10 Facts About Joseph Hiester

Joseph Hiester was an American politician, who served as the fifth governor of Pennsylvania from 1820 to 1823.

Joseph Hiester was a member of the Hiester family political dynasty, and was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Joseph Hiester received a common-school education when he was not working on the farm, and became a clerk in a store in Reading run by Adam Whitman.

Joseph Hiester became a partner in the store in 1771 when he married Elizabeth, Whitman's daughter.

Joseph Hiester was captured and briefly confined in the prison ship "Jersey," where he did much to alleviate the sufferings of his fellow prisoners.

Joseph Hiester was a member of the convention of 1776 that drafted the Articles of Confederation, of the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention which ratified the United States Constitution, and of the state constitutional convention of 1790.

Joseph Hiester served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1787 to 1790 and the Pennsylvania Senate for the 17th district from 1790 to 1794.

Joseph Hiester served in the United States House of Representatives from 1797 until 1805, and again from 1815 until 1820,14 years altogether.

Joseph Hiester faced Findlay again in 1820 and narrowly won a single term in office.

Joseph Hiester was known by the nickname of "Old German Grey" and spoke with a Pennsylvania Dutch German accent.