Person:Christopher Gist (1)

Issues

Records in Augusta County, VA

From Chalkley's:

• Vol. 2 - Philip Buckner deposes in Brackin County, Kentucky, 1814, that he knew Thomas Moss in 1754, 1755 at George Todd's in Caroline County, Virginia, when he was on the expedition as a drummer, in the campaign of that year under General Braddock and Col. Muse and Col. Washington. Deponent has lived in Kentucky since 1783. Certificate from Caroline County Court 10th February, 1780, that George Turner served as soldier in First Virginia Regiment under Washington. Ditto from Spottsylvania, 17th February, 1780, that Nathaniel Gist served as Lieutenant in Cap. Christopher Gist's Company of Rangers, in 1756, and served until 1757, when the Company was reduced.

Overview

From Darlington, 1893

CHRISTOPHER GIST was of English descent. His grandfather was Christopher Gist, who died in Baltimore County in 1691. His grandmother was Edith Cromwell. They had one child, Richard, who was Surveyor of the Western Shore and was one of the Commissioners for laying off the town of Baltimore. In 1705 he married Zipporah Murray, and Christopher was one of three sons. He was a resident of North Carolina when first employed by the Ohio Company. He married Sarah Howard. He had three sons, Nathaniel, Richard and Thomas, and two daughters, Anne and Violette. Nathaniel was the only son that married. With his sons, Nathaniel and Thomas, he was with Braddock on his fatal field of battle. Urged by bribes and the promise of rewards, two Indians were persuaded to go out on a scouting expedition. As soon as they were gone, Christopher Gist, the General's guide, was dispatched on the same errand. On the 6th both Indians and Gist rejoined the army, having been within half a mile of the fort. Their reports were favorable and the army advanced. After Braddock's defeat he raised a company of scouts in Virginia and Maryland and did service on the frontier, being then called Captain Gist. In 1756 he went to the Carolinas to enlist Cherokee Indians for the English service. For a time he served as Indian Agent. He died in the summer of 1759, of smallpox, in South Carolina or Georgia. Richard Gist was killed in the battle of King's Mountain. Thomas lived on the plantation. (88)

Anne lived with him until his death, when she joined her brother Nathaniel in Kentucky. Nathaniel was a Colonel in the Virginia Line, during the Revolutionary War, and afterwards removed to Kentucky, where he died early in the present century. He left two sons, Henry Clay and Thomas Cecil. His eldest daughter, Sarah, married the Hon. Jesse Bledsoe, United States Senator from Kentucky. His grandson, B. Gratz Brown, was the Democratic candidate for Vice-President in 1872. The second daughter of Colonel Gist married Colonel Nathaniel Hart, a brother of Mrs. Henry Clay. The third daughter married Dr. Boswell, of Lexington, Kentucky. The fourth married Francis P. Blair, and they were the parents of Montgomery Blair and Francis P. Blair. The fifth married Benjamin Gratz, of Lexington, Kentucky.

Records

Christopher Gist kept a series of Journals in which he recorded events and observations during various times. One of these Journals (.pdf) was kept during his explorations for the Ohio Company, and is of particular interest for Southwest Virginia researchers.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Christopher Gist, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
2.   #63844139 , in Find A Grave.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970.

   Volume: 255; SAR Membership Number: 50825.

4. ↑ Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades. Colonial families of the United States of America: in which is given the history, genealogy and armorial bearings of colonial families who settled in the American colonies from the time of the settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. (New York, Boston: The Grafton Press, 1907)
   vol 1, page 267.

   brothers married sisters -- Christopher= Sarah; Nathaniel=Mary

5.   Christopher Gist and Settlement on the Monongahela, 1752-1754 , by David B. Trimble, in Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. (Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Historical Society)
   Vol. 63, No. 1 (Jan., 1955), pp. 15-27 .
6.   National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970.

   Name: Christoher Gist
   [Christopher Gist]
   Birth Date: 1706
   Death Date: 1759
   SAR Membership: 50825
   Role: Ancestor
   Application Date: 5 Feb 1931
   Father: Richard Gist
   Mother: Zipporah Murray
   Spouse: Sarah Howard
   Children: Nathaniel Gist

7.   Jackson, Ron V. Maryland, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1772-1890.

   Name: Christopher Gist
   State: MD
   County: Baltimore County
   Township: Residents
   Year: 1739
   Page: 059
   Database: MD Early Census Index

8.   Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly
   Volume 31, Number 2, pg. 90. .

   Feb. 1780.
   
   Nathaniel Gist served as lieutenant in Capt. Christopher Gist's company in 1756 and Captain in Col. Washington's First Virginia Regiment
   Christopher Gist was a captain of rangers in 1756 and served till 1757. His son and heir was Nathaniel Gist.