Daniel Hiester (June 25, 1747 – March 7, 1804) was an American political and military leader from the Revolutionary War period to the early 19th Century. Born in Berks County in the Province of Pennsylvania, he was a member of the Hiester Family political dynasty.[1] He was the brother of John Hiester and Gabriel Hiester, cousin of Joseph Hiester, and the uncle of William Hiester and U.S. Rep. Daniel Hiester (1774–1834).

Daniel Hiester
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1801 – March 7, 1804
Preceded byGeorge Baer, Jr.
Succeeded byRoger Nelson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
In office
March 4, 1789 – July 1, 1796
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byGeorge Ege
Constituencyat-large district (1789–1795)
5th district (1795–1796)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1795
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded bySee below
Member of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
from Montgomery County
In office
October 15, 1784 – October 24, 1785
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byPeter Muhlenberg
Personal details
Born(1747-06-25)June 25, 1747
Berks County, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
DiedMarch 7, 1804(1804-03-07) (aged 56)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyAnti-Administration
Democratic-Republican
Hiester's cenotaph at the Congressional Cemetery, Washington D.C.

Biography

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Hiester's father, also named Daniel Hiester, emigrated from Silesia in 1737 and settled in Goshenhoppen (now Bally), Pennsylvania, afterward purchasing a tract of several thousand acres in Berks County. After completing his education, the young Hiester engaged in the mercantile business in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He owned slaves as well.[2]

During the American Revolution, Hiester served as a colonel and later a brigadier general of the Pennsylvania Militia. He was a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly from 1778 to 1781.[3] In 1784 he was elected to the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, and later in 1787 he was appointed as a commissioner to negotiate the Connecticut land claims dispute.

Hiester was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania, serving from March 4, 1789, until his resignation on July 1, 1796. He then moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, and was again elected to the House representing Maryland, serving from March 4, 1801, until his death in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 1804. He was among the number that voted to move the U.S. capital from Philadelphia to a place on the Potomac later named Washington, D.C.

He was buried in Zion Reformed Graveyard in Hagerstown, Maryland and has a cenotaph at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Hess, Stephen. America's Political Dynasties, pp. 158-159, 659. London and New York: Routledge, 2017.
  2. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 19, 2022, retrieved July 11, 2022
  3. ^ James H. Peeling (1960). "Hiester, Daniel". Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

References

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Political offices
Preceded by
position created
Member, Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania,
representing Montgomery County

October 15, 1784 – October 24, 1785
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
District Created
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's at-large congressional district

1789–1791
alongside: George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Thomas Hartley, Thomas Scott, Henry Wynkoop, Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg and Peter G. Muhlenberg

1791–1793
alongside: Thomas Fitzsimons, Thomas Hartley, Israel Jacobs, John W. Kittera, Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg, William Findley, and Andrew Gregg
1793–1795
alongside: Thomas Fitzsimons, John W. Kittera, Thomas Hartley, Thomas Scott, James Armstrong, Peter G. Muhlenberg, Andrew Gregg, Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg, William Irvine, William Findley, John Smilie, and William Montgomery

Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district

1795–1796
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 4th congressional district

1801–1804
Succeeded by