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.