason's Creek, and owned and operated a large flour mill and a saw mill. He was a very prosperous and charitable man. He was proud in personal appearance. Wore a broadcloth cape, high silk hat, and carried a silver-headed cane on dress occasions.
"John and Christina were first cousins, Christina's mother, Magdalena, being a sister of John's father. He was a prosperous farmer and miller. In the mill he built on Mason's Creek in Roanoke County, is where he ground flour for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After his death near Salem, Va., on June 25, 1875, his son, Henry, operated the mill for some 15 years.

Always spelled his name with an `h' in it.

"The will of John Gharst is to be found in Will Book `B,' p. 17, in the Roanoke County Court House, Salem, Va., naming all his heirs, except Mary and Anna, who were not alive when the will was made."

   Information on page 72 of the Peffley book conflicts with the original Garst book as to the place of burial for John N. and Christina.  It states that "both are buried on the farm of John  Garst, , 3 miles east of Salem, Va."

   Source(s) of Information:

"Our Garst Family in America" by William Tell Garst, 1950 (1112L1).

"The Peffley-Peffly-Pefley Families In America and Allied Families, 1729 - 1938" by May M. Frost and Earl C. Frost, 1938.

"Places Near The Mountains" by Helen R. Prillaman, Roanoke, VA., November 1985.

Kathryn Garst Mason (1118C53). (Notes by Joe Garst)

Note

MILLING

Garsts are synonymous with local history

(Editor’s Note: This is the last of four articles on old mills of Salem in an occasional series by the immediate past president of the Salem Historical Society.)

By Norwood Middleton

Milling and the Garsts were almost synonymous in early Roanoke County, and the Garst Mill that stood 93 years in present-day Salem was drawn into a bit of history during the Civil War. There were at least two other Garst Mills, one at Hanging Rock, the other southwest of Roanoke. Salem’s Garst Mill was a predecessor of Kesler Mill, after which the street that runs north from near Lakeside past the mill site was named. It was also known as the Salem Roller Mills for a time. The mill was on the west bank of Mason Creek, a few feet north of Garst Street and between the creek and Kesler Mill Road, which links East Main Street and Hanging Rock. During the war, Henry Garst, the owner, produced flour and meal for the confederacy and, according to historian William McCauley, "rendered invaluable service to the cause" after being detached from the army for the purpose. The mill also may have served as a headquarters of one of the Confederate generals when the southern forces were chasing the Union troops of General David Hunter through Hanging Rock during a retreat from Lynchburg in June 1864. Roanoke historian Raymond Barnes mentioned this use of the mill in a newspaper article, but with attribution or elaboration. In the days of the settlers of this region, water power that operated the heavy millstone to grind corn and wheat was frequently also used to run a sawmill. This was the case at the two Garst Mills on Mason Creek. Chronologically, the Garst Mill at Hanging Rock was the first built and stood on the west bank near a shallow "U" in the creek. Its date of construction has not been determined, but John Gharst Sr. is known to have built and operated it. (He insisted on spelling his name with an "h.") This same John Gharst built a new and larger, brick mill 1.4 miles downstream from Hanging Rock, facing a wagon road and backing up to the creek and a dam. The date of construction is recorded as 1845 in a Roanoke County land book of tax assessments, the specific notation reading "2,500 added for new mill 1845." However, a family Bible owned by Virginia Clark Solloway of Roanoke, great-great-grandaughter of John Gharst, gives an earlier date in an entry reading: "This mill was built 1840." In any event, it was operated as Garst Mill more than 40 years and became the Salem Roller Mill, then Kesler Mill. Some eight years before the fragment of Civil War history unfolded at this mill, it had been sold by John and Christina Gharst to their son Henry Garst, who lived nearby and probably was operating it for his father. This sale in November 1855 included a 195-acre tract on both sides of the creek. The Henry Garst residence, which burned some years ago, stood on a rise west of the road, the foundation remains. A Garst family graveyard higher on the bluff overlooks the former mill site, and just east of the mill site is one of Salem’s oldest houses, the log house of Henry’s brother, William Garst, now occupied by the Kenneth Blounts. Ledgers detailing grain and product transactions, individual customer accounts, and work records of mill employees in the 1880’s are owned by Mrs. Solloway. Newly designed milling machinery became available in the mid-1880’s, and in order to modernize the operation, Henry Garst sold a two-thirds interest in 1888 to W.H. Shuff & Co. Affiliated with Shuff were Josephus Johnson, Sparrel F. Simmons and Joel S. Thomason. The deed contained two interesting provisions: (1) The $5,796 purchase price was to be spent by the Shuff company to remodel the mill and fit it with a "roller system" to manufacture 35 to 40 barrels of flour a day (2) A spring in the yard of the Henry Garst home place across the wagon road to the east was to be available as a source when water a the miller’s house was insufficient. Salem Roller Mills was the name under which Shuff & Co. operated the property, which in the sale was defined as a little more than a two acre portion of the 195 acres in the Henry Garst tract. Thomason, one of the Shuff & Co. partners, became sole owner through buyouts in 1898. Thomason’s acquisition came at the time of a devastating Mason Creek flood, in which one person drowned farther downstream. A cloud-burst over Fort Lewis Mountain on Saturday night, Aug. 13, 1898, sent the creek far out of its banks. The Garst grist mill and sawmill at Hanging Rock were swept away, along with his machinery, farming implements and tools, and a carriage house that housed his surrey and buggy. At Joel S. Thomason’s Salem Roller Mills, the surging waters washed out some 20 feet of the dam, "the fare boy, penstock and trunk," and part of the foundation of the brick building. Following repairs, milling resumed, a news account said. When Otho D. Kesler moved to Salem from Bloomington, Ohio, in 1904, he brought a background of milling experience with him and probably went to work for Salem Roller Mills. This assumption is based on his experience plus the fact the he moved into a nearby house that still stands; it is set back off the west side of Kesler Mill Road near North Mill Lane. In this house, Kesler reared his family, three member of which live in this area, Miss Isabel and Emily Kesler Graham, his daughters, in Salem and William O. Kesler, a son, in Roanoke. Kesler and a partner, H.H. Sides, of Winston-Salem, N.C., bought the mill in May 1906 and changed the name to Kesler Mill. Kesler’s flouring products were marketed with the "Green Ridge" label. During its last years, the Kesler millpond was popular for swimming and ice skating. Roanoke College students were among the steady customers, who paid a small admission fee. Competition intensified on both the milling and recreation fronts after Roanoke City Mills, with a 1,200-barrel-a-day capacity, opened in 1918 and after Lakeside opened its large swimming pool in July 1920. Kesler Mill closed in 1922 and was razed in 1938. Part of a concrete footing and reinforcing rods for the dam remain in the creek bed.

Reprinted by permission of the Editor, Meg Hebert, saltimmeg@rb.net Salem Times Register. Transcribed by Chuck Garst, 2001.

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