Excerpts about the Keister Family
Excerpt from Early Adventurers on the Western Waters-Kegley
KEISTER
Philip Keister (Kester) came to Tom’s Creek about
1800 and purchased 65 acres from
McCall and 111acres from Patton's executors.
He probably came from Rockingham County, Virginia, as so many of his
neighbors did. The Kincers, Surfaces, Kipps and probably others were associated
in Rockingham County before coming to Montgomery County.
Philip Keister left a will written Sept. 5, 1814 and recorded November 1814 (Montgomery
County Will Book 2, p. 500). His wife is not mentioned. The children were Philip, Peter, John, Polly
Baumgardner and Rebeckah Dederick. He
mentions that he lent Peter Dederick $100 in 1806. Rebeckah received an additional $70 for boarding father Philip.
The executors were Jacob Price and Henry D. Price. On March 14, 1822 John
Keister of Albemarle County, Virginia assigned all his interest in his father's
estate to his brother, Peter Keister, of Montgomery County (Montgomery County
Deed Book 3, p. 415).
The estate of Philip Keister deceased was recorded
in February 1815 (Montgomery County
Will Book 2, p. 272). The following are among the items
listed: shoemaker's tools and box, sole leather, saddle and bags, beds, one
with cord, one with curtains, and bed clothes, one silver watch, one Indian
blanket, a pair fire tongs, one pair spectacles, shaving utensils, a powder
horn, a "bole," combs and pipe, an ink stand, Bible, a geography, 8 German books, two towels, a tablecloth,
a deer skin, chest, chamber pot, and one chair.
Philip Keister, apparently the son of Philip Sr.,
left his will recorded in Montgomery County. He wrote his will Feb. 15, 1834 and it was probated November 1835 (Will
Book 5, p. 349). His personal property
was to be sold three months after his death.
The money was to be divided among his children who were named as
follows: Polly, "Betzey," John, George and Susanna. His sons, John
and George, were to act as executors and were not to be allowed to buy the
plantation. In the settlement of the estate John Slusher was allowed the sum of
$7 for a coffin.
The estate of Philip Keister deceased was ordered to
be appraised in November 1835, with the appraisal taking place on December 16
of the same year. The list was recorded in February 1836 and included the
following items: a ten plate stove, barrel, salt tub, grinding stone and crank,
a loom, quilling wheel, 2 shuttles, ax, churn, shovel and tongs, steelyards,
waffle iron, coffee mill, a pot, 2 split bottom chairs, a woman's saddle, a
man's saddle, snaffle bridle, crout cutter, a stone jar, one bed stead, bed
cord and furniture, a shaving box and razor, 4 stirrups, 4 German books, salt
box, buckets, wedges, anville and hammer, wheat and rye. The total appraised value
was $265.38½ (Montgomery county Will
Book 5, p. 369).
Peter Keister (Kester) came to Tom’s Creek about the
same time as Philip Keister did and may have been his son. He bought 173 acres on
Tom's Creek from Jacob and Mary Scilar (Siler, Sailer) in 1800 (Summers, Annals, p. 940).
When
Peter Keister wrote his will in June 1839, he left the plantation on Tom's
Creek where he resided to his sixth son Henry, after his wife, Elizabeth,
died. He also mentions his lands in
Rockingham County, Virginia. He named the other children as follows: Elizabeth
Price, Susannah Keister, Jacob Keister, "Sarahan" Barger, Mary
Barger, Catherine Keister, Peter Keister, John P. Keister and Allan Keister.
His son Peter, was to act as executor of the estate. The will was recorded Feb.
3, 1840 (Montgomery County Will Book 6, p. 191).
The estate of Peter Keister was appraised on March
13, 1840 by Henry Keister the executor, and included the following items:
mares, colts, a wheat fan, cutting box, hay forks, 4 still tubs, cows, calves,
clevises, coulters, shovel plow, harrow, barrels, hogs, pigs, gears, bridle, a
little wheel, hackle, hammer, anvil, kettle, sheep, oven and baker, fire shovel
and churn, 4 chairs, 1 cupboard and furniture, a lot of German books, bureau, 3
beds, cattle and chest (Montgomery County Will Book 6, p. 237).
Conflicting Accounts of
Origins
From Keister Genealogy by John Taylor Keister
The earliest settlers of Keisters (Kusters) that we
have any record of is that of Johannes and Paul Keister who settled in Germantown,
Pennsylvania from 1683 to 1710 and the next imigrant was Conrad Keister who
settled in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1734.
Professor H. L. Price records in his "Family
Lines" that the first Keisters settled in Lanacaster County, Pennsylvania
as follows: First, Frederick Keister, Sr. came to America from Germany on the
ship "Virginia-Grace" September 24, 1737; second, Peter Keister, Sr.
came on the ship "Robert and Olive" September 11, 1738; third, George
Keister came on the ship "Brigantine Mary" August 25, 1742; fourth,
John Philip Keister came on the ship "Edenburg" September 16, 1751;
fifth Ludwig and George Philip Keister came on the ship "Neptune"
October 4, 1752.
The ship "Edenburg" that brought over John
Philip Keister contained our ancestors.
One recorder has reported that the passengers on a
ship named "Winter Galley" in 1738 which brought over three (Kusters)
or Keisters by name (Peter, Robert, and Clare), were our ancestors but this
seems to be in error as the following record will show:
As to the above Philip Keister we have the following
given us by James W. Keister (our cousin) of Pulaski, Virginia: I quote, "I have a record in German
about the time he (Philip Keister) arrived in Montgomery County saying that he
and his wife certified that the following were the names of their children and
the dates of their births: 1. Marithana born November 8, 1778; 2. Elizabeth
born October 21, 1786; 3. Johannes (John) born October 16, 1789; 4. George born
January 27, 1794; 5. Susannah born August 4, 1799." The above five names, according to Prof. H.
L. Price's "Family Lines" are children of John Philip Keister who is
the son of Frederick Keister, Sr. He
states that John Philip came to the New River Settlement in 1799 from
Rockingham County, Virginia and located in lower Tom's Creek and all of the
Keisters of this section are said to be his progenitors and his will is
recorded in the Montgomery County records in 1817.
Among the records of other Keisters who settled in
other parts of Virginia (other than the New River Settlement) may be mentioned
the following: The first family of
Keisters that settled in Shenandoah County was that of Christopher Keister
(three in family) in 1783. The Keisters
of Strasburg descended from this family of which E. E. Keister, the publisher,
the late Rev. T. O. Keister and his son Judge Thurston Keister of Salem are
members. Frederick Keister III is
referred to in both the Augusta county and Rockingham County Annals. Some Keisters settled in Highland County, Virginia. W. H. Keister of Harrisonburg is a
descendent of this branch. From the
records we have the following descendents of Frederick Keister, Sr. who landed
in America in 1737 and probably first settled in the Valley of Virginia and may
have later migrated to Montgomery County at least some members of the family
and is known as the Dyer settlement.
This last statement is only conjecture until the exact location of the
settlement is established.
...Now, the record of Philip Keister born June 7,
1753 (recorded by one as John Philip Keister) who first lived in Rockingham
County is as follows: He with his wife
Maria Catherine left Rockingham County and came to Montgomery County in 1799. They bought two tracts of land which were
recorded May 10, 1800; one tract of 111 acres from the Patton estate on New
River and one of 65 acres from John McCall on Toms Creek, a branch of New
River. A record is also given that when
they came to Montgomery County they certified that their children were as
follows:
Marathina born November
8, 1778
Elizabeth born October
21, 1786
Johanas born October 16,
1789 (our grandfather)
George born January 27,
1794
Susanna born August 4,
1799 (End
of Keister excerpt)
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Extract
from letter from J. P. Keister, Pulaski, VA found
in "Family Lines" by Prof. H. L. Price
"You,
I know, have been interested in the genealogy of our family-Kuster, Koster,
Kister, Kester, Keister. I will give
you the result of my research. First,
in this country and my conclusion as to foreign.
The Philadelphia port from Amsterdam would give that
on September 11, 1738, Peter Koster with Robert and Clare arrived. It is tradition that he lived in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania. I would say at or
near New Holland. The ship that brought
them over was the "Winter Galley."
Koster is the Holland spelling.
He was evidently young, probably 18 or 20 years old, and doubtless spent
his life in Lancaster County. He had at
least three sons, from tradition and record: Phillip, our great-grandfather,
Peter, and another, name not known. The
unknown one continued to live in Rockingham County, it is supposed.
I have a
record in German, saying that Phillip Kuster, the German spelling, was born
June 7, 1753, and that his wife Marie Catherine, was in Rockingham County,
Virginia. He lived there until about
November 1799. He had bought and had
recorded on May 10, 1800 two tracts of land; one for one hundred eleven acres
from the Patton Estate, and one from John McCall for sixty-five acres, on a
branch of Tom's Creek, a branch of the New River.
I have another record written in German about the
time he arrived in Montgomery County saying that he and his wife certified that
the following were the names of their children and the dates of their births:
1. Marithana born November 8, 1778; 2. Elizabeth born October 21, 1786; 3.
Johannes (John) born October 16, 1789; 4. George born January 27, 1794; 5.
Susannah born August 4, 1799. In
German, Kuster, the U with an umlaut--and Koster with the O, the name in
Holland for the same. Kuster and Koster
stand for the same--sacristan, sexton or second.
Now back in the earliest days of Christianity with
the beginning of the building of cathedrals, Kuster was the office next first
to the priest. He had charge of all
movable things, as well as treasurer and member of the council. In history, you will find in the Brittanica
Encyclopedia, the Eleventh (I edition, Volume 15 and 16) that in 1339-1340 that
Lauren Jansoon Koster had the best claim as the inventor or the movable type
against Gutenberg. He lived in Harlem
Holland and died in a plague, but through his wife, Lucia, the pedigree was
carried down to 1724. Peter came to
America in 1738. I would say the
earliest fixing of the name, as a surname of ancestral home, would be about
Wurtemburg in the Palatina along down the Rhine, over to Holland and Harlem.
If you can get to a large library, can get the
annals of Augusta or the annals written by Judge Lyman Chalkley, you should get
details. If you do, let me know."
(End
of Price excerpt)
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