On my mother's side, is an ancestor named John Griest. He lived in Pennsylvania from 1694 to 1751. John's daughter, Sarah, married William Squibb. While most of us will leave no evidence of our existence, John Griest did leave a few things to remember him by.
Probably most significant is the office building at the Susquehanna Memorial Gardens near York, Pennsylvania. This building was originally larger, and at another location in York.
This beautiful picture was taken by Diane Bowders and published on Yorkblog.com. John Griest built this building around 1740 at its original location on what is now the Lincoln Highway in York. In 1962 it was taken down to make way for a shopping mall and rebuilt at the cemetery.
At that time the building looked something like this:
The sturdy building was known as Ye Olde Valley Inn, Beard's Inn, etc. and was originally built to protect John's family from Indians, with whom he didn't always have the best relationship. Griest used it for a trading post for the nearby families as well.
After its use for the family, it was sold and was used as an inn for years. It was said to have hosted various members of the Continental Congress, including George Washington, and was a stop on the Underground Railway, helping slaves escape northward.
At one time, John Griest lived on the forbidden west side of the Susquehanna River. That was land left for the Indians, but John moved there in spite of the law and the Indians. The Indians complained about his abuse and assault against them and Griest was jailed for a time for violating the law, and forced off his settlement. But the creek he settled then is now known as Kreutz Creek. It is thought to have gotten its name from Griest, whose name sounded to the local Germans like Kreutz. John Griest could very well have left his mark on the area with his name on the creek where he had squatted.
I have yet to find a horse thief in my family. But John Griest may have been very close. In 1724, testimony was given against Griest that he bought a stolen horse knowingly, knew about others, and was most likely selling, or planning to sell the stolen horses.
Here is what John's personal estate consisted of when he died in 1751:
2 horses,
a knife,
2 noggins,
2 trenchers,
strainer and bowl,
2 bowls & 3 spoons,
a bowl,
oak bowl,
a powdering tub,
bag & beans,
a gun,
a powdering tub & beef,
a rope of onions & mustard seed,
a gum & tobacco,
a dough trough,
a log chain, a collar and hames and trees,
a saddle & bridle,
a flax & tow,
a bundle of linum yarn,
a weeding hough,
weeding houghs,
1 axe,
3 yards of new linum,
a bed tick,
and a pair of pillow cases,
a pair of drawers,
trousers & leggins and frying pan,
a shirt & cap,
shoes & stockings,
a linen waiste coat,
a pair of leather britches,
a pair of mittens,
a coat and great coat,
a cover lid,
a blanket,
a boulster,
and 2 pillows,
a wallet & a pair of yarn stockings,
2 cakes of tallow,
a padlock,
corn in house, in the crib,
a hat,
sow, & six pigs,
2 shoats, 2 shoats, 2 shoats, 1 shoat,
2 rows of apple trees, 3 rows of apple trees,
a nursery of peach trees,
a cow,
a powdering tub,
a steer calf,
a bottle,
wheat stack,
a stack of oats,
a stack of flax,
wheat & rye on the ground,
three dozen turnips,
lumber,
stack of hay, another stack of hay,
cash 14s. 7p.
Probably most significant is the office building at the Susquehanna Memorial Gardens near York, Pennsylvania. This building was originally larger, and at another location in York.
At that time the building looked something like this:
After its use for the family, it was sold and was used as an inn for years. It was said to have hosted various members of the Continental Congress, including George Washington, and was a stop on the Underground Railway, helping slaves escape northward.
At one time, John Griest lived on the forbidden west side of the Susquehanna River. That was land left for the Indians, but John moved there in spite of the law and the Indians. The Indians complained about his abuse and assault against them and Griest was jailed for a time for violating the law, and forced off his settlement. But the creek he settled then is now known as Kreutz Creek. It is thought to have gotten its name from Griest, whose name sounded to the local Germans like Kreutz. John Griest could very well have left his mark on the area with his name on the creek where he had squatted.
I have yet to find a horse thief in my family. But John Griest may have been very close. In 1724, testimony was given against Griest that he bought a stolen horse knowingly, knew about others, and was most likely selling, or planning to sell the stolen horses.
Here is what John's personal estate consisted of when he died in 1751:
2 horses,
a knife,
2 noggins,
2 trenchers,
strainer and bowl,
2 bowls & 3 spoons,
a bowl,
oak bowl,
a powdering tub,
bag & beans,
a gun,
a powdering tub & beef,
a rope of onions & mustard seed,
a gum & tobacco,
a dough trough,
a log chain, a collar and hames and trees,
a saddle & bridle,
a flax & tow,
a bundle of linum yarn,
a weeding hough,
weeding houghs,
1 axe,
3 yards of new linum,
a bed tick,
and a pair of pillow cases,
a pair of drawers,
trousers & leggins and frying pan,
a shirt & cap,
shoes & stockings,
a linen waiste coat,
a pair of leather britches,
a pair of mittens,
a coat and great coat,
a cover lid,
a blanket,
a boulster,
and 2 pillows,
a wallet & a pair of yarn stockings,
2 cakes of tallow,
a padlock,
corn in house, in the crib,
a hat,
sow, & six pigs,
2 shoats, 2 shoats, 2 shoats, 1 shoat,
2 rows of apple trees, 3 rows of apple trees,
a nursery of peach trees,
a cow,
a powdering tub,
a steer calf,
a bottle,
wheat stack,
a stack of oats,
a stack of flax,
wheat & rye on the ground,
three dozen turnips,
lumber,
stack of hay, another stack of hay,
cash 14s. 7p.
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