Jacob Hess, 15 Nov 1766- 7 Oct 1823, was a member of one of the first families to settle on Hamilton Mountain. Jacob’s father Michael (1740-1804) and his wife Charity, originally called Gertrude, (1744-1808), descendants of Palatinate immigrants, moved with their children to Canada from Mt. Bethel, PA, USA in May 1789 because of increasing fear of persecution for their loyalty to Britain.
The Hess family settled in the area of what is now West 5th and Mohawk Road West in Hamilton, ON, formerly Barton Township. Because of his large family, Michael received a land grant of 700 acres. Jacob petitioned for his own land grant and received 200 acres of land on Lots 15 & 16, Conc 8, south of his father’s property.
Jacob married Elizabeth Horning before 1795 and they had nine children, two boys and seven girls.
Jacob Hess served as a Private in Captain Charles Depew’s company of the 5th Regiment Lincoln Militia during the War of 1812. This is substantiated on at least two pages (t-10386-01040 and t-10386-01120) of the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) online records — War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns, Nominal Rolls and Paylists (RG9 1B7).
Jacob’s brothers Samuel (1764-1861) and Peter (1779-1855) also served, Samuel as a Private in Depew’s company with Jacob and Peter as a Lieutenant in Captain Peter Bowman’s company, 5th Regiment Lincoln Militia.
Jacob’s eldest daughter, Hannah (1795-08 Aug 1872) married David Almas, Sr. who was a Sergeant in the 5th Regiment Lincoln Militia during the War of 1812 and after the war a Lieutenant in the 3rd Regiment Gore Militia.
When Michael Hess died in 1804, he was buried in a small cemetery on the property of one of his neighbours, Henry Smith. In 1808, Charity was buried next to him. When Jacob died 7 Oct 1823 of unknown causes, he was buried next to his parents. Because of the prominence of the Hess’s headstones, the cemetery came to be called The Hess Cemetery.
The cemetery (O.G.S. # 4401) is located on Lot 18, Conc 6, in the former Township of Barton, now Hamilton, ON. Now inactive and in the care of Church of the Resurrection (Anglican), 435 Mohawk Road West, the cemetery is just south-east of the church building.
In 1996 the cemetery was vandalized and Michael, Charity, and Jacob’s stones were broken up. The pieces of these stones were taken into the Church building for safe storage. Further information about the cemetery may be obtained from the Church office.
The Press Release and Order of Services can be downloaded by clicking on this link.
Veteran Summary
Jacob HessPrivate, 5th Regiment Lincoln Militia
Place of Birth
Mt. Bethel, PA, USA
Place of Death
Hamilton, ON, CAN
Died on: 07 OCT 1823
Reason: Unknown
Location of Grave
The Hess Cemetery, 435 Mohawk Road West
Hamilton, ON, CAN
Latitude: 43.229877N Longitude: -79.900579
This is my 4fh great uncle! His father Michael, is my 5fh great Grandfather. Thank you for honouring these men!
Michael Hess is my 4 th great grandfather. His grandson Jacob, son of his first son Samuel, is my 2nd great grandfather. Jacob is buried at Barton Stone Church. He was married to Rachel Bradt Hess. Margaret Alma Hess was one of their daughters married my Dad’s grandfather. Thankyou for this dedication to Jacob’s Uncle. I just found out recently while researching.
I grew up in a pre-Confederation farmhouse on Hwy 53, west of West 5th. The house was built by the Hess family in 1817. My Dad bought the house in 1961. At the time, a family called the Muellers were living there. I believe they rented the house from the Hess family but I’m not sure. What I do remember is accompanying my dad to meet Mr. Hess who was in his 90s at the time (1961). I was 9 years old. Mr. Hess wanted to meet my dad to give his approval to buy the house. I remember the elder gentleman as being kind. He liked my dad and we moved in. My Dad remained there until his death in 2004. My step-mom sold it a while later. Sadly, the house was torn down last year. I had a chance to walk through it one last time. Mr. Hess told us the house had originally stood on ground near Upper Paradise and had been moved on log rollers across the fields to its location on Hwy 53. I remember the huge oak beams in the basement that supported the house still had the axe markings of the woodsman who chopped down those mighty trees that must have been at least a couple of hundred years old or more in 1817. I have fond memories of that house and the fields and woods that surrounded us. Sad to see all the housing development and malls that have replaced the forests, fields, and streams that we played in. And sad to see the varied wildlife that we knew as kids has also disappeared. Today, I visit Connell Park just to catch a glimpse of what was but it’s not the same. The past is gone.