Town and Country Newspaper

News Article

Facing the Future with the Past

2012-03-15

A few weeks ago our Features section highlighted the former Hiester house and the 78 pristine acres of forest that surround it and the efforts of the Montgomery County Lands Trust to raise the money to preserve the site.

In 1903, V.E.C. Hill penned a genealogy of the Hiester family. In it he wrote, “The name Hiester is so extensively connected with the general and State governments that a brief sketch of the family may not be interesting.” He was right. There is much history to share about this family.

Three Hiester brothers, John, Joseph and Daniel, emigrated from Witzenstein in Westphalia (Germany) in the early 18^th century. Daniel purchased the farm located in the Goshenhoppen region in the area known today as Upper Salford and Marlborough townships. All three brothers took up residence there. A short time later, the three brothers purchased between 2,000 and 3,000 acres in Bern Township, Berks County. John and Joseph settled there, but Daniel remained at the Goshenhoppen homestead.

Daniel was married to Catherine (Schuler). They had four sons born on the homestead, John, Gabriel, Daniel and William. When the Revolutionary War broke out, John, Gabriel and Daniel entered into service as citizen soldiers; Daniel and John with the rank of Colonel and Gabriel with that of Major. William served but was limited in his time due to his young age and the infirmity of his parents.

According to Beans’ 1884 History of Montgomery County, a 1776 Assessment showed that Daniel Hiester, who died in 1795 at 83-years-of-age, owned 130 acres and a tannery at the location. His occupation was listed in the publication as a tanner.

According to historical records, it was the young Colonel Daniel Hiester who led the local militia to defend the Schuylkill River crossing at Swedes Ford during General George Washington’s move from the British occupied Philadelphia to Valley Forge. After the war, Daniel was promoted to the rank of Major-General.

Of the four sons born at the home in Upper Salford Township, Daniel went on to be a member of our first Congress from 1789 to 1797 and, after he moved to Maryland, he became a U.S. Congressman there from 1801 until his death in 1805. William served as a member of Congress from 1833 to 1835. John served as a member of Congress from Chester County in 1807 and 1808 and, when he resigned, he was succeeded by his son, Daniel. John’s grandson, Joseph, was a member of the convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States and was a member of Congress from 1797 to 1807 and 1815 to 1821 and Governor of Pa. in 1819. Gabriel served 37 years as a member of the Pa. State Legislature.

You can see that in addition to the property’s open space and the building’s architectural value, there is quite a bit of the history of our nation’s founding and early years that came from that farm. And can you imagine what historians will find when they start researching and searching into the past of the people who came from the modest home?

But it will only happen if people step forward to help save the home and property.

On Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m., a fundraising event called “Saving a Patriot’s Homestead” will be held at the recently restored Woodside Lodge at 150 E. Park Ave. in Schwenksville. For $200 you can become history in helping to save this historic house and give educators a reason to teach, and students a reason to learn, about the historic Hiester family.

To find out how you can help, visit the MCLT website at www.mclt.org and visit the “Roger’s Property and Daniel Hiester House” page.

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