William Hiester Jr. (October 10, 1790 – October 13, 1853) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as an Anti-Masonic member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district from 1831 to 1837. A member of the Hiester Family political dynasty, he was the father of U.S. Congressman Isaac Ellmaker Hiester and the uncle of Pennsylvania State Senator and U.S. Congressman Hiester Clymer.

Biography

A son of William Hiester, Sr. and Anna Maria (Myer) Hiester, William Hiester Jr. was born in Berne, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1790. After attending the local, public schools, he became a farmer and merchant in Lancaster County. On February 8, 1824, he wed Lucy Ellmaker (1797-1854). A member of the prominent Ellmaker family, she was the only child of Isaac Ellmaker (1762-1830) and Christiana Ellmaker (1764-1802). William and Lucy Hiester's son, Isaac Ellmaker Hiester, who was born in New Holland, Lancaster, Pennsylvania on May 29, 1824, would go on to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Military service

William Hiester Jr. served as second lieutenant with Captain Jacob Marshall's infantry company of the

Pennsylvania Militia The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...

's First Regiment, Second Brigade during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. His unit left

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

on September 2, 1814, and was assigned to duties in

York, Pennsylvania York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populatio ...

until March 4, 1815, according to Pennsylvania historian Morton L. Montgomery.

Political career

During the early and mid-1820s, Hiester practiced law in Lancaster County. His duties including assisting clients with the resolution of family estate matters. He was also active in local politics and government, serving as Lancaster County

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

from 1823 to 1828 and as Secretary of the State Caucus for the Anti-Masonic Convention in 1828. Although Hiester ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1819 and 1828, he was a successful

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After ...

candidate for Congress in 1830, serving three terms from March 4, 1831 to March 4, 1837. During his tenure, he advocated for various economic reform measures, including tariffs and the "re-establishment of a sound National Currency." Hiester was then appointed as a delegate to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 1837-1838, remained active with Democratic Anti-Masonic politics, subsequently served in the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealt ...

for the 6th district from 1840 to 1842, and was elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the Pennsylvania Senate in 1842.

Later years

During the final phase of his life, Hiester devoted his time to farming. He also remained active in local politics and in charitable and civic affairs.

Illness, death and burial

Sometime during the final decade of his life, Hiester fell ill with a disease which caused paralysis. After several years of worsening health, he died from

Apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

at his home in New Holland, Pennsylvania on October 13, 1853. He was interred at the Lancaster Cemetery in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

. In 1854, a large, four-piece monument was erected above the graves of William Hiester and his wife, Lucy. In addition to a roughly eleven-foot-tall obelisk adorned with a wreath of lillies and roses and marked with the Hiester surname in raised letters, a die "beautifully worked, the top ... finished with scrolls and carving, and on each of the four narrow sides ... a scroll Console highly ornamented," and a roughly four-foot-tall plinth supporting the console, with a roughly five-by-twelve-inch base. Crafted from Italian marble, it reportedly weighed 18,000 pounds.Beautiful Works of Art
" Lancaster, Pennsylvania: ''The Lancaster Examiner'', September 27, 1854, p. 2 (subscription required).

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiester, William 1790 births 1853 deaths People from Berks County, Pennsylvania Hiester family Pennsylvania Dutch people Anti-Masonic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania state senators People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania American militia officers Military personnel from Pennsylvania American militiamen in the War of 1812 Burials in Pennsylvania