Doddridge County Roots

A West Virginia Genealogy

John GASTON

John GASTON

Male 1703 - 1782  (78 years)

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  • Name John GASTON 
    Born 4 Apr 1703  Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Headstone has birth date as 1700, while "Gaston of Chester" states ca 1710.
    Gender Male 
    Immigration 1749  Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Occupation farmer, surveyor, Justice in South Carolina  [3
    Residence (SETTLED 1751/52)  Fishing Creek, Chester Co, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Died 1782  South Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 4, 5, 6
    Buried Burnt Meeting House Cemetery, Wylie's Mill, Chester Co, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Notes 
    • Emigrated first to Pennsylvania in 1749, then to Chester District, South Carolina, in about 1751-52, settling on Fishing Creek. Served as King's Justice before 1776, and as leader of the patriots of his vicinity during the British incursion of 1780-81. He is often referred to by Gaston genealogists as "Justice John." The nine sons of John and Esther Gaston served as soldiers in the American Revolution, and four of them lost their lives in that war.

      An account of Justice John Gaston is found in the historical novel "Polly of the Pines," by Adele Eugenia Thompson, published in 1906 by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company. Polly was Mary Dunning, a brave girl of the Carolinas, and the events of the story take place in the years 1775-1882. She was an orphan living with her mother's family, who were Scotch Highlanders, and for the most part intensely loyal to the Crown. Polly finds the glamour of royal adherence hard to resist, but her heart turns toward the patriots, and she does much to aid and encourage them. The book is available in reprint and in PDF form online at Google Books. [1, 2]
    Person ID I3314  Doddridge County Roots
    Last Modified 29 Jun 2011 

    Father William GASTON,   b. 1680, Cloughwater, County Antrim, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. CA 1770, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 90 years) 
    Mother Olivet LEMON,   b. 1688, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1752  (Age 64 years) 
    Family ID F1172  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Esther WAUGH,   b. 1715, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1789  (Age 74 years)  [1
    Married Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Children 
    +1. Margaret GASTON,   b. 29 Aug 1738, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1767, Chester Co, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 28 years)
    +2. Martha GASTON,   b. 11 Jun 1741, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Mar 1826  (Age 84 years)
    +3. William GASTON,   b. 5 Jun 1743, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1814  (Age 70 years)
    +4. John GASTON,   b. 24 Jun 1745, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Jan 1808  (Age 62 years)
    +5. James GASTON,   b. 15 Apr 1747,   d. Bef 1833  (Age 85 years)
     6. Robert GASTON,   b. 11 Mar 1749, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Aug 1780, Hanging Rock, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 31 years)
    +7. Hugh GASTON,   b. 12 Mar 1751, Lancaster Co, PA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Jun 1836  (Age 85 years)
     8. Alexander GASTON,   b. 24 Aug 1753,   d. 1781  (Age 27 years)
     9. David GASTON,   b. 7 Jul 1755,   d. 7 Aug 1780, Hanging Rock, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 25 years)
     10. Ebenezer GASTON,   b. 15 Sep 1757,   d. 7 Aug 1780, Hanging Rock, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 22 years)
    +11. Esther GASTON,   b. Oct 1760,   d. 1809  (Age ~ 48 years)
    +12. Joseph GASTON,   b. 22 Jan 1763, Chester Co, SC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Oct 1836, Chester Co, SC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 73 years)
    Family ID F1173  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Photos
    Burnt Meeting House Cemetery, Wylie's Mill, Chester Co SC
    Burnt Meeting House Cemetery, Wylie's Mill, Chester Co SC

  • Sources 
    1. [S504] Ohio Valley Genealogies, Charles A. Hanna, (Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore MD, 1989 (orig. pub. 1900)), p. 40.

    2. [S501] The Gaston Genealogy, Jane Farrell Burgess, 11700 Dinwiddie Dr, Rockville, MD 20852, (1989), p. 78.

    3. [S2001] Heritage History of Chester County, South Carolina, (1982), p. 195.

    4. [S5] Headstone.

    5. [S501] The Gaston Genealogy, Jane Farrell Burgess, 11700 Dinwiddie Dr, Rockville, MD 20852, (1989), p. 86.

    6. [S2134] Gaston of Chester, Chalmers Gaston Davidson, (Davidson Printing Co, Davidson NC (1956)), p. xi.