George Knight Hester collection
Collection — Folder: S2185
Identifier: S2185
Scope and Contents
There are four items in this collection: (1) Rev. George Knight Hester's 1851 Diary, which is really a memoir, consisting of 18 typed pages; (2-3) a partial letter from Saguaches, Colorado, written on November 14, no year, to "Sister dear" on brown paper with no signature, accompanied by a transcription of the letter; and (4) "Papers Relating To The Hester Family" compiled by the Indiana State Library, 1926.
The 1851 document gives the family history from Germany to America, settlement in the Northwest Territory (now Clark County, Indiana), conflict with Native American groups, including the infamous Pigeon Roost Massacre (1812), and life as a Methodist circuit-riding preacher. The 41-page typed booklet of Hestor family letters begins with an 1858 letter and ends with an 1890 letter. From pages 35 to 41, there is a narrative history of the Hester family, beginning with their departure from Amsterdam in 1771, and arrival in Philadelphia, where they became indentured servants to pay their passage. Children with their dates of birth are recorded.
The 1851 document gives the family history from Germany to America, settlement in the Northwest Territory (now Clark County, Indiana), conflict with Native American groups, including the infamous Pigeon Roost Massacre (1812), and life as a Methodist circuit-riding preacher. The 41-page typed booklet of Hestor family letters begins with an 1858 letter and ends with an 1890 letter. From pages 35 to 41, there is a narrative history of the Hester family, beginning with their departure from Amsterdam in 1771, and arrival in Philadelphia, where they became indentured servants to pay their passage. Children with their dates of birth are recorded.
Dates
- 1851, 1926
Creator
- Hester, Francis A. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
Rev. George Knight Hester was born in Kentucky on September 26, 1794 to John Matthias Hester, who emigrated from Germany to America about 1770 at age four. The family relocated to the Northwest Territory in what became Charlestown, Clarke County. Hester was first licensed as a Methodist preacher in 1819. He married Bence Briggs in 1820 and they had five children. He died September 2, 1874, and is buried in Charlestown, Clark County, Indiana.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT: 2009. Accessed july 1, 2015.
Findagrave.com. "Rev George Knight Hester." Find a Grave database, May 14, 2011. Accessed July 1, 2015. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=HES&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=17&GScntry=4&GSsr=2801&GRid=69837278&.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT: 2009. Accessed july 1, 2015.
Findagrave.com. "Rev George Knight Hester." Find a Grave database, May 14, 2011. Accessed July 1, 2015. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=HES&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=17&GScntry=4&GSsr=2801&GRid=69837278&.
Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Fern Hestor on 1920/06/28.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2015/05/28 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield. EAD finding aid completed 2015/05/28 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield. EAD finding aid revised 2015/07/01 by Brittany Kropf.
- Autobiography
- Charlestown (Ind.)
- Clark County (Ind.)
- Correspondence
- Delaware Indians
- Family history
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Indiana
- Hester family
- Indiana -- History -- Indians, 1816-1899
- Indians of North America -- Treaties
- Methodist preaching
- Methodists -- Biography
- Pigeon Roost Massacre, 1812
- Pioneers -- Indiana
- Potawatomi Indians
- Racism
- Shawnee Indians
- Transcriptions
Creator
- Hester, Francis A. (Person)
- Hester, George Knight (Person)
- Title
- George Knight Hester collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
