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One of the old and important families of Berks county is that of Hiester, and the ancestry can be clearly traced to Johannes and Catherine Hiester, who spelled their name in German Huster. They had three sons who came to America, John, Joseph and Daniel by name. John, born in 1701, in 1750 married Mary Barbara Epler, and died in 1757. Joseph, born in 1710, married Elizabeth Strunk, and died in 1777. Daniel, born in 1713, in 1742 married Catherine Schuler, and died in 1795. They were natives of the town of Elsoff, in the Grafschaft of Witgenstein, Westphalia, Germany. These brothers settled in Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, and their descendants have been more or less prominent in the various walks of life in the same section ever since. Joseph Hiester came to America in 1738 and first went to live in Goshenhoppen, then Philadelphia (now Montgomery) county. Several years afterward Joseph and his brothers, John and Daniel, united in purchasing from the Proprietary government between two thousand and three thousand acres of land in Bern township, Berks county. Here Joseph and John settled, while Daniel remained at the old homestead in Goshenhoppen. Joseph and his wife Elizabeth had the following children: John, born in 1754, died in 1826; John Christian married Susan Reber; Catherine, born in 1758, died in 1813, married Nicholas Lieb; Daniel, born in 1761, died in 1827, married Magdalena Albright; one son married Barbara Kauffman; another son married Susan Anman; Ann Eliza, born April 8, 1766, married Jacob Van Reed; Joseph, born in 1768, died in 1830, married Elizabeth Beck; and William, born in 1770, died in 1828, married Anna Maria Bentz. Daniel Hiester had several sons who were distinguished: John, born in 1746, was a member of Congress in 1807-08, resigned, and was succeeded by his son Daniel, who served in 1809-10; Daniel of Montgomery county, born in 1747, was a representative in Congress from Pennsylvania from 1789 to 1797, and from Maryland from 1801 to 1805; Gabriel, of Berks county, served thirty years in the State Legislature; William, the youngest son, for a short time served in the Continental army (his son William, born 1791, of Lancaster, was a member of Congress in 1833-35, and died Oct. 15, 1853). The first named John Hiester had a son Joseph, who was a member of the convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States; was repeatedly elected to the State Senate and House; was a member of Congress in 1797-1807, and from 1815-1821, resigning to assume the governorship of Pennsylvania. He died June 10, 1832. John Hiester, grandfather of John K. Hiester of Reading, was a son of the Joseph Hiester who was born in Germany in 1710. John was born in Bern township, Berks county, Sept. 25, 1754, and died Sept. 17, 1826. He is buried at Bern Church, which he helped to erect. He owned a tract of 200 acres, which was divided after his death into five shares. This was all woodland when he secured it. His wife was Catherine Albright, and they had the following children: John died unmarried; Ann Eliza married Jacob Gieding; William died unmarried; Daniel died unmarried; Catharine married David Bohn; Daniel died unmarried; John Christian married Catherine Kramer; Yost married Rebecca Reber, and Jacob. Jacob Hiester, father of John K. Hiester, was born in Bern township July 1, 1801, and died in March, 1873. He was a lifelong farmer, and died on the farm on which he was born and on which he had spent his whole life. His portion of the old Hiester farm was some sixty-six acres, to which he had added twenty acres. In politics he was a Democrat, but he held no office except that of school director, a position he filled for six years. He and his family were members of the Bern Church, of which he was one of the leading elders. For many years he served as lieutenant in the State militia, and he made a fine appearance, as he was a man of commanding presence. He married Susanna Kramer, daughter of John and Catherine (Ruhl) Kramer, of Bern township, and they had the following children: Adam, a farmer on the old homestead, married Rebecca Gring; Lydia married John Moyer, a farmer of Heidelberg township; Gabriel died young; John K. is residing at Reading; Catherine died unmarried. John K. Hiester was born in Bern township, on one of the old Hiester stands, Nov. 2, 1848. His education was obtained in the township schools, at a Reading academy, and at the Keystone State Normal School, at Kutztown. In the fall of 1866 he began teaching at Hiester's school in Bern township, and during the winter of 1868-69 he taught in Maiden-creek township; later taught one year in Bern township; three terms in Ruscombmanor township; three terms in Exeter township; one term in Jefferson; one term in Ontelaunee; two terms in Birdsboro; three terms in Cumru; two terms in Robeson, and then thirteen terms in Bern township, in all thirty-two terms, his services being given all over the county, with fifteen terms in his native township. He thus became widely known, and is held in high esteem, and he constantly meets his former pupils, many of whom never received other instruction than that he gave them. During the summer months, until 1890, Mr. Hiester worked upon the farm in his native township, but in that year he came to Reading and in the following year he purchased his comfortable home at No. 314 South Thirteenth street, where he has resided ever since. After establishing his home at Reading he continued to follow his profession during the winter