OF GERMAN, SWISS, AND ENGLISH ANCESTRY
DESCENDANT OF 5 MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS: William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John Cooke
GREAT GRANDSON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO CHRISTIAN FAST
FATHER OF WORLD WAR I VETERAN IRL FAST
———————
A BIOGRAPHY OF ELVIN FAST OF POLK, ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO, by Laurence Overmire, genealogist and family historian (great grandson), updated June 2018:
Elvin Fast was born in Ashland County, Ohio, not long after the close of the Civil War on Nov. 1, 1865, the eldest of two children of Judge Jacob Fast by his second wife Melissa Burlingame. Elvin's younger sister Cora died at the age of 13.
Through his mother's side of the family, Elvin was apparently descended from 5 Mayflower passengers including William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John. Of course, Elvin and even his mother Melissa probably knew nothing of this notable ancestry. Elvin no doubt knew of his descent from Revolutionary War veteran Christian Fast, however, a legendary and heroic figure in whom the family took great pride. During the Revolutionary War, Christian was captured by the Indians and lived among them as an adopted son for more than a year before he made a daring escape in time to warn a frontier settlement of an impending Indian attack.
Very little is known of Elvin. We do know he took over the running of the Fast farm in 1890 when his father retired and moved into a house in Polk, Ohio. On Nov. 23, 1890, in Ashland County, at the age of 25, he married Mary Frances Mitchelson, the daughter of Civil War veteran Benjamin Mitchelson and his wife Rebecca Matthews. They had one child together, whom they named Irl.
Irl was curiously reticent about his father. There is this one story about him which appears in Irl's Memoirs:
"One day my father took me out into the cornfield when the corn was a few inches tall. He showed me how to plant pumpkin seeds in a row of corn. I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old. He showed me how to dig with the hoe a hole in the ground between two stocks of corn. Then drop a pumpkin seed in the hole and cover it with earth using the hoe. Then I should go along the row of corn a distance of 8 or 10 feet and repeat the process. After I had practiced on a few holes he left me with the bag of pumpkin seeds and the hoe to finish the job... It was not a heavy job, at all beyond my ability and strength, but it seemed to be a boring one. After planting seeds for awhile, I dug one big hole, emptied the remainder of the seeds in the hole and covered them up. After a week or so, my father took me to the cornfield again and showed me a spot in the corn row with dozens of young pumpkin plants and asked for an explanation. Well I remembered what had happened and was embarrassed. He made a few remarks about not doing what I was assigned to do, but did not whip or really scold me much. He just handed me another bag of pumpkin seeds with the hoe and told me to complete the job. The lesson sank in."
Elvin apparently spent his whole working life on the farm and died relatively young at his home in Polk at the age of 49, succumbing to pneumonia and bronchial asthma. He was buried in Polk Cemetery.
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) 1870 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: M593_1169; Page: 650B; Family History Library Film: 552668
4) 1880 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T9_991; Family History Film: 1254991; Page: 76B; Enumeration District: 82; Image: 0155.
5) 1900 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T623 1237; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 4.
6) 1910 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio, Series: T624, Roll: 1151, Part: 2, Page: 111B
7) Obituary of Elvin F. Fast, Ashland Times & Gazette, Ashland, OH, 2 Jun 1915
8) Death Certificate of Elvin Francis Fast, #26145, from Ohio Deaths 1908-1953, FamilySearch Labs (Lists Jacob Fast and Melissa Burlingame as parents. Mrs. Elvin Fast was the informant. Shows death date 28 May 1915.)
DESCENDANT OF 5 MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS: William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John Cooke
GREAT GRANDSON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO CHRISTIAN FAST
FATHER OF WORLD WAR I VETERAN IRL FAST
———————
A BIOGRAPHY OF ELVIN FAST OF POLK, ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO, by Laurence Overmire, genealogist and family historian (great grandson), updated June 2018:
Elvin Fast was born in Ashland County, Ohio, not long after the close of the Civil War on Nov. 1, 1865, the eldest of two children of Judge Jacob Fast by his second wife Melissa Burlingame. Elvin's younger sister Cora died at the age of 13.
Through his mother's side of the family, Elvin was apparently descended from 5 Mayflower passengers including William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John. Of course, Elvin and even his mother Melissa probably knew nothing of this notable ancestry. Elvin no doubt knew of his descent from Revolutionary War veteran Christian Fast, however, a legendary and heroic figure in whom the family took great pride. During the Revolutionary War, Christian was captured by the Indians and lived among them as an adopted son for more than a year before he made a daring escape in time to warn a frontier settlement of an impending Indian attack.
