John Geist
Biography from Biographical Annals of Lancaster County, PA, pages 1193-1524
Submitted by Suzanne NobleJOHN GEIST. Among the retired farmers of Lancaster county John Geist takes a leading position, being a man of large means and much public spirit. Mr. Geist was born in West Lampeter township Sept. 4, 1829, and he was a son of John and Eliza ( Powell) Geist, natives, respectively, of Strasburg and East Lampeter townships. By trade the elder John Geist was a wagon maker, which business he carried on in connection with his farming operations. Some time prior to his death he gave up active work. Father Geist was born July 29, 1804, and died May 21, 1866. His first wife was born March 19, 1809, and died March 9, 1844, both being buried in Mellinger's cemetery. These worthy people had been devoted members of the Reformed Mennonite Church.
The children of these parents were: Anna, who died young; Daniel, who died in Ohio and was twice married, the first time to Mary Kreider; John; Mary J., Amos, Barbara, Elizabeth, and Emma, who all died young; and Susanna R., who married Henry Rudy. The second marriage of Mr. Geist was to Susanna Burkholder, and to this union one daughter was born, Martha, who married Rev. Abraham Kurtz and died in 1898. The paternal grandparents of John Geist were Philip and Barbara Geist, natives of Baden, Germany, the former of whom came to America at the age of eighteen in order to avoid service in the German army. Philip Geist was a son of George Geist, a native of Wittenburg, Germany, who came to America in 1763, locating in Strasburg, Lancaster county. where his two brothers, Simon and Leonard, already resided.
John Geist received a good common school education and made his home with his parents until he was about twenty-five years old, although at the age of seventeen he began to learn the carpenter trade, which kept him from home a part of the time. Later he engaged in farming in East Lampeter township, moving to his present farm in Upper Leacock township, six miles east of Lancaster, in 1865, where he remained actively engaged in general farming until July 14, 1896; then he removed to his present residence on the same farm, while his son took the old home and relieved his father of the work. This is one of the fine farms in this part of Lancaster county, comprising 100 acres of well improved, finely cultivated and productive land.
John Geist was married Nov. 9, 1854, in Lancaster, to Miss Charlotte Harnish, and the children of this union were: Martin, who died at the age of fourteen years; Lizzie Ann, who married Kinder Bender, of Leacock township, and has a family of eight children; Mary J., who married O. S. Eckert, a farmer of West Earl township, and has four children; Ida A., a young lady, at home; Willis, the farmer on the old homestead, who married Laura Stoner, has two children, and is one of the school directors; Lotta, a young girl at home; Morten, Emma, and John, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Charlotte Harnish Geist was born in East Lampeter township Oct. 4,1 832, and was a daughter of Martin and Anna ( Weidler) Harnish, the former a farmer of West Lampeter township, where he died in 1840, at the age of thirty-eight years, and the latter a native of Leacock township. The mother survived until she was eighty-two years old, dying in 1876, and she was buried in the private burying grounds on the old farm. Both parents of Mrs. Geist were worthy Christian people, devout members of the Reformed Mennonite Church. There children were: Benjamin W., who operated a foundry and died in 1890; Elizabeth, who was the wife of Edwin Betzer and died in 1860; Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Geist; and Samuel, a moulder of Lancaster. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Geist was Martin Harnish, a farmer and distiller who became a resident of Ohio, but died while visiting in Lancaster county.
Mr. Geist has been identified with a number of leading business interests of Lancaster county and for ten years has been a director in the Farmer's National Bank of Lancaster. In politics he is a Republican, and socially he is respected and esteemed by all who know him.
Contributed for use by the Lancaster County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/~lancaster/)
Lancaster County Genealogy Project Notice:
These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any presentation, without prior written permission.
Return to Biographical Annals Page
Return to the Lancaster County Genealogy Project