| Notes |
- Joseph was the second of twelve children born to John. (C-797) The listing of his death date in one source the same day he was married is in error as he is listed in his brother's will in 1809. His marriage date was May 30, 1783. He purcha0 acres of land on the Uwharrie River in Randolph Co., NC on Jan 5, 1787 that was issued to him on May 18, 1789. (C-116, 671, 2172) He was the only Mast of this generation in this branch of the family to remain in North Carolina after the great move to Ohio by his siblings. He is the father of a Reuben Mast. Reuben and his sons moved to Nacogdoches,Texas where they were they multiplied their wealth in land and banking. They are the ancestors of the highly respected current day powerhouse Mast family. (C-1459) Reuben had a son William Penn Mast who continued on from Texas north to Coquille, Oregon in the late 1800's with about 75 family members. There is a large Mast presence in Oregon from this branch. (C-741) He likely had offspring that started a general store in 1883 that has become a small historical chain of general stores in North Carolina. The first one built was in Valle Crucis and is on the National Register of Historic Places. C:DOC His original log cabin is still standing. The large family home built by his descendants is now a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Valle Crucis (2006) and it's history is provided below at http://www.mastfarminn.com/aboutus/history/index.html."The Mast farm dates from the late 1700s, when Joseph Mast traveled to the mountains from Randolph County, North Carolina, where he was born in 1764. His father John had settled there after emigrating from Switzerland via Pennsylvania, where his brother remained. Joseph is said to have traded his rifle, his dog, and a pair of leggings for 1000 acres of fertile Watauga River Valley land. The first house, a two-room log cabin, was built around 1810 and remains today as the oldest inhabitable log cabin in Watauga County.The farm and family prospered through the 19th Century, and Finley and Josephine Mast built the first part of the farmhouse in the 1880s. Around the turn of the century, the Masts began offering meals and rooms to tourists, enlarging the house to accommodate the growing number of guests. By 1915, the inn had 13 bedrooms and one bath. It was called "the Mast Farm" or simply "Aunt Josie's and Uncle Finley's."Aunt Josie Mast, besides running the house and managing the vegetable garden and dairy, was a master weaver. She turned the original log cabin into a loom house and became celebrated for her coverlets, rugs, and handbags. Some of her coverlets are in the Smithsonian today.Uncle Finley and Aunt Josie's two sons did not continue the inn after their parents' deaths in the 1930s. Joe, the younger, who was blind, lived in the house until 1964, when ill health forced him to move away.After Joe Mast died, the house stood empty or was briefly rented until 1984, when Francis and Sibyl Pressly bought the property and restored it. Once again, The Mast Farm Inn became a destination for visitors to the Blue Ridge Mountains.In June 1996, the Inn changed ownership when Wanda Hinshaw and Lyle Schoenfeldt, with daughter, Sarah, moved back to Wanda's home state from Texas. Wanda's sister, Kay Philipp, with her family had made Watauga County home for many years. Today, Kay and Wanda are sister Innkeepers, just as in the old days, when Josie's sister, Leona, had worked with her at the Inn. Interestingly, the present innkeepers are natives of the same Randolph County where Joseph Mast's family lived in the 1700s.The Mast Farm was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, as "one of the most complete and best preserved groups of nineteenth century farm buildings in western North Carolina." Thanks to inspired restorations and good care, The Mast Farm Inn welcomes visitors today as it did a hundred years ago, providing delicious meals and comfortable lodging in a beautiful setting."
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1764 - Aft 1809 (> 45 years)
[1, 6] 