Very little is known of Elvin. We do know he took over the running of the Fast farm in 1890 when his father retired and moved into a house in Polk, Ohio. On Nov. 23, 1890, in Ashland County, at the age of 25, he married Mary Frances Mitchelson, the daughter of Civil War veteran Benjamin Mitchelson and his wife Rebecca Matthews. They had one child together, whom they named Irl.
Irl was curiously reticent about his father. There is this one story about him which appears in Irl's Memoirs:
"One day my father took me out into the cornfield when the corn was a few inches tall. He showed me how to plant pumpkin seeds in a row of corn. I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old. He showed me how to dig with the hoe a hole in the ground between two stocks of corn. Then drop a pumpkin seed in the hole and cover it with earth using the hoe. Then I should go along the row of corn a distance of 8 or 10 feet and repeat the process. After I had practiced on a few holes he left me with the bag of pumpkin seeds and the hoe to finish the job... It was not a heavy job, at all beyond my ability and strength, but it seemed to be a boring one. After planting seeds for awhile, I dug one big hole, emptied the remainder of the seeds in the hole and covered them up. After a week or so, my father took me to the cornfield again and showed me a spot in the corn row with dozens of young pumpkin plants and asked for an explanation. Well I remembered what had happened and was embarrassed. He made a few remarks about not doing what I was assigned to do, but did not whip or really scold me much. He just handed me another bag of pumpkin seeds with the hoe and told me to complete the job. The lesson sank in."
Elvin apparently spent his whole working life on the farm and died relatively young at his home in Polk at the age of 49, succumbing to pneumonia and bronchial asthma. He was buried in Polk Cemetery.
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) 1870 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: M593_1169; Page: 650B; Family History Library Film: 552668
4) 1880 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T9_991; Family History Film: 1254991; Page: 76B; Enumeration District: 82; Image: 0155.
5) 1900 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T623 1237; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 4.
6) 1910 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio, Series: T624, Roll: 1151, Part: 2, Page: 111B
7) Obituary of Elvin F. Fast, Ashland Times & Gazette, Ashland, OH, 2 Jun 1915
8) Death Certificate of Elvin Francis Fast, #26145, from Ohio Deaths 1908-1953, FamilySearch Labs (Lists Jacob Fast and Melissa Burlingame as parents. Mrs. Elvin Fast was the informant. Shows death date 28 May 1915.)
OF GERMAN, SWISS, AND ENGLISH ANCESTRY
DESCENDANT OF 5 MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS: William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John Cooke
GREAT GRANDSON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO CHRISTIAN FAST
FATHER OF WORLD WAR I VETERAN IRL FAST
———————
A BIOGRAPHY OF ELVIN FAST OF POLK, ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO, by Laurence Overmire, genealogist and family historian (great grandson), updated June 2018:
Elvin Fast was born in Ashland County, Ohio, not long after the close of the Civil War on Nov. 1, 1865, the eldest of two children of Judge Jacob Fast by his second wife Melissa Burlingame. Elvin's younger sister Cora died at the age of 13.
Through his mother's side of the family, Elvin was apparently descended from 5 Mayflower passengers including William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John. Of course, Elvin and even his mother Melissa probably knew nothing of this notable ancestry. Elvin no doubt knew of his descent from Revolutionary War veteran Christian Fast, however, a legendary and heroic figure in whom the family took great pride. During the Revolutionary War, Christian was captured by the Indians and lived among them as an adopted son for more than a year before he made a daring escape in time to warn a frontier settlement of an impending Indian attack.
Very little is known of Elvin. We do know he took over the running of the Fast farm in 1890 when his father retired and moved into a house in Polk, Ohio. On Nov. 23, 1890, in Ashland County, at the age of 25, he married Mary Frances Mitchelson, the daughter of Civil War veteran Benjamin Mitchelson and his wife Rebecca Matthews. They had one child together, whom they named Irl.
Irl was curiously reticent about his father. There is this one story about him which appears in Irl's Memoirs:
"One day my father took me out into the cornfield when the corn was a few inches tall. He showed me how to plant pumpkin seeds in a row of corn. I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old. He showed me how to dig with the hoe a hole in the ground between two stocks of corn. Then drop a pumpkin seed in the hole and cover it with earth using the hoe. Then I should go along the row of corn a distance of 8 or 10 feet and repeat the process. After I had practiced on a few holes he left me with the bag of pumpkin seeds and the hoe to finish the job... It was not a heavy job, at all beyond my ability and strength, but it seemed to be a boring one. After planting seeds for awhile, I dug one big hole, emptied the remainder of the seeds in the hole and covered them up. After a week or so, my father took me to the cornfield again and showed me a spot in the corn row with dozens of young pumpkin plants and asked for an explanation. Well I remembered what had happened and was embarrassed. He made a few remarks about not doing what I was assigned to do, but did not whip or really scold me much. He just handed me another bag of pumpkin seeds with the hoe and told me to complete the job. The lesson sank in."
Elvin apparently spent his whole working life on the farm and died relatively young at his home in Polk at the age of 49, succumbing to pneumonia and bronchial asthma. He was buried in Polk Cemetery.
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) 1870 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: M593_1169; Page: 650B; Family History Library Film: 552668
4) 1880 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T9_991; Family History Film: 1254991; Page: 76B; Enumeration District: 82; Image: 0155.
5) 1900 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T623 1237; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 4.
6) 1910 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio, Series: T624, Roll: 1151, Part: 2, Page: 111B
7) Obituary of Elvin F. Fast, Ashland Times & Gazette, Ashland, OH, 2 Jun 1915
8) Death Certificate of Elvin Francis Fast, #26145, from Ohio Deaths 1908-1953, FamilySearch Labs (Lists Jacob Fast and Melissa Burlingame as parents. Mrs. Elvin Fast was the informant. Shows death date 28 May 1915.)
DESCENDANT OF 5 MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS: William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John Cooke
GREAT GRANDSON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO CHRISTIAN FAST
FATHER OF WORLD WAR I VETERAN IRL FAST
———————
A BIOGRAPHY OF ELVIN FAST OF POLK, ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO, by Laurence Overmire, genealogist and family historian (great grandson), updated June 2018:
Elvin Fast was born in Ashland County, Ohio, not long after the close of the Civil War on Nov. 1, 1865, the eldest of two children of Judge Jacob Fast by his second wife Melissa Burlingame. Elvin's younger sister Cora died at the age of 13.
Through his mother's side of the family, Elvin was apparently descended from 5 Mayflower passengers including William and Mary Brewster, Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son John. Of course, Elvin and even his mother Melissa probably knew nothing of this notable ancestry. Elvin no doubt knew of his descent from Revolutionary War veteran Christian Fast, however, a legendary and heroic figure in whom the family took great pride. During the Revolutionary War, Christian was captured by the Indians and lived among them as an adopted son for more than a year before he made a daring escape in time to warn a frontier settlement of an impending Indian attack.
Very little is known of Elvin. We do know he took over the running of the Fast farm in 1890 when his father retired and moved into a house in Polk, Ohio. On Nov. 23, 1890, in Ashland County, at the age of 25, he married Mary Frances Mitchelson, the daughter of Civil War veteran Benjamin Mitchelson and his wife Rebecca Matthews. They had one child together, whom they named Irl.
Irl was curiously reticent about his father. There is this one story about him which appears in Irl's Memoirs:
"One day my father took me out into the cornfield when the corn was a few inches tall. He showed me how to plant pumpkin seeds in a row of corn. I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old. He showed me how to dig with the hoe a hole in the ground between two stocks of corn. Then drop a pumpkin seed in the hole and cover it with earth using the hoe. Then I should go along the row of corn a distance of 8 or 10 feet and repeat the process. After I had practiced on a few holes he left me with the bag of pumpkin seeds and the hoe to finish the job... It was not a heavy job, at all beyond my ability and strength, but it seemed to be a boring one. After planting seeds for awhile, I dug one big hole, emptied the remainder of the seeds in the hole and covered them up. After a week or so, my father took me to the cornfield again and showed me a spot in the corn row with dozens of young pumpkin plants and asked for an explanation. Well I remembered what had happened and was embarrassed. He made a few remarks about not doing what I was assigned to do, but did not whip or really scold me much. He just handed me another bag of pumpkin seeds with the hoe and told me to complete the job. The lesson sank in."
Elvin apparently spent his whole working life on the farm and died relatively young at his home in Polk at the age of 49, succumbing to pneumonia and bronchial asthma. He was buried in Polk Cemetery.
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) 1870 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: M593_1169; Page: 650B; Family History Library Film: 552668
4) 1880 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T9_991; Family History Film: 1254991; Page: 76B; Enumeration District: 82; Image: 0155.
5) 1900 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio; Roll: T623 1237; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 4.
6) 1910 federal census, Jackson, Ashland, Ohio, Series: T624, Roll: 1151, Part: 2, Page: 111B
7) Obituary of Elvin F. Fast, Ashland Times & Gazette, Ashland, OH, 2 Jun 1915
8) Death Certificate of Elvin Francis Fast, #26145, from Ohio Deaths 1908-1953, FamilySearch Labs (Lists Jacob Fast and Melissa Burlingame as parents. Mrs. Elvin Fast was the informant. Shows death date 28 May 1915.)
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