Andrew Gast, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Andrew Gast
ANDREW GAST. Among the citizens of industry and ability who have aided in the upbuilding of Porter county during the last half century, Mr. Gast and family are deserving of special mention. As a farmer and stockman he has long been known as the possessor of substantial prosperity, and in the community where he resides his integrity and good citizenship have always been manifest for the general good.
Mr. Gast is one of the men whom Germany has contributed to this county. He was born in Bavaria in 1844, a son of George and Maryanna Gast. When he was ten years old, in 1855, the family immigrated to America and soon afterward found a home in Porter county. They erected a rough kind of house on a piece of open government land, and the father then went to work for the neighboring farmers. His industry and thrift were rewarded, so that he was able to buy a tract of two hundred and fifteen acres at ten dollars an acre, and prosperity came in time with abundant fruits and comforts, as evidence of the enterprise displayed by this worthy family.
The children of the family were Marcus, John, Louis, Maryann and Andrew. While growing up their school privileges were few and limited to those afforded by the little country schoolhouses. Andrew remained at home assisting his father in clearing the land and paying off the debts, until the 4th of July, 1872, when he was married to Miss Frances Bently. Ms. Gast was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, a daughter of Sebastian and Thressa Bently, and was twenty-five years old when she left her native land to join her brothers and sisters who had preceded her to America.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gast worked early and late to build a home for themselves, and in due time success rewarded their efforts. Into their home came seven children, named Louis, John, Otilla, Andrew, Michael, Francis S. and Rosetta. They were all educated in the Blachly school, and their home training fitted them well for lives of usefulness. Louis married Anna Hindelong, of Valparaiso, and their children are Francis, Anna and Mary, twins, Madeline, Helen, Louis Leo and a baby. Otilla is the wife of Audrey Nickershensky, a successful and prosperous farmer of Union township, and they are the parents of two children, Anna and Frances. Andrew, who is a farmer of Union township, married Dora Fitzgerald, and their four children are Gerald, Edward, Frances and Catharine. Michael, who is in the grocery business at Valparaiso, married Anna Carley. Francis S., who is a farmer in Union township, married Miss Agnes Daily and has one little boy, James Dallas. Rosetta is the wife of Isaac Hardisty, a farmer in Union township, and their one son is Lawrence. The son John is the only one of the children not married, and he is the superintendent of his father's home farm. His well tilled fields show the application of intelligent industry and he is one of the leading agriculturists of the township.
Mr. and Mrs. Gast are members of the Catholic church at Valparaiso, and have reared their children in that faith. In politics Mr. Gast is a Democrat. For nearly sixty years he has lived in the midst of the developing conditions of a county which in that time has advanced from the frontier into the forefront of American civilization. He has done well his own part, and is honored and esteemed among all who know the integrity and industry of his career.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 764-765
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook