Daniel Hiester

Not to be confused with the other Daniel Hiester (1774–1834), who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1809–1811.

Daniel Hiester
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district
In office March 4, 1801 – March 7, 1804
Preceded by	George Baer, Jr.
Succeeded by	Roger Nelson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
In office March 4, 1789 – July 1, 1796
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	George Ege
Constituency	at-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 by	District created
Succeeded by	See below
Member of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania from Montgomery County
In office October 15, 1784 – October 24, 1785
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Peter Muhlenberg
Personal details
Born	(1747-06-25)June 25, 1747 Berks County, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Died	March 7, 1804(1804-03-07) (aged 56) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Anti-Administration Democratic-Republican

Hiester's cenotaph at the Congressional Cemetery, Washington D.C.

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. 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).

Biography

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.

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. 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

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)

References

• United States Congress. "Daniel Hiester (id: H000570)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1892). "Hiester, Daniel" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
• The Political Graveyard