James was born on 8 FEB 1849 in Lawrence County, Tennessee, the son of John C. Gist and Elizabeth Fisher.
He died on 26 NOV 1890 in Pulaski County, Arkansas.
He had two marriages/partners. His first wife was Nancy L. Wiley, who he married on 14 AUG 1865 in Lawrence County, TN. They had no known children.
His second wife was Susan Eudora Harrell, who he married on 13 MAR 1879 in Faulkner Co., AR. Their three known children were Lula Carroll (1884-1963), Wallace Harrell (1887-1973) and Gist (?-?).
| Event | Date | Details | Source | Multimedia | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 8 FEB 1849 |
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| Death | 26 NOV 1890 |
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Note 1
James Carroll Gist was a sucessful business man in Conway and served on the board of directors for several different organizations in that town over a period of several years. Much early history on the Gist family can be found in Lawrence county, Tennessee.
J. C. Gist, according to the 1880 census, was a grocer; Susan E. Harrell's father, George P. Harrell, Jr., who died in 1866, was also a merchant and grocer in Cadron or Conway, Faulkner Co., Arkansas.
1880 Faulkner Co. Census
Gist, James C., W, M, 31, M, Retail Grocer, TN, KY, TN
Gist, Susan E., W, F, 18, Wife, M, Keeping House, AR, -, TN
Gist, Nancy E., W, F, 13, Dau, S, Attending School, TN, TN, TN
Gist, William D., W, M, 9, Son, S, Attending School, AR, TN, TN
Gist, John W (or M), W, M, 8, Son, S, Attending School, AR, TN, TN
Gist, Joanna, W, F, 4, Dau, AR, TN, TN
James Carroll (J.C.) Gist was my (Barbara McCowan) great-grandfather. He was born in 1849 in Lawrence Co.,TN to John and Elizabeth Gist. John H. was indeed J.C.'s younger brother. J.C.'s first wife was Nancy L. Wiley and they were married August 14, 1865 in Lawrence Co., TN. They had four children listed in the 1880 Faulkner Co., Arkansas census you listed. I don't know the circumstances or date of Nancy's death off the top of my head, but I'm sure I have at least the dates somewhere because I took photos of their tombstones in Marcus Hill Cemetery, Enola, Arkansas about 20+ years ago. This branch of the Gist family was in Lawrence Co., TN since the early 1800's... around 1820 I think, but I'm not sure. You can find John and Elizabeth with one year old J.C. in the 1850 census with their last name mistaken as "Guess" and in the same location in the 1860 census with their name spelled correctly as "Gist". I do not know why, but the 1860 census index doesn't even acknowledge the existence of a Lawrence Co. ANYWHERE in TN, but refers to it as Lauderdale Co. instead. But when you look at the actual census it says Lawrence Co. at the top of the page. It's just the index that's incorrect. I have never been able to find J.C. Gist in the 1870 census. Not in TN or AR. I have been told J.C. was moving his family from TN to AR in 1870, so that may be why I can't find them... because they were traveling. One other thing... Lawrence Co., TN was on the border of Lauderdale Co., Alabama. There were a bunch of Gist cousins living on the Alabama side. I have never been able to verify there were any siblings in that group, only cousins.
Susan Eudora Harrell was my grandfather's mother. J.C. Gist was killed in a streetcar vs train accident in Argenta, Ark., an area of Little Rock. So he died in Pulaski Co. not Faulkner Co. He was riding on the streetcar going home to Conway the day after Thanksgiving. He had been to Little Rock on business. The streetcar got stuck on the train tracks and when he saw the train coming towards them, he jumped off the streetcar. The train hit the streetcar and knocked it over on top of J.C. crushing him. I have a copy of the newspaper article.
Posted by Barbara McCowan