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Martin Fast

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Martin Fast

Birth
Greene County, Pennsylvania, USA
Death
13 Jun 1838 (aged 54)
Ashland County, Ohio, USA
Burial
Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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OF GERMAN AND ENGLISH ANCESTRY

ELDEST SON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO CHRISTIAN FAST

GRANDSON OF FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR PATRIOT JOHN MARTIN MASON

GREAT GRANDSON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN CORNET JOHN WAITS

OHIO PIONEER

——————

A BIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN FAST (1784-1838) OF WAYNE (ASHLAND) COUNTY, OHIO, by Laurence Overmire, genealogist and family historian (3rd great grandson), updated June 2018:

Martin Fast was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, on June 12, 1784, the eldest of ten sons and five daughters of Revolutionary War hero Christian Fast and his wife Anna Barbara Mason. No doubt he was named after his maternal grandfather, John Martin Mason, who as a young lad was captured during the disastrous defeat of Gen. Braddock in the French & Indian War and sent to live in forced servitude in Canada for 8 years.

Though his father and mother were illiterate, Martin probably had some basic education. It was reported that his brother William attended school in Greene County until he was sixteen, so it seems likely that Martin had some schooling as well. He signed his will, so he must have been able to read and write.

At the age of 22, he married Catharine Blosser, the daughter of John Jr. and Mary Catherine (Clemmer) Blosser in German Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on June 26, 1806, one of three Fast brothers who married three Blosser sisters. Martin and Catherine had 9 children: John, Anna, Eli, Christian, George May (died in childhood), Mary, Jacob, Elijah and Sarah (died in childhood).

Martin and his brother William moved to Orange Township, Ohio, in the fall of 1814. Several other members of his family including his father and mother arrived in the spring of 1816.

On the July 10, 1820, Martin received a deed from the land office in Wooster, Ohio, for 160 acres. The deed was printed on leather and signed by President James Monroe. This remarkable family heirloom was handed down through Martin's sons and is currently in the possession of the Douglas Crawford family. Evidently, the land itself passed to Joshua (John?) and Mary Fast, then to Eli and Margaret (Berry) Fast, then to Elijah and Elizabeth (Deibler) Fast, and finally to Jacob (Justice of the Peace) Fast in 1891.

A farmer and beekeeper, Martin was said to have had a great fondness for bees and had over 100 hives. He probably knew John Chapman, better known to history as "Johnny Appleseed" (1774-1845), who operated a local nursery and from whom, according to family tradition, Martin's parents purchased apple trees for the family farm.

Martin died prematurely on June 13, 1838, the day after his 54th birthday. One day while collecting a hive, he stepped on a dead limb while descending the tree and fell to the ground. His injuries were so severe that he survived only a few minutes. He was buried in the Polk Cemetery in Ashland County. His will was signed on Apr. 6, 1833 and proven Oct. 30, 1838.

Sources:
1) "Genealogy of Fast, Shriver, Burns, Scott, McKibben, Including Descendants of Revolutionary War Hero Christian Fast," by Laurence Overmire, RootsWeb World Connect Project, 2000-2018.
2) "The Memoirs of Irl Fast," by Irl Fast, self-published, 1979.
3) Jacob Fast Bio from 1880 Biographical History of Ashland County, by George W. Hill, Biographical Sketches of Early Pioneers Who Settled in Ashland County Ohio, Project Coordinator: Russ Shopbell, Ashland County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, ashlandohiogenealogy.org
4) History of Ashland County, by George William Hill (Williams Bros, Cleveland, OH, 1880), p. 383
5) Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998
6) 1810 federal census, Dunkard, Greene, Pennsylvania; Roll: 49; Page: 20; Image: 00018; Family History Library Film: 0193675
7) 1820 federal census, Jackson, Wayne, Ohio; Page: 131; NARA Roll: M33_93; Image: 144
[Martin's neighbors included Jesse Matthews and Thomas and Stephen Cole, whose descendants would latermarry into the Fast family]
8) 1830 federal census, Jackson, Wayne, Ohio; Series: M19; Roll: 142; Page: 132; Family History Library Film: 0337953
9) Gravestone of Martin Fast (birth and death dates)
10) Fast Shriver family files of Philip R. and Nancy Fast Kepner
11) "By Way of Rotterdam," 1952, reprint 1981, by Wirt Gerry Faust.
12) Nicklaus Fast of Gocklingen, Germany, by Robert G. Fast (Thompson-Shore Inc., 1994)
13) Fast Family files and land deed documents of Douglas Carl Crawford
14) Fast Family files of Mary Lou Fast Overmire
15) Hartmann/Fast Family files of Maxine H. Smith
OF GERMAN AND ENGLISH ANCESTRY

ELDEST SON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO CHRISTIAN FAST

GRANDSON OF FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR PATRIOT JOHN MARTIN MASON

GREAT GRANDSON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN CORNET JOHN WAITS

OHIO PIONEER

——————

A BIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN FAST (1784-1838) OF WAYNE (ASHLAND) COUNTY, OHIO, by Laurence Overmire, genealogist and family historian (3rd great grandson), updated June 2018:

Martin Fast was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, on June 12, 1784, the eldest of ten sons and five daughters of Revolutionary War hero Christian Fast and his wife Anna Barbara Mason. No doubt he was named after his maternal grandfather, John Martin Mason, who as a young lad was captured during the disastrous defeat of Gen. Braddock in the French & Indian War and sent to live in forced servitude in Canada for 8 years.

Though his father and mother were illiterate, Martin probably had some basic education. It was reported that his brother William attended school in Greene County until he was sixteen, so it seems likely that Martin had some schooling as well. He signed his will, so he must have been able to read and write.

At the age of 22, he married Catharine Blosser, the daughter of John Jr. and Mary Catherine (Clemmer) Blosser in German Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on June 26, 1806, one of three Fast brothers who married three Blosser sisters. Martin and Catherine had 9 children: John, Anna, Eli, Christian, George May (died in childhood), Mary, Jacob, Elijah and Sarah (died in childhood).

Martin and his brother William moved to Orange Township, Ohio, in the fall of 1814. Several other members of his family including his father and mother arrived in the spring of 1816.

On the July 10, 1820, Martin received a deed from the land office in Wooster, Ohio, for 160 acres. The deed was printed on leather and signed by President James Monroe. This remarkable family heirloom was handed down through Martin's sons and is currently in the possession of the Douglas Crawford family. Evidently, the land itself passed to Joshua (John?) and Mary Fast, then to Eli and Margaret (Berry) Fast, then to Elijah and Elizabeth (Deibler) Fast, and finally to Jacob (Justice of the Peace) Fast in 1891.

A farmer and beekeeper, Martin was said to have had a great fondness for bees and had over 100 hives. He probably knew John Chapman, better known to history as "Johnny Appleseed" (1774-1845), who operated a local nursery and from whom, according to family tradition, Martin's parents purchased apple trees for the family farm.

Martin died prematurely on June 13, 1838, the day after his 54th birthday. One day while collecting a hive, he stepped on a dead limb while descending the tree and fell to the ground. His injuries were so severe that he survived only a few minutes. He was buried in the Polk Cemetery in Ashland County. His will was signed on Apr. 6, 1833 and proven Oct. 30, 1838.

Sources:
1) "Genealogy of Fast, Shriver, Burns, Scott, McKibben, Including Descendants of Revolutionary War Hero Christian Fast," by Laurence Overmire, RootsWeb World Connect Project, 2000-2018.
2) "The Memoirs of Irl Fast," by Irl Fast, self-published, 1979.
3) Jacob Fast Bio from 1880 Biographical History of Ashland County, by George W. Hill, Biographical Sketches of Early Pioneers Who Settled in Ashland County Ohio, Project Coordinator: Russ Shopbell, Ashland County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, ashlandohiogenealogy.org
4) History of Ashland County, by George William Hill (Williams Bros, Cleveland, OH, 1880), p. 383
5) Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998
6) 1810 federal census, Dunkard, Greene, Pennsylvania; Roll: 49; Page: 20; Image: 00018; Family History Library Film: 0193675
7) 1820 federal census, Jackson, Wayne, Ohio; Page: 131; NARA Roll: M33_93; Image: 144
[Martin's neighbors included Jesse Matthews and Thomas and Stephen Cole, whose descendants would latermarry into the Fast family]
8) 1830 federal census, Jackson, Wayne, Ohio; Series: M19; Roll: 142; Page: 132; Family History Library Film: 0337953
9) Gravestone of Martin Fast (birth and death dates)
10) Fast Shriver family files of Philip R. and Nancy Fast Kepner
11) "By Way of Rotterdam," 1952, reprint 1981, by Wirt Gerry Faust.
12) Nicklaus Fast of Gocklingen, Germany, by Robert G. Fast (Thompson-Shore Inc., 1994)
13) Fast Family files and land deed documents of Douglas Carl Crawford
14) Fast Family files of Mary Lou Fast Overmire
15) Hartmann/Fast Family files of Maxine H. Smith

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