John N. Gharst IAge: 781796–1875
- Name
- John N. Gharst I
- Given names
- John N.
- Surname
- Gharst
- Name suffix
- I
| Birth | November 10, 1796 Botetourt Co., Va |
| Birth of a son #1 | Salem, Roanoke Co., Va Noah Peffley Garst - son |
| Birth of a brother | June 19, 1799 (Age 2) Botetourt Co., Va Peter G. Gharst - younger brother |
| Birth of a brother | June 29, 1800 (Age 3) George B. Garst - younger brother |
| Death of a paternal grandfather | October 1801 (Age 4) Botetourt Co., Va Johann Nicolaus Gerst I - paternal grandfather |
| Death of a brother | 1812 (Age 15) Henry Garst - brother |
| Marriage | Christina Peffley - View Family March 20, 1821 (Age 24) |
| Marriage | Christina Peffley - View Family March 20, 1821 (Age 24) Botetourt Co., Va Note: 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 daughter #2 | December 27, 1822 (Age 26) Botetourt Co., Va Mary Garst - daughter |
| Birth of a son #3 | March 6, 1825 (Age 28) Botetourt Co., Va Henry Garst - son |
| Birth of a daughter #4 | November 18, 1830 (Age 34) Botetourt Co., Va Christina Garst - daughter |
| Birth of a son #5 | February 26, 1834 (Age 37) Botetourt Co., Va John N. Garst II - son |
| Birth of a daughter #6 | April 17, 1837 (Age 40) Roanoke Co. (near Salem), Va Sarah Jane Garst - daughter |
| Marriage of a daughter | November 12, 1839 (Age 43) Roanoke Co., Va Mary Garst - daughter |
| Birth of a daughter #7 | about 1842 (Age 45) Roanoke, Roanoke Co., Va Annie Garst - daughter |
| Death of a father | 1842 (Age 45) Salem, Roanoke Co., Va Frederick "Indian Garst" Garst I - father |
| Marriage of a son | January 7, 1847 (Age 50) Roanoke Co., Va Henry Garst - son |
| Death of a daughter | December 30, 1848 (Age 52) Roanoke Co., Va Mary Garst - daughter |
| Death of a brother | August 11, 1850 (Age 53) Limestone, Washington Co., Tn Frederick Gerst II - elder brother |
| Marriage of a daughter | May 9, 1855 (Age 58) Salem, Va Sarah Jane Garst - daughter |
| Marriage of a son | August 14, 1856 (Age 59) Roanoke Co., Va John N. Garst II - son |
| Death of a sister | October 22, 1858 (Age 61) Clark Co., Oh Anna Garst - elder sister |
| Marriage of a daughter | October 29, 1860 (Age 63) Christina Garst - daughter |
| Death of a wife | September 25, 1861 (Age 64) Roanoke Co., Va Christina Peffley - wife |
| Marriage of a son | about 1862 (Age 65) Noah Peffley Garst - son |
| Death of a brother | April 30, 1869 (Age 72) Illinois Peter G. Gharst - younger brother |
| Death of a sister | October 28, 1870 (Age 73) Mary Magdalena Garst - elder sister |
| AGED | 78 yr 7 mo 15 da |
| officiant | Christina Peffley - View Family Rev. Joel Crumpacker |
| Death | June 25, 1875 (Age 78) Salem, Roanoke Co., Va |
| MHN in relation to Theobald Gerst b. 1702: | 1116 2000 (124 years after death) |
| Our Garst Family in America Number: | [31] 2000 (124 years after death) |
| Burial | Ground Cemetery - Previously Noah Peffley Garst Farm |
| Title | I |
| Family with parents - View Family |
| father |
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| mother |
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| Marriage | |
#1 sister |
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20 months #2 brother |
Frederick Gerst II
Birth January 15, 1784 - Lancaster Co., Pa
Death August 11, 1850 (Age 66) - Limestone, Washington Co., Tn |
19 months #3 sister |
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#4 brother |
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#5 brother |
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6 years #6 |
John N. Gharst I
Birth November 10, 1796 - Botetourt Co., Va
Death June 25, 1875 (Age 78) - Salem, Roanoke Co., Va |
3 years #7 brother |
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1 year #8 brother |
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#9 brother |
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#10 sister |
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| Family with Christina Peffley - View Family |
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John N. Gharst I
Birth November 10, 1796 - Botetourt Co., Va
Death June 25, 1875 (Age 78) - Salem, Roanoke Co., Va |
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16 months wife |
Christina Peffley
Birth March 2, 1798 37 35 - Botetourt Co., Va
Death September 25, 1861 (Age 63) - Roanoke Co., Va |
| Marriage: March 20, 1821 | |
21 months #1 daughter |
Mary Garst
Birth December 27, 1822 26 24 - Botetourt Co., Va
Death December 30, 1848 (Age 26) - Roanoke Co., Va |
2 years #2 son |
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6 years #3 daughter |
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3 years #4 son |
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3 years #5 daughter |
Sarah Jane Garst
Birth April 17, 1837 40 39 - Roanoke Co. (near Salem), Va
Death July 13, 1889 (Age 52) - |
#6 son |
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#7 daughter |
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| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
 John Gharst's MillFormat: JPG Image dimensions: 501 × 279 pixels File size: 42 KB | |
| John Gharst Format: JPG Image dimensions: 315 × 369 pixels File size: 26 KB |
