hiester family in america

The Hiester Family in America

John P. Hiester, 1904

INTRODUCTION

The name of Hiester in the early days of the Federal and State governments of Pennsylvania was so intimately connected with those to divisions of our form of government that a brief sketch of the family, its origin, rise and progress may be of interest at this time.

THE NAME HIESTER

As regards the name of Hiester, its origin and significance, very little is known, except a few surmises at to its meaning. The original orthography of the name was Huester, which in itself is decidedly German. One of the three immigrant brothers Jost (Joseph) Huester (this is the Joseph Hiester, from whom you and I are descended in a direct line – our great-great grandfather), used this form of spelling when he attached his signature to the declaration of allegiance to King George II of England on his landing at the port of Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania, on September 26, 1737 – 167 years ago. One member of the family, the Rev. John P. Hiester of La Salle County, Illinois, maintains that the literal meaning of the name Hiester is “magpie”, as, he says, in some German lexicons, this is the definition given for the work Hiester or Heister. Therefore, it is to be inferred that from the nature of this bird, the literal significance of the name would be a chatterer or chatterbox. Still another member of the family, the late Rev. Dr. Jonathan E. Huesterr of Annville, Pennsylvania (my father), contends that the literal meaning of the name Huesterr is “the man who has got the cough”, being a derivation of the German word “huesta”, meaning cough, with the masculine ending “err”, a contraction of the German word “Herr”, man. This would lead one to suppose that since a man has got a cough, it necessarily follows that he has consumption, and therefore comes from a consumptive family. While, no doubt, a number of members of the family, as is the case in all families, have succumbed to this dread disease, still this would be no indication that consumption is a hereditary disease in the Hiester family. From his researches in the Hiester family, and from the fact that many of its members I the different generations have reached the allotted scriptural limit of life – “three score years and ten” and more, the writer comes to the conclusion that when one arrives at that “ripe old age”, he or she does not surrender to the ravages of consumption, but rather to the infirmities of old age. Baedecker in his “Guide Book of the River Rhine” tells of a place called Heisterbach, which contains the ruins of an ancient abbey, “the gate of which still bears the arms of the abbey – a Heister (young beech) and a back (brook); at the side stands St. Benedict and St. Bernard as guardians. From this it is to be inferred that still another meaning attaches to the name Hiester, that of a young beech. The English form of pronouncing the Huesterr would be Huesterr. From this latter form it was an easy step to anglicize it into Heister or Hiester; and this was very soon done, as we find the sons of the immigrant brothers adopted this form, though Hiester in preference to Heister, is the orthography now generally adopted by their descendants. Hiester is pronounced as if it were spelled Heester, taking the long sound of ‘e’; and Heister is pronounced with the long sound of ‘i’. In the former the ‘i’ is silent, while in the latter the ‘e’ is silent. Laumann, in his “Biographical Annals of the Civil Government”, says that Isaac Hiester, Member of Congress from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, changed the spelling of the name from that of Heister to Hiester, and, in fact, throughout all the early congressional proceedings the first spelling was the one used. But that Isaac Hiester was the first member of the family to adopt the present form is disputed, as for example we find in Armour’s “Governor’s of Pennsylvania’ a portrait of Gov. Joseph Hiester of Pennsylvania, under which appears his autograph signature, in which the form Hiester is used. Gov. Joseph Hiester was Governor of Pennsylvania in 1820, and was a son of John Hiester, the immigrant brother who spelled his name Huesterr, while Isaac Hiester came into active public life a good many years after the governor’s death. The name Hiester is also met with where it is used in the form of a Christian or first name, not only in families that have married into the Hiester family, but also in families not related to them it is frequently used. The most prominent member of the family who used Hiester as the first or Christian name was Hiester Clymer, a prominent Democratic politician, in his time, of Berks County, Pennsylvania. The mother of Hiester Clymer was a Hiester. The name also occurs in connection with the names of places. Thus, in Germany, we find Heisterbach (mentioned above), a place on the River Rhine, between Coblenz and Cologne, where the ruins of an ancient Cistercian abbey, called Heisterbach Abbey, are located. It is frequently visited by tourists, as it is situated near the Seven Mountains (Sieben Gebirge), a noted place for its picturesquely on the River Rhine. A beautiful legend, “The Monk of Heisterbach”, is connected with this place, Longfellow in his “Golden Legend”, makes this incident – the “Monk of Heisterbach”, the subject of one of his poems. On a spit of land running into the Gulf of Danzig, near the fortress city of Danzig, in northeastern Prussia, is a place called Hiestersnest. According to one of the definitions of the name it is natural to suppose that the Hiestersnest would mean a nest or home of magpies. In the United States the name Hiester occurs twice in connection with a geographical place. In Berks County, Pennsylvania, we find Hiester’s Mills, a village of 50 inhabitants, while in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, we find Hiestersburg, a village of the same number of inhabitants. The former is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, and the latter in the southeastern part of the same state.

ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY IN EUROPE

As to the original home of the family in Europe – its exact place of first abode – that fact is involved in considerable obscurity. We have it, though, in a general way, through Professor I.D. Rupp, in his “History of Berks and Lebanon Counties, Pennsylvania”, that the remote European ancestors of the family were of Tilesian origin, a province in Eastern Prussia. From that country they were distributed throughout Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Switzerland and the countries bordering on the River Rhine. From the vicinity of this historic and picturesque river the immediate ancestors of the Hiester family in this country immigrated and arrived in America in the early part of the eighteenth century. They were three brothers – John, Joseph and Daniel and they were all born in the dorf (borough or village) Ellsoff, in the grafschaft (county or township) Witzenstein, in the Province of Westphalia, Germany. Some members of the family maintain that this corresponds in the later geography of Germany with the present principality of Lippe, and that the birthplace of these brothers was near the capital of that principality, Detmold. Their father's name was Johann Huesterr, and the mother's maiden name is not known, only her Christian name, Catharine. At the time these brothers immigrated to America their native country was being devastated by the ravages of war, and frequent drafts were made by Frederick William, the first king of Prussia, upon his subjects, to replenish his armies. So cruel were the exactions that thousands of his subjects, through hard usage, intolerable servitude and religious grievances, were constrained to leave their native country and take refuge in the English colonies of America.

THE EMIGRANT BROTHERS

Among the number who left the paternal roof tree was Johann Huesterr, Jr., who immigrated to America about the year 1732. Five years later, in 1737, his two younger brothers, Jost and Daniel, followed him to America. They took ship at Rotterdam, Holland, in the good ship, “Andrew Galley”, John Stedman, master. With them were 450 fellow passengers, including minors, from the Palatinate of Germany. After stopping at Cowes, England, they were landed at the Port of Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania, on Monday, Sept. 26, 1737. Daniel Huesterr, the younger brother, being sick at the time of landing, could not subscribe to the oath of allegiance to King George II, at the time his brother Jost did. Whether or not these three brothers had any other brothers or sisters is not known, and, if so, whether any of them came to America at a later period is also not known. But there is reason to believe that a sister came to this country and married a Mr. Hoffman, as one of the descendants of that name claims that his great-great grandmother’s maiden name was Hiester, and that she belonged to the same generation, and probably was a sister of these immigrant brothers. Aside from this, nothing of a definite character is known, either of her or of her descendants.

PROMINENT EUROPEAN HIESTERS

There were other Hiesters living in Europe, and more particularly in Germany, who were contemporaneous with Johann Huesterr and his three sons. Among the most prominent of them were:

1. Herrn Lawrentii Heisteri (Lorenz Hiester). He was a famous German surgeon, who was born at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Germany, Sept. 19, 1683, and died April 18, 1758, at the age of 74 years, 6 months and 29 days. His father was a lumberman and later a hotelkeeper and wine dealer. His mother’s Christian name was Maria, a born Alleins, and was the daughter of a merchant. He was a professor of surgery at the University of Helmstedt from 1719 to 1758. He published a treatise on “Surgery” (1719), and an “Anatomical Surgical Lexicon” (1758). The former is a standard work of its kind to this day and has been translated into the principal European languages.

2. Johann Heinrich Heister as a German historian and a sister’s son (Schwestersohn) of the brother’s Johannes and Aegidius Gelinius. He flourished in the middle of the eighteenth century and died in 1762.

3. Siegbert Hiester, graf (count), and field Marshall of Austria, was born in 1646. In his nineteenth year (1665) his military career commenced. In 1689 he was a corps commander and fought in the Austro-Turkish campaign. He died Feb. 22, 1718, in his 72d year, at Gut Kirchberg (Steirmark), Austria. He was made a baron of the Holy Roman Empire July 24, 1664, and a count of the same March 3, 1692. He was married four times, his first wife being a Grafin (Countess) Zinzendorg. He had two sons, Rudolf and Oberst. The latter participated in the Austro-Turkish campaign, and at the Battle of Belgrade, in 1707, under the leadership of Prince Eugene, was covered with eighteen sword wounds.

4. Gen. Leopold Phillip de Heister was a crippled veteran of many campaigns (born in 1707; died in Hesse Cassell, Nov. 19, 1777, in his 70^th year) when he was selected to command the Hessian troops that were hired by King George III of England for service against the American colonies during the war for independence. He landed on Long Island, near Utrecht, with two full Hessian brigades on August 25, 1776, three days after the arrival of Gen. Will Howe with the British troops. The tedious passage of thirteen weeks from Spithead had tried Gen. de Hiester sorely, “His patience and tobacco had become exhausted. He called for hock and swallowed large patatinrs to the health of his friends.” Soon after debarking, the invading army prepared for marching, the Hessians under de Heister forming the center of main body. They cannonaded the works at Flatbush pass, and Gen. de Heister ordered Count Donop to storm the redoubt while he pressed forward with his troops. “Our Hessians and our brave Highlanders gave no quarter”, wrote a British officer, “and it was a fine sight to see with what alacrity they dispatched the rebels with their bayonets after we surrounded them so they could not resist”. Gen. De Heister also commanded the Hessians at the battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776. He was, however, recalled from command of the Hessian troops during 1777, and was succeeded by Lieut. Gen. Von Knyphausen. Whether or not Gen. de Heister was any kin of the family from whom all the American Hiesters have descended there is nothing to substantiate it but a family tradition. Which maintains that at the battle of Long Island in the American Revolution, where he commanded the Hessian contingent of the British forces, on hearing of the capture of the Gen. Joseph Hiester, who was afterward Governor of Pennsylvania, and who was also in command of some of the Pennsylvania militias at that battle, he sent for him, and on meeting him, claimed cousinship. On the strength of that plea and his influence with the British officers he offered to secure his (Joseph Hiester’s) release, and get him an office and emoluments in the British army, if he would but forsake the cause of the colonists. It is needless to say on perusing the life of Gov. Joseph Hiester, and becoming acquainted with the underlying characteristics that composed the man, that this worthy ancestor indignantly spurned the offer, and on that account suffered all the horrors and hardships of imprisonment on board that charnel prison ship, the “Jersey”. There is reason to believe that our immediate European ancestor Johann Huesterr, was a man of means and of some rank in the community in which he lived. For, when his three sons emigrated to America, and soon after their arrival there, they were enabled to purchase large tracts of land in different parts of the country with money, which was doubtless furnished them by their parents. At one time they purchased a tract of between 2,000 and 3,000 acres in Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. This family trait for possession of land characterized many of their descendants.

FAMILY COAT OF ARMS

At one time the Hiester family possessed a family coat of arms or seal. This seal is at present in the possession of one of the great-grandchildren of Gov. Joseph Hiester. It is an old copper stamp probably a reproduction of a coat of arms on a small scale of one of the European branches of the family. This stamp was used by Gov. Hiester to attach his seal to the documents that came before him, both of a private and a public nature. Twice since that time it has been used by the direct descendants of Gov. Hiester for four generations, and is now in the possession of Mr. Henry Muhlenberg Hiester of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, a great-grandson of the governor. An impression of the seal was given to the writer of this by the above-named gentleman several years ago. No doubt, Gov. Hiester received this seal from his father, Johann Huesterr, who brought it with him from Germany. From the representations on it, which resemble serpents somewhat, one is led to believe that this coat of arms was bestowed on a doctor or surgeon, and for that reason it may have belonged to the Dr. Lorenz Hiester, before mentioned. While the writer does not believe in parading family coats of arms on account of such relics of feudalism being incompatible with the spirit and intent of our republican institutions, yet, thinking that some member of the family might be interested in knowing that there is a family coat of arms, mentioned of this fact is made at this time for that purpose. Nor is this the only source from which knowledge of a coat of arms in the family is derived. Several years ago the writer was in correspondence with a gentleman of London, England, a herald and genealogist, and through him learned that there was seven different families of European Hiesters, in his foreign references books to whom armonial bearings were recorded, as follows:

1. Heister (Brabant), arms only

2. Heister (Pays de Juliers), a quarterly arms

3. Heister (Brunswick), a quarterly arms and crest

4. Heister (Hesse: Confirmation of nobility January 8, 1681), arms and crest

5. Heister (Bohemia: Barons of the Holy Roman Empire 24 July 1664; counts of the Holy Roman Empire, 3 March 1692), quarterly arms and two crests

6. Heister (Botzen, Tyrol), arms and crest

7. Heister (Ruremomde, Sittard), arms only

This gentleman also stated that he had some genealogical notes respecting the Heister family of No. 4, which ended with the following sentence: “In Schleisien und Westphalen angessessen” (settled in Silesia and Westphalia). From this it may be reasonably inferred that the American Hiesters have descended from No. 4, as their European ancestors came from Sileasia at an early period to Westphalia, Germany, from whence they came direct to America.

It is only recently that the writer found in the Chicago Public Library a full description, in French, of the coats of arms of these seven European families. It may be stated here that from this library was gathered the greater bulk of the historical material, which goes to make up the “Hiester Family History”.

THE HIESTER FAMILY IN AMERICA

Returning again to the Hiester family in America, we find that the three immigrant brothers – John, Daniel and Joseph – soon after their arrival on these shores, all took up their residence in Goshenhoppen, then in Philadelphia, now in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Here Daniel purchased a farm, which is located near the present village of Sunmeytown, Pennsylvania. He improved it somewhat, erected a tannery and built a fine brick mansion, which is to this day in excellent preservation, after a period of 140 years, and is still occupied by some of his descendants. After having explored the country and having become somewhat better acquainted with its nature, they all united in purchasing from the proprietary government a tract of 2,000 or 3,000 acres in Bern Township, now Berks County, Province of Pennsylvania. On this tract John and Joseph settled, while Daniel still remained at the old homestead, but the latter soon afterward sold his farm to his son Daniel and joined his brothers in Berks County. “Having thus”, says Prof. I.D. Ripp, “with the characteristic prudence of those early primitive days, first secured the means of supporting families, they next, in due time, formed matrimonial alliances with American women, and set themselves down, each under his own vine and fig tree, to enjoy in the pursuit of agriculture the fruits of their virtuous enterprise”. From the matrimonial alliances thus formed, by these three American ancestors of the family, all those bearing the name of Hiester in this country, and those who have married into the family have descended. Over 1,000 of them have been gathered, which is but a small percentage of the tribe of Hiester in the United States, and they form the nucleus of the “Hiester Family History”. In connection with most of their names many interesting facts and events are recorded.

While the three immigrant brothers had been induced to leave their native land on account of the vassalage of an oppressive government, which exacted not only onerous taxes, but a portion of the time and labor of its subjects, they naturally cherished in the minds of their descendants a lofty spirit of freedom. Accordingly, when the War of Independence broke out, their children were among the first to enroll themselves in the ranks of the “Associators”, a class of citizen soldiers or militia, which rendered efficient service in the campaigns of New Jersey, New York, Delaware and the lower portions of Pennsylvania. These “Associators” met in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on the birthday of Independence, July 4, 1776, and organized by electing two brigadier-generals. Gabriel, the third son of Daniel, attended this military meeting as a major of the First Battalion of Berks County militia. He together with his two brothers, Daniel Jr., of Montgomery County, and John of Chester County, entered the service as field officers, the former with the rank of major and the two latter with that of colonel. The youngest brother, William, although enrolled as an “Associator”, did not on account of his youth and the infirmity of his aged parents, serve in more than one campaign. Governor Joseph Hiester, their cousin, and the only son of John Huesterr, the first of the immigrant brothers, entered the cause of patriots as a captain in the “Flying Camp”, and, as we have seen, after having been made a prisoner at the battle of Long Island and confined on board the notorious prison-ship “Jersey”, he was, after his exchange, promoted to the rank of colonel. At the close of the war he, with his two cousins, Daniel and John, were elected to the rank of majors-general of militia in their respective districts. Nor did the popularity of these men thus gained during the War of Independence forsake them after its close, for they all enjoyed, through the suffrages of the people, a large share in the councils of the general and state governments. Daniel Hiester, Jr., besides filling various minor offices of trust and responsibility, was elected as the first representative from the Berks County, Pennsylvania, district to the First Congress of the United States, under the present constitution and served that district in the U.S. Congress for several terms. As a member of Congress, he was present at the first inauguration of George Washington as President of the United States, in New York City. After his removal to Maryland in 1796, he represented the Hagerstown (Maryland) district repeatedly until his death, which occurred at Washington D.C. on March 7, 1804. His brother John of Chester County also served several terms in Congress, while Gabriel, after being a member of the constitutional convention of Pennsylvania, was repeatedly elected to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and served his constituents either in the Senate or the House of that state uninterruptedly for a period of nearly thirty years. Joseph Hiester, besides being governor of Pennsylvania, also served the Berks County district in Congress for several terms, after the removal of his cousin Daniel to Maryland, and was also a member of the state convention which ratified the constitution of the United States, and which met in Philadelphia in November, 1787, and in 1789 he was a member of the convention which framed the second constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, and under which constitution he was repeatedly elected a member of the state legislature, serving in either the house or the senate for a number of years.

Nor were these the only members of the Hiester family who served their constituents in a civil capacity, as we find that a number of later members of the family have filled various public offices of trust, the most prominent of whom were Congressmen Daniel Jr., William and Isaac Hiester and Hiester Clymer; there being also one or two members of the family, by intermarriage, who ran for governor of Pennsylvania, but were defeated at the polls, prominent among whom were Henry Augustus Muhlenberg, who married two daughters of Governor Hiester, and who was also the first minister plenipotentiary from this country to Austria-Hungary; and Hiester Clymer, who was defeated Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, his mother being a Hiester and one of his ancestors, George Clymer, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Thus, it will readily be seen that the family of Hiester in early days, and also in later times had a goodly share of the popular esteem and trust, in the filling of various civil positions in the general and state governments, which they did to the thorough satisfaction of their constituents, as is evidenced by their being repeatedly elected to fill these different civil offices. Nor were the Hiesters alone noted for their ability in civil capacities, but such professions as the law, medicine, the clergy and art claimed quite a number of its members as votaries of these various professions. While a large percentage of the family was engaged in useful and honorable callings and avocations, there were few, indeed, if any, engaged in any questionable occupations. Farming seems to have been a favorite occupation of a large percentage of the family.

THE MUHLENBERG FAMILY

In the early history of the Hiester family, the name Muhlenberg occurs very frequently in connection with members of that family marrying into the Hiester family that a very brief reference to them at this time and place may prove highly interesting. The immediate American progenitor of this noted and prominent Pennsylvania family was the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the founder of the Lutheran Church on this country, who came from Eimbeck, Hanover, Germany, in the early part of the eighteenth century. He married Anna Maria Weiser, a daughter of Conrad Weiser, the noted Indian interpreter and trader of the early colonial days of Pennsylvania, and whose wife was reputed to be an Indian maiden. Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and wife were blessed with thirteen children nearly every one of whom filled a prominent place in the early history of Pennsylvania, and many of whose descendants married into the Hiester family in early days. Among his children were General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, one of Washington’s trusted generals, and whose statue adorns Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building at Washington D.C., as one of the two representative men from the State of Pennsylvania. His only daughter, Esther Muhlenberg, married Dr. Isaac Hiester, a grandson of Daniel Hiester, the immigrant. Eve Elizabeth (Muhlenberg) Schulze’s son, Frederick Augustus Schulze, married Mary Rosina Hiester. He was a brother of Governor John Andrew Schulze of Pennsylvania, and through another branch of that family was related to the Camerous of Pennsylvania. Frederick Augustus Leonard Muhlenberg was the first speaker of the First Congress of the United States, and served two terms. His daughter, Mary Catharine Muhlenberg, married John Sylvester Hiester, the only living son of Governor Joseph Hiester. Her oldest brother, Rev. William August Muhlenberg, D.D., was the founder of the big St. Lukes Hospital of New York City, Flushing L.I., Institute for Boys. St. Pauls College, Church of the Holy Communion, etc., and organized the first Protestant Sisterhood in the United States. He was the author of the hymns, “I would not live always”, “Like Noah’s Weary Dive”, “Savior, who they flock art feeding”, and probably, “Shout the Glad Tidings”. Gotthilf Henry Ernestus Muhlenberg, Lutheran clergyman of note, was a great American botanist, and was sometimes called the American Linneaus. His oldest son, Henry August Phillip, married two daughters of Governor Hiester mentioned above. Maria Salome Muhlenberg married Matthias Richards, and some of their children married into the Joseph Hiester branch of the family, the only time that one of the Muhlenberg’s married into our branch of the family. There were several other members of this noted family who married into the Hiester family, but they, together, with those mentioned above, will be found in their proper place in the “Hiester Family History”.

CONCLUSION
This concludes a general outline history of the family. It will be seen that the family is one in which all who belong to it can take just pride, and that its records should be preserved in some enduring form, not only for the benefit of the present generations, but also for future generations yet unborn. In order to gratify the desire of the coming generations of Hiester’s, as well as those now living, to know as much of this generation, as we do of those of our ancestors, it has been the purpose of the writers to undertake the task of compiling the “Hiester Family History”. Should he receive sufficient encouragement, it may be that within the course of a year, the book may be issued. That there will not be any errors, the writer dare not hope, nor will it be claimed that it will contain all the names of the descendants of Johann Huesterr of Ellsoff, in Germany. But in the manner in which this first edition will be received depends on issuance of subsequent and more complete editions.

THE MINISTRY OF REVEREND WILLIAM HIESTER, 1800-1828

Under date of June 24^th, 1800, the Hebron diary states: “This week the new Reformed minister, Mr. Hiester, moved to Lebanon”. William Hiester was born November 11, 1770, in Berne Township, Berks County. After completing his theological studies, he became pastor of several congregations in Lancaster County, in 1707, and remained there till he was called to Lebanon in 1800. For twenty-eight years he was the faithful and beloved pastor of the congregation, officiating during that time at 970 baptisms, confirming 659 catechumens and solemnizing 874 marriages. During his ministry an organ was bought in 1809 for about $1,500. It was dedicated on November 12, 1809. Moravian singers and musicians from Lititz assisted on this occasion. In the morning Rev. Mr. Gloninger, of Harrisburg, preached; in the afternoon Rev. Mr. Schaffner, of Mannheim, and in the evening Rev. Mr. Helffenstein. The present wall around the old graveyard was built in 1816. The steeple at the south end of the church was erected in 1827. The Moravian diary speaks often and highly of Rev. Mr. Hiester. For instance, on July 16, 1800, it states: “We visited the Rev. Mr. Hiester. He is a dear man, who has the welfare of souls at heart”. In the fall of the year 1827 his health began to decline. He was suffering with consumption, which hastened his early death. He died on Friday, February 8, 1828, being 57 years of age. Three days later he was buried in the old cemetery. Rev. Mr. Hendel delivered the funeral sermon, based on Deut. 31:16. His large tombstone bears a most appropriate and beautiful German inscription. Alongside of Mr. Hiester rests his wife, who followed him five years later into the habitations of peace to which he had preceded her.