Martin Fast ^{3 4 5 6}

  General Notes:

A BIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN FAST, by Larry Overmire (3G Grandson), Aug. 2008:

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.

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), from whom his 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.
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  Birth Notes:

Birth date is calculated from the age at death of 54y, 1d.

  Death Notes:

This part of Wayne County where Martin died and where the cemetery originally was located later became part of Ashland County.
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  Noted events in his life were:

• He was buried after 13 June 1838 in the Polk Cemetery in Polk, OH.

"Martin Fast; Died June 13, 1838; Aged 54y 1d"
Find A Grave Memorial #28897215
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Martin married Catherine Blosser, daughter of John Blosser and Mary Catherine Clemmer, on 26 June 1806 in German Township, Washington, PA.^{1 2} (Catherine Blosser was born on 8 June 1790 in Springhill, PA,^{8 9} died on 21 March 1859 in Ashland County, OH ^{3 9} and was buried after 21 March 1859 in Polk, OH ^{3 5 9}.)