months until 1898-1899, when he taught for the last time. For five summer seasons he was in the employ of Alderman Griesemer and subsequently worked as labor boss and shipping clerk in the Johnson Foundry & Machine Company, where he continued for seven years; when that firm went out of business he went to the American Iron & Steel Company, where he has remained until the present. On Oct. 30, 1890, Mr. Hiester married Hettie A. Deisher, born Oct. 30, 1857, a daughter of William and Sarah (Stayer) Deisher, the former of whom is a farmer and business man of Berks county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hiester have been born three children, namely: S. Adella, born Feb. 21, 1892; Morris W., born in August, 1893, who died in October, 1893; and William L., born June 17, 1895. Mr. Hiester has spent almost all of his life in Berks county, but in January, 1869, he went to Lee county, Iowa, where he worked on a farm until his return to Berks county in the following October. Politically he is a Democrat. He is a member of Bern Union Church and the Reformed denomination. His wife worships in Grace Lutheran Church. Thomas K. Hiester, one of the prominent farmers of Bern township and a representative member of an old and leading family, was born where he now resided, Dec. 16, 1861. He is a son of Harrison K. Hiester and a grandson of John Christian Hiester (son of Joseph, born in 1710). The grandfather was a man of ample fortune owning two farms near the well-known Bern Church, and he was noted both for his fine personal appearance and for his good judgment and foresight. He and his wife lie buried at Bern Church. He married Catherine Kramer, a native of Bern township. They had five children: Benneville; Jared; Harrison K.; Washington, twin of Harrison, now residing on North Queen street, Lancaster, the oldest surviving member of this family; and Maria, who married John Eyrich. Harrison K. Hiester, father of Thomas K., was born in Bern township Aug. 6, 1832, and died April 27, 1904; he was laid to rest in Bern churchyard. He was the owner of the old homestead, consisting of 134 acres, and later he bought an adjoining farm of 107 acres from his brother Benneville, the transaction taking place in 1876. He was an enterprising farmer and a man of progress in his community. At the time of his death he was serving as school director. In politics he was a Democrat. He was a liberal supporter of the Reformed faith and of the Bern Church. He married Rosabella Kischner, born Sept. 16, 1834, who died Feb. 24, 1878, aged forty-three years, five months, eight days. They had issue as follows: Kate, widow of Aaron Bohn, lives at Mt. Pleasant; Ellen married J. F. Yeager; Thomas K. is mentioned below; Mary married Jonathan Ohlinger, of Penn township; Rosa married Adam Gruber; Sallie, deceased, married to Cyrus Bohn; Annie married Henry Stamm, of Penn township; Jemima, unmarried, resides at Reading; Edward K. lives in Bern township; Harry lives in Penn township; Lizzie, residing in Bern township, is married to Grant Hartman. Thomas K. Hiester was educated in the township schools and the Kutztown State Normal School, and in 1879 he taught school in Bern township. Then he was employed by his father until 1888, when he began to farm the homestead for himself; he bought the property in 1905. His farm contains 134 acres of very valuable land, which, under Mr. Hiester's excellent management, is very productive. Like the other members of his family he is identified with the Democratic party and is sound on all its doctrines. He has served on the township election board and in 1896 he was made a member of the school board, of which he has been president ever since, having twelve schools under his supervision. He is a leading member of the Bern Reformed Church and on of its deacons. Thomas K. Hiester married (first) Eva Bohn, a daughter of Emanuel and Elvina (Krick) Bohn. She died Dec. 31, 1891, aged twenty-three years, seven months, nine days, and was buried at the Bern Church. She was survived by two children, William and Edna, the former of whom resides at home; the latter married Daniel Gicker, a well-known young man of this community. Mr. Hiester married (second) Ruth Fisher, daughter of James and Elizabeth Fisher, and they have had two children: Walter, who attends school; and Mabel, who died aged ten months, June 9, 1902. Edward K. Hiester, a well-known young farmer of Bern township and a member of the old Hiester family of this section, was born on the Hiester homestead May, 1, 1871, son of Harrison K. and Rosabella (Kischner) Hiester. He attended the public schools of his native township and during 1888-89 was a student for two sessions at the Kutztown State Normal School, after which he worked for his father on the farm. In 1898 he began to farm for himself and bought one of the Hiester homesteads. It is valuable land, and Mr. Hiester has improved it by erecting fine buildings and modernizing his residence to a large degree, putting in a system of water pressure. His land adjoins the Bern Church property. In 1892 he married Sallie Schwoyer, daughter of Cornelius and Sarah (Looser) Schwoyer, of Centreport, Berks county, and they have the following children: Abner, Harry, Earl, Bertha, Edward J. and John. Politically Mr. Hiester is a Democrat, and he has served as township assessor. He is serving in his third term in this office and is a popular public official. For two years he served as a deacon of the Bern Reformed Church. Source: Historical and Biographical History of Berks County, Morton Montgomery, p. 352 